The Trap Library

Borrow Traps

Traps are loaned out to South Kaipara Landcare members, giving you a chance to target specific pests without laying out the cost of buying one outright.

Target the specific pest that's a problem on your property
Try before you buy, traps can be expensive
Get one-on-one advice when your trap is dropped off, from someone who knows how to use it

Available to borrow

South Kaipara Landcare members can borrow traps to target specific predators on their property. We' can help you choose the right traps for the job and provide guides on how to use them.

Trapworks live trap (feral cats, possums, hedgehogs, ferrets, stoats)

Non-kill trap
Must be checked daily
Set in a fairly quiet area; far from people and pets
Set close to a water source
Set on a flat, level surface
Set along a wall or fence line (if available, most animals will travel along this type of guide)
Place the trap on level ground. Pests are unlikely to enter a trap that wobbles or moves
Place your bait in the tray at the back-end of the trap. Try to keep it as far from the trap walls as possible so an animal cannot steal the bait
Look up or ask around for what bait is working. Try apple for possums, fish or cat food for feral cats. Consider salmon lure for feral cats and mustelids
Try making a bait trail leading into the trap
Know what you'll do when an animal is caught before you set the trap
Try camouflaging the floor and roof of the cage with fern fronds, suspend the bait with wire to keep it fresh

Reference: https://www.trapworks.co.nz

DOC 200 (stoats, rats and hedgehogs)

Designed to trap stoats but will also humanely kill rats and hedgehogs.
Set in a fairly quiet area; away from people and pets
Set on a flat, level surface
Set along a wall or fence line (if available, most animals will travel along this type of guide). If in the bush or farmland set along ridges, tracks or creeks
For bait try fresh rabbit meat or eggs.
DOC200s have a very powerful trap mechanism. Make sure you have received training from a Landcare trapper or attended a training course.

Further information:

https://shop.predatorfreenz.org/products/doc-200-trap-stoats-rats-hedgehogs

How to install a DOC200 trap

Flipping Timmy (possums)

If your trap has stopped catching, change its shape by placing a rock or branch on top, or move it a few meters. This may cause a curious possum to investigate this ‘new’ object

This is a kill trap. Make sure you have received training from a Landcare trapper, attended a training course or fully viewed training information online
Cats and dogs are unlikely to be attracted to a Timms trap if they are baited correctly (eg with fruit). However, if you fear that children or pets might interfere with the trap, un-set the trap each morning and re-set it in the evening
Further information: Flipping Timmy Possum Trap - Predator Free NZ Trust

Locate near possum trails or favourite food sources (eg fruit trees). Possums will avoid travelling through wet long grass and thick
weeds. If possums are living under your roof, try placing traps on the ceiling rafters.
Best baited with a piece of fruit, eg. apple sprinkled with cinnamon
Secure the trap to the ground with pegs or stakes
Possums dislike heavy rain so you need not trap on very wet nights. Try the nights before and after instead

Possum Master (possums)

Best baited with a piece of fruit, eg. apple sprinkled with cinnamon
Possums dislike heavy rain so you need not trap on very wet nights. Try the nights before and after instead
Cats and dogs are unlikely to be attracted to a Possum Master trap if they are baited correctly (eg with fruit). However, if you fear that children or pets might interfere with the trap, un-set the trap each morning and re-set it in the evening.

A spring activated noose trap
Recommended to be tree set vertically to be effective when targeting possums
This is a kill trap. Make sure you have received training from a Landcare trapper, attended a training course or fully viewed training information online.
Locate near possum trails or favourite food sources (eg fruit trees). Possums will avoid travelling through wet long grass and thick weeds. If possums are living under your roof, try placing traps on the ceiling rafters

Victor Snap Trap (rats)

Ideally suited for rat trapping in our native forests but they can capture native birds so they should be set in a tunnel.
Use peanut butter as bait and refresh often
Place them on a flat surface near walls/ compost or under cover
Secure them appropriately (eg peg into the ground)
If you’re not getting results, try a different spot
Check the trap daily until you’re catch rate goes down, then check every 2 – 3 weeks

Further information: How to set a Victor Trap safely

Use this form to request a trap loan

Or Call Christina on NEED PHONE NUMBER

The Trap NZ app

Log your catches, see the impact

Trap NZ is a free app used across the country to record trap, bait and catch data. Every entry you log helps us see what's working across the whole peninsula, not just in your own backyard, and it takes seconds after each check.

New to the app? This short video walks you through setting up your first trap.

Download on theApp Store

Get it onGoogle Play

  
    Resources
    Everything you need to get started
    How to set up a Timmy trapVideo
Trap NZ: logging your catchesGuide
Trap NZ: reading the community mapGuide
Borrow a trap from LandcareContact

South Kaipara Landcare

South Head, Helensville, Auckland 0874.

A community-led group protecting the biodiversity of the South Head peninsula.

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