Kereru © James Allan
3rd December 2024
As summer approaches, it’s the perfect time to ensure your traps are in top shape for effective pest control to protect our nesting and juvenile birds. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your traps:
Clear the Area Around Your Traps
Cut back grass around the trap to the dirt level. This makes the traps easier for pests to find and helps the ground stay clear longer, reducing maintenance throughout the season. The scuffing of dirt also attracts pests!
Clean Your Traps
Winter can leave traps a bit mucky, especially in damp spots. Now’s a great time to give them a thorough clean—scrape off any dirt or debris, especially around the trigger plate, to ensure they function properly. Use water and elbow grease only, no soaps or mechanical oils!
Increase Servicing in December, January, and February
These are the peak months for catching mustelids like stoats. Increasing your trap servicing and rebaiting to weekly or fortnightly would be fantastic! Fresh rabbit is the best bait for mustelids – help yourself to our good supply in the Glenda Drive freezer, and if you’re chopping it yourself, let it thaw for an hour before using an axe and chopping block. Most catches occur in the first few days of the trap being serviced – fresh is best!
Ensure Your Trap is Stable
Stoats are cautious critters, so make sure your traps are stable and don’t wobble when the pest enters. A shaky trap might make them turn for the hills and tell all of their friends and family to never go into those scary wooden boxes.
Use Scent Trails to Attract More Pests
If you catch a stoat, rub it around the trap to attract more. You can also drag the stoat to nearby trails to create a scent path that other pests will follow. Don’t underestimate scent trails! Lots of animals follow the same paths. so once an animal starts visiting a location other predators will be attracted and come to have a look.
Wear Gloves to Avoid Human Scent
Pests are sensitive to the scent of humans, soap and hand sanitizer, so wear gloves when handling traps. Use the same unwashed pair for trapping to ensure they pick up the scent of the bait, not human odours.
Place Traps in High-traffic Areas
Look for well-worn paths where pests travel. Place traps along these routes and consider adding logs to guide pests toward the trap, ensuring a clear path for them to enter. Make sure the traps are placed parallel to trails and that the pest has a clear line of sight through the trap.
If Your Trap Isn’t Catching, Try Moving It
If your trap hasn’t been catching anything for a while – mix it up! Try moving the direction of the trap or moving the trap one or two metres into a different location. Always chat to your group before moving any traps around. There is an easy report on Trap NZ to run called “trap records with map” (on the computer version of Trap NZ). You can change the date range of this and look at how the traps have been performing over a certain time period. We like to look at the previous year to date and if there are any zeros, move those traps to a new location. If you would like any help with this – please get in touch with Anna or Bonnie.
Let’s get the best out of our traps and keep those pest numbers down!
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