Method and apparatus for controlling pest animals

An apparatus for controlling animal pests comprising:

• a housing having a passage extending into the housing from an entrance of the housing, the passage having a front wall and a rear wall;
• an impacting member movable across the passage from a first position adjacent to the front wall to a second position adjacent to the rear wall, the impacting member having a slidable arm extending out from the rear wall and having a free distal end having an impactor extending downwardly from the free distal end of the slidable arm at the front wall when the impacting member is in the first position;
• an anvil positioned on the rear wall with the impactor capable of impacting the anvil;
• a retraction mechanism having a first support and a second support with the first support being integral with the rear wall, and a spring connected to the second support and the slidable arm;
• a planar sensor spaced apart from the impacting member by a predetermined distance along the passage towards the entrance, the planar sensor configured to sense a presence of an animal pest across a sensing plane in the form of a curtain that is perpendicular across the passage at a predetermined distance from the impacting member;
• and
• the impacting member is operable to be released to rapidly move across the passage from the first position adjacent to the front wall toward the second position and the anvil when the planar sensor indicates the animal pest has passed through the sensing plane.