Welcome to Predator Free Paekākāriki

Predator control helps to protect the local kororā (little blue penguin), our native skinks and geckos, and bird life, and ensure they flourish. 

Predator Free Paekākāriki are helping villagers to get involved in backyard trapping by providing traps, peanut butter bait, resource material, and support networks.  We are also undertaking predator control in parks and public reserves, targeting rats, mustelids and possums.

How do we achieve this?

To have any chance of ridding the village of predators we need to have traps in every 1 in 5 properties across Paekākāriki to ensure sufficient coverage. From the information we have at hand as @ end of 2023, we are sitting at about 1 in 10, halfway there!

Get involved in backyard trapping

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.

Need a trap?  

Predator Free Paekākāriki have individual rat and mice traps for sale, and tunnel trap packages, which include free delivery in the village.  The tunnel trap packages include a rat trap, a wooden tunnel, a jar of peanut butter bait, and instructions. The traps are easy to use, and safe for pets and kids. To order a trap complete the order form here. 

NOTE: we only supply traps to Paekākāriki residents.

Already have a trap? 

Rodents are fine diners and prefer fresh! Make sure you are checking your traps often, and rebaiting.

Free peanut butter bait for traps. Fix and Fogg have very kindly provided the project with end of line peanut butter, not fit for human consumption but ideal as gourmet bait!  Swing by Paekākāriki Fruit Supply on Beach Road to pick up a free jar. Thank you very much to Kim for stocking this again.

Resources and support material available 

We have created a resources page at the top of this page next to “Kia ora”. This includes info on the basics of backyard trapping, tips and tricks if you are not catching anything, how to compost safely, and keeping chickens. 

Register your trap and record your catches

Registering your traps and recording catches on Trap NZ is a keyway the project can monitor the success of the project and identify any areas we need to focus on. You can then access a history of your own trap data. The catch data is only ever shared at a high level, not at individual addresses.

Here is a link to join the Trap.NZ Predator Free Paekākāriki Project and tailored instructions on how to use it are here.  

We share a monthly project 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. 

Other ways to get involved 

Lending a hand to neighbours – helping out neighbours who are less able or don’t want to check and reset traps.

Join the Predator Free Paekākāriki team – we can always do with a hand with checking trap lines, occasionally building traps etc. Please email us at [email protected] if you are interested.  

Join our local village predator free Facebook page to connect with other local trappers who can provide tips and advice. 

Predator Free Paekākāriki | Facebook

Traps

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. 

Backyard trapping guides and support material

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

How to use trap.nz

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 

Composting safely

How to compost safely – some great tips on how to compost safely can be found here.

Making your chicken coop less appealing to rodents

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. 

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.