Abstract: Pest control substance delivery systems and methods that optimize substances used to attract and/or poison pests are disclosed. Systems and methods of the present disclosure use information (including input information based on, but not limited to, for example, one or more of the season(s), temperature trend(s) over a period of time(s), length of day(s), change(s) in the length of day(s) over a period of time(s), the deterioration of the potencies of substance(s) based on the exposed shelf-life and/or spoilage of the substance(s), indoor versus outdoor usage, geographical location, species/subspecies, or other input information), to optimize the effectiveness of the delivery of pest control substances over a period of time.

Abstract: A secondary communications device, such as a modem, a facsimile machine, an automatic meter reader or an answering machine, shares a telephone line with a subscriber's telephone and must grant the telephone primary access to the line. The present invention prevents the secondary device from seizing the line when the telephone is already off-hook and will terminate a line seizure by the secondary device if the subscriber picks up the telephone handset during use of the line by the secondary device. An average interval for charging a capacitor to a threshold voltage in response to an on-hook voltage appearing across the telephone line is determined. When the secondary communications device is ready to use the line, circuitry measures an interval for charging the capacitor in response to the current voltage appearing across the telephone line. The secondary communication device seizes the line only if the measured interval does not exceed the average interval by more than a predetermined amount.