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Help is at hand for people keen to control pests but who don’t own the right traps, thanks to the Whangateau Residents and Ratepayers Association (WRRA).
The committee has set up a predator trap lending library of around 40 different traps to catch rats, stoats, possums, cats and even wild pigs. They are available to borrow by anyone living from Quintal Road in Big Omaha through to Whangateau itself and out as far as Ti Point.
A deposit is required for each trap loaned, which is refunded when it is returned, and non-WRRA members will have to pay $10 to join the association, but otherwise the traps are free to borrow.
Funding to buy the traps came via a $2500 grant from the Department of Conservation. WRRA committee member Audrey Sharp says the initiative will help people who either don’t want to or can’t afford to buy their own traps, which can cost upwards of $100 each, or for those who want to try an alternative trapping method.
“If people are using one type of trap, sometimes it’s good to have a change. A different one might work better,” she says. “I was using a standard rat trap and getting nothing, but when I tried a gas-powered bolt trap, I caught eight in one night.”
Audrey says there is scope to expand the trap library further, depending on demand, and WRRA hopes to set up some kind of record of pests killed.
Info and bookings: Email Audrey Sharp at am.sharp56@gmail.com or call Hugh McKergow on 422 6219.
