Rat/Stoat Trap and Possum Trap Update

If you have been reading our blog, you will know we are trapping rats in our Rerenga Awa. Well, we haven't had much luck with the A24 and A12 traps we installed last year. We even asked Sam Gibson who works for DOC and Goodnature to come and check them for us. He suspects there aren't any rats in the Rerenga Awa but we have seen them run along the river bank. The problem is, we can't get closer to the river because of all the blackberry.

So we have decided to use the very first trap we set as well as the A24 - the DOC 200. We can manoeuver it closer to the river bank. The egg we used for bait is fresh (rats prefer rotten eggs) so we will have to wait a couple of weeks before going back down to check. Rats also keep away from human smells - hopefully this weekends rain will wash our scent away quickly.

Sam the Trap Man - Rat/Stoat Trap & Possum Trap Update

We have been having trouble with our traps - they aren't catching anything! So we asked Sam Gibson who has worked with DoC and Goodnature to come and talk to us about trapping. He was full of information and helped us relocate our traps. 
Sam lowered the rat trap. It was originally 12 cm off the ground but is now only a shaka (a term he discovered when he was in Hawaii - it's a handshake) from the ground. He also put the possum trap in a willow tree because possums will only climb for two reasons; either to be soclal or to eat. The willow tree serves both purposes. 
He also told us lots of other interesting information. Some we had learnt from our research at the beginning of the year (but we had forgotten lots) and some we had never heard of before. We will post our top 5 facts on our individual blogs soon.
We also now have the Goodnature dashboard so we can see where our traps are and any hotspots. What do you think a hotspot is?
Sam also gave us two more traps for the sheds we have seen rats in at school. We were so excited because it took us ages to get the ones we already have.

The shaka

The A12 possum trap being

installed on a willow tree.

Here's what we can see on our Goodnature dashboard. We can zoom in and out on the laptop. It will also collate all our information so we can study the graphs.

Rat/Stoat Trap and now a Possum Trap: Update

If you have been reading our blog then you will know we are passionate about the native reserve we have been planting and looking after for a few years. One of the main problems we found when we set tracking tunnels is that the rats, stoats and possums have been eating the native seeds, berries and insects. We originally borrowed some traps from DOC and caught some massive rats. Unfortunately one trap was stolen. We knew we had to buy our own ones so we researched what traps we wanted to buy for our school. We finally decided to buy Goodnature’s A24 rat/stoat trap and the A12 possum trap. One of the reasons we thought these were the best was because they reset themselves and we were having trouble looking after the traps over the holidays or when the wet weather meant we couldn't get down there. The next problem was funding it. We applied for some grants but were unsuccessful. We didn’t give up. We decided to apply for a grant from the Tairāwhiti Enviroschools and Eastland Port and we were successful! So we bought the traps. Once they were delivered, we set up the A24 last week and the A12 this week. The A24 has a chirp in it which we have synced to Mrs Naden’s phone. When we catch a rat or stoat it will send her a notification. We tested it out and it works. Now the problem is, whenever we hear her phone ping we all jump up and shout “WE’VE GOT ONE!” and head for the door. But Mrs Naden’s checks it and says, “Sorry guys, it’s just a text!” She’s thinking about putting her phone on silent!



Next time we will video landscape!