Backyard Trapping
Towards Predator Free Waiheke: Get involved in backyard trapping.
Controlling rats on your property has loads of benefits. It can help save wildlife, prevent costly property damage, keep homegrown food safe, prevent an infestation, and halt the spread of diseases by rats. Trapping is an effective rat control tool as has been proven in the Kennedy Point Trapping Trial. It’s a cheap option as peanut butter is the only ongoing cost, has no long-term environmental toxin load and you can easily see and record how many rodents are caught. Trapping also works alongside existing baiting programmes and offers an alternative device to bait stations.”
Place your dot on the map!
There are two ways to use traps effectively to protect your home from invading rodents:
Record your trap catch to build a picture of the number and location of rats on Waiheke. This map links with other Waiheke rat control data from TrapNZ and Auckland Council to provide a joined up picture of all the amazing rat control on our motu!
Please do this for each device
In a quarterly pulsing schedule. This method aligns with many community groups and rat control volunteers who are strategically managing rodent control devices by servicing them quarterly. In this schedule, traps are set and checked twice a week for a month every quarter.
On-going year-round trap management, checking and re-baiting every week.
Record your trap or bait station and help build the picture of rat control on Waiheke.
Key placement areas for traps
Near a compost or potential food source (fruit trees, rubbish bins)
Along fence lines or other linear features in the garden
Near vegetation (not in the middle of the lawn)
Near chicken coops
Where to purchase a backyard trapping set
Backyard Trapping
Purchase a backyard trapping box and become part of the predator free Waiheke team.
Te Korowai o Waiheke has teamed up with two community groups to provide backyard trapping options while generating fundraising for environmental projects. Waiheke Art and Craft Supplies, are selling backyard trapping kitsets (a flatpack with everything you need to make your trap box, all you need is a hammer) for $20, with $10 from each sale donated to Native Bird Rescue. They are also available through Waiheke High School for $30 for a made box or $20 for a kitset. Half of the cost goes directly to the WHS Sustainability Groups compost initiative.
Learn the ins and outs of backyard trapping with Rat Operations Manager, Markus Gronwald.
These backyard trapping boxes are the same design as what is used in Te Korowai o Waiheke’s operational trials. Using H3 fencing timber, they are made for outdoor use, with an easy-open mesh door to service the trap. The sets include a T-rex snap trap, which is easy to bait, set and empty.
If you have any questions or want to share your photos and successes with us, we’d love to hear from you.
Send us an email at info@tekorowaiowaiheke.org or tag @tekorowaiowaiheke on your socials.
Happy Trapping!
Watch the Waiheke Rat Control map grow
To have a comprehensive idea of rat control on Waiheke, this map contains data from the ongoing mahi of rat control groups and their hardworking volunteers along with those who have registered backyard trap boxes.