Trap Library Trial

Living on a lifestyle block in Tamahere comes with its perks, but it also means dealing with pesky invaders like possums, rats, mice, ferrets, weasels, stoats, and an abundance of rabbits. (Note: If you're overrun with rabbits, you'll need to seek assistance from a friendly local for shooting; we don’t supply rabbit traps.) Ever since we started Predator Free Tamahere, we've noticed many locals invest a lot in various traps and baits, only to find them ineffective for their specific pest control needs.

To address this challenge, we're excited to announce the launch of our local Trap Library. At this stage, our initiative is focused on Tamahere gully owners and offers the opportunity to experiment with different trap options before committing to buying your own trapping equipment. Our aim is to empower everyone to actively participate in trapping introduced pest species on their gully properties, thereby safeguarding the gully habitat of our native wildlife, especially long-tailed bats and native birds.

Advanced Pest Control: AT220 with Pet-Safe Sensor, thanks to Waikato Regional Council, image credit: J Morgan

There's no such thing as a perfect trap but some perform better than others, and we want to let you have the chance to try before you buy. Thanks to Waikato Regional Council and our generous supporters, we have a range of traps available to borrow including NZautotrap AT220 rat & possum traps, Goodnature A24 rat traps, DOC200 mustelid traps and Flipping Timmy possum traps. We can also help with trapping tips and bait recommendations to maximise your trapping success.

Flipping Timmys in our Trap Library: Ready to Tackle Pests, image credit: J Morgan

For those of you not familiar with the newer NZautotraps, the AT220s are tree-mounted traps and feature a kill bar inside an open cage. Their spring-loaded mechanism can reset itself up to 100 times. They are equipped with an electric motor, run by a rechargeable battery that lasts about 4-6 months or for 100 resets, which can be recharged overnight with a USB charger. An automatic pump rebaits the trap, ensuring there's always fresh lure.

Safety-wise, the lure is a non-toxic mayonnaise and the trap’s light sensor deactivates the trap during the day, activating only at night when predators are most active. Thanks to Waikato Regional Council, we also have an AT220 with an additional pet sensor that can detect microchips, turning off the trap if a chipped domestic cat approaches.

Smart Trapping: AT220 with Pet-Safe Sensor, image credit: J Morgan

The idea behind having a library is that people return traps after a trial period so they can go to the next person. The traps are available for a limited period at no cost, with one simple request: keep track of your catches.

Recording your catches is vital. You can log them directly on the Trap.nz website or via the Trap.nz app on your phone. Alternatively, a quick message to one of our committee members will suffice. This data not only informs us and our funders about how many pests are around the Tamahere gullies but also helps us decide the effectiveness of our trap library trial and whether we should keep it going. Plus your consistent reporting ensures we know that the traps are actively being used and monitored, not languishing in your shed, gathering dust (don’t worry, no judgement from us, we’ve all been there, done that!)

For more information or to borrow traps, please contact us through our website or send us a message via Facebook.