A pest control system and a method for building a network of pest control devices

The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

• at the gateway:
• detecting that one or a plurality of node(s) in the network is not responding;
• adding the identity of any missing nodes to a lost node list
• repeating for each node in the lost node list:
• iterating through the network level by level away from the top tree node level until the currently searched node is found:
• sending at the network communication frequency a pairing signal during the trees dedicated slot time;
• if receiving a response assigning the trap device or monitoring device a new network address and removing the trap device or monitoring device from the lost node list.

A method for building a network of pest control devices, the method comprising

• arranging a gateway, and a plurality of trap devices and monitoring devices in an area for pest control purposes, wherein the gateway and each trap device and monitoring device comprises a memory with a sub node database and wherein the gateway and each trap device and monitoring device are turned on;
• sending a pairing signal from the gateway at a rendezvous frequency;
• for each trap device or monitoring device that is receiving the pairing signal:
• assigning the trap device or monitoring device as top tree node in a tree;
• storing the assignments in the sub node database of the gateway;
• and
• storing the address of the gateway in the memory of the assigned trap device or monitoring device;
• at the gateway, broadcasting on the rendezvous frequency to the top tree nodes a network communication frequency;
• and
• at the gateway, broadcasting on the network communication frequency to the top tree nodes, individual dedicated slot times during a repeat cycle, wherein the individual dedicated slot times during a repeat cycle are used to avoid interference between different trees;
• and
• repeating until no additional trap device or monitoring device is responding and is added to the network:
• at each trap device or monitoring device with an empty sub node database, sending at the rendezvous frequency the pairing signal during the dedicated slot time of the tree, wherein each top tree node and each tree node comprises an address to its parent and a sub node database with addresses to all its direct children saved in the node memory;
• at each trap device or monitoring device that is receiving the pairing signal and that does not have a stored parent address stored:
• receiving on the rendezvous frequency information about frequency of the network communication frequency;
• receiving at the network communication frequency tree individual dedicated slot times during a repeat cycle;
• assigning the trap device or monitoring device as tree node in the tree of the top tree node;
• storing the network address of the trap device or monitoring device sending the pairing signal as parent address;
• assigning a node network address to the trap device or monitoring device;
• communicating on the network communication frequency the assigned node network address to the tree, wherein the network address is indicative of which tree it belongs to and what tree level it is located at;
• wherein each top tree node and each tree node is a range extender and wherein one or a plurality of any of the top tree nodes or the tree nodes comprise a battery as power source.

A method of controlling a signal strength of a pest control network set up according to a method comprising:

• arranging a gateway, and a plurality of trap devices and monitoring devices in an area for pest control purposes, wherein the gateway and each trap device and monitoring device comprises a memory with a sub node database and wherein the gateway and each trap device and monitoring device are turned on;
• sending a pairing signal from the gateway at a rendezvous frequency;
• for each trap device or monitoring device that is receiving the pairing signal:
• assigning the trap device or monitoring device as top tree node in a tree;
• storing the assignments in the sub node database of the gateway;
• and
• storing the address of the gateway in the memory of the assigned trap device or monitoring device;
• at the gateway, broadcasting on the rendezvous frequency to the top tree nodes a network communication frequency;
• and
• at the gateway, broadcasting on the network communication frequency to the top tree nodes, individual dedicated slot times during a repeat cycle, wherein the individual dedicated slot times during a repeat cycle are used to avoid interference between different trees;
• and
• repeating until no additional trap device or monitoring device is responding and is added to the network:
• at each trap device or monitoring device with an empty sub node database, sending at the rendezvous frequency the pairing signal during the dedicated slot time of the tree, wherein each top tree node and each tree node comprises an address to its parent and a sub node database with addresses to all its direct children saved in the node memory;
• at each trap device or monitoring device that is receiving the pairing signal and that does not have a stored parent address stored:
• receiving on the rendezvous frequency information about frequency of the network communication frequency;
• receiving at the network communication frequency tree individual dedicated slot times during a repeat cycle;
• assigning the trap device or monitoring device as tree node in the tree of the top tree node;
• storing the network address of the trap device or monitoring device sending the pairing signal as parent address;
• assigning a node network address to the trap device or monitoring device;
• communicating on the network communication frequency the assigned node network address to the tree, wherein the network address is indicative of which tree it belongs to and what tree level it is located at;
• wherein each top tree node and each tree node is a range extender and wherein one or a plurality of any of the top tree nodes or the tree nodes comprise a battery as power source;
• the method of controlling a signal strength of the pest control network comprising:
• setting the signal strength of the gateway and all trap devices or monitoring devices of the pest control network to a first signal strength when arranging a new trap device or monitoring device at the location for pest control, wherein a new trap device or monitoring device is placed so as to receive a signal from the network;
• setting the signal strength of the gateway and all trap devices or monitoring devices of the pest control network to a second signal strength, stronger than the first signal strength, when building the network;
• and
• setting the signal strength of the gateway and all trap devices or monitoring devices of the pest control network to a third signal strength, stronger than the second signal strength, when operating the pest control network for pest control.