Predator control helps to protect all of our native flora and fauna. Predator control has boosted tūī and kererū numbers—now let’s welcome kākā and kākāriki! Get started trapping in your backyard with support from our local team.
Predator control plays a vital role in safeguarding birdlife, skinks, geckos, and local kororā (little blue penguins), helping these species thrive in their natural habitats. Trapping in your backyard has loads of benefits. It can help get rid of rats from your compost bin, save your fruit trees and roses from rats, but most importantly it can make your garden a safe place for our unique native wildlife to live and feed.
Predator Free Paekākāriki supports community involvement in backyard trapping by providing traps, peanut butter bait, educational resources, and a strong support network. We also carry out predator control in parks and public reserves, targeting rats, mice, hedgehogs, mustelids, and possums to create safer environments for our native wildlife.
To have any chance of ridding Paekākāriki of predators, we need traps in at least 1 in every 5 properties across the village to ensure effective coverage. As of June 2025, we’re sitting at approximately 1 in 8 properties—which means we’re over halfway there! Every new trap brings us closer to a safer environment for our native wildlife.
Whether you’re just getting started or a seasoned trapper, we’ve got simple steps to help you make a difference. From choosing the right trap to recording your catches, it’s easy to get involved and support our native wildlife.
We sell individual rat and mouse traps, as well as complete tunnel trap packages—with free delivery within Paekākāriki village.
🧰 Each Tunnel Trap Package Includes:
To order a trap complete the order form here.
NOTE: we only supply traps to Paekākāriki residents.
🧭 Choose a Good Spot
Place your trap in a quiet, sheltered area—near compost bins, garden sheds, or along fence lines where rats are likely to travel.
🥜 Free Peanut Butter Bait
Thanks to the generosity of Fix and Fogg, we have free jars of end-of-line peanut butter—perfect gourmet bait for your traps (not for human consumption). Pick up your free jar from Paekākāriki Fruit Supply on Beach Road. Big thanks to Kim for stocking it again!
🔁 Check Regularly
Check your trap every few days. Remove any caught predators and reset the trap to keep it active.
📚 Resources
Visit our Resources section for:
Registering your traps and recording catches on Trap.NZ helps us monitor progress and identify areas needing more attention. You’ll also be able to view your own trapping history. Catch data is only shared at a high level—never by individual address.
👉 Trap.NZ Predator Free Paekākāriki Project
📘 Instructions on how to use trap.nz are here.
We share a quarterly catch report with the community via this website via the Paekakariki.nz fortnightly newsletter, and the Predator Free Paekākāriki Facebook group. Check out the “Stories” page on here for past reports.
🤝 Lend a Hand to Neighbours
Not everyone can check and reset traps regularly. If you’re able, consider helping out a neighbour who’s less mobile or prefers not to handle traps. It’s a great way to build community and boost our predator-free efforts.
🛠️ Join the Predator Free Paekākāriki Team
We’re always looking for extra hands to help check trap lines, build traps, and support local efforts.
📧 Interested? Email us at [email protected]
🌿 Connect with Local Trappers
Join our Predator Free Paekākāriki Facebook group to share tips, ask questions, and connect with other backyard trappers.
📬 Stay updated via the Paekakariki.nz newsletter for news, events, and success stories.
Predator Free Paekākāriki Trap Orders (google.com)
Tunnel Trap Package: 1 for $25 or 2 $40
Buy a backyard rat and mouse trap that comes complete with a custom-made wooden tunnel box to keep the trap safe from curious pets and children, and a free jar of peanut butter bait to get you started.
Replacement rat and mouse traps also available to order.
The Department of Conservation has a great site which covers where to place your traps, how to set, and how to clear. Check this out here Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai
Recording trapping data is an important part of backyard trapping. It enables the project to identify if there are any gaps in trapping in the village, and trends with what is being caught. This will help us track the progress of the project long-term.
Join the Trap.nz Predator Free project group here Predator Free Paekakariki | Trap.NZ
Full instructions on how to create an account, join the project and record catches here
How to compost safely – some great tips on how to compost safely can be found here.
Tips to make your chicken coops safer for your feather friends and less enticing to rodents!
Paekākāriki has been at the forefront of backyard trapping programmes. The founding Paekākāriki Rat Pack began as one of the projects undertaken by one of the neighbourhood teams from the 2011 KCDC ‘Greenest Street’ competition and is likely the first backyard trapping group anywhere in New Zealand. A key driver of the idea was Geoff Osgood, along with Aaron Richardson.
Recognising that composting and organic waste management systems would offer a greater food source for pests, the Paekākāriki Rat Pack started a rodent and stoat control program. The idea quickly spread through the village.
Geoff organised a number of community working bees at the Paekākāriki motor camp to build traps. Materials in the early days came from many sources, including the use of recycled wood and plastic.
Geoff was also an early adopter of the catch reporting system Trap.nz developed in Paekākāriki by Groundtruth. Trap.nz is now used throughout New Zealand on over 2000 projects and has thousands of active users.
Heat map of mouse and rat catches from 1 Jan 2015 -mid 2020 including Ngā Uruora to the south and Friends of Queen Elizabeth Park to the north. Image from trap.nz
In 2020 The Paekākāriki Rat Pack was renamed Predator Free Paekākāriki to reflect the focus on all predators, and part of the wider Predator Free 2050. Over a decade on the group continues the great work of the founding rat pack.
