Predator Free Wellington
  • About
    • Why predator free?
    • Our supporters
    • Our team
  • Get Involved
    • Find a group
    • Suburb boundary map
    • Community map
    • Resources
    • Resources for schools
  • Miramar
  • Island Bay to CBD
  • News
  • Contact
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. News article

News article

Latest chew card study shows community trapping makes a difference

Results from a recent chew card study on the Miramar peninsula shows community trapping efforts are successfully lowering rat numbers, especially in the suburbs.

In urban areas where we have a high number of residents’ trapping, we’ve found rat numbers have reduced - only four cards chewed in 2019 compared to 18 cards chewed in 2018.

The cards which use peanut butter to attract animals, were placed and collected by volunteers across 259 points across the peninsula. The chew marks on each card were then analysed to estimate animal populations in the area.

This data is now being used to help us find the best locations on the peninsula for trapping rats. We also found where we are getting repeat rat chews (year on year) this often correlates with areas of well-known household rubbish dumping.

Limiting food sources for rats is something we’re looking at before we begin our Miramar eradication, if we want to get to zero rats, stoats and weasels on the peninsula we need to make the traps and bait stations as enticing as possible. This means limiting the ‘all you can eat’ rat buffet of rubbish and composts so they are more likely to forage from our traps and bait stations.

A big thank you to Greater Wellington Regional Council for managing the survey, and also to Conservation Volunteers NZ for providing the volunteer resources.

Posted: 27 May 2019

Prev article
All articles
Next article

Recent news

  • How worried should we be about rats getting back onto the peninsula?
  • Predator Free Wellington to get fast tracked with $7.6 million funding boost
  • New research shows health benefits for Wellington's backyard trappers
  • First quarterly impact report released
  • We are almost predator free on the peninsula!

Reports

  • 2020/21 Impact Report
  • 2019/20 Impact Report
  • Quarterly Impact Report
  • 2018/19 Impact Report
  • Find us on Facebook
  • Subscribe to our newsletter

© 2022 Predator Free Wellington

Privacy policy

Website by RS

Sustainable Business Awards Winner 2020
  • Home
  • About
    • Why predator free?
    • Our supporters
    • Our team
  • Get Involved
    • Find a group
    • Suburb boundary map
    • Community map
    • Resources
      • Get trapping!
      • How to build a trapping tunnel
      • How to build a corflute tunnel
      • How to rat proof your compost
      • Chew cards
      • How to make a budget weta hotel
      • What's the difference between the eradication project and community backyard trapping?
      • GUIDE: How to kill rats and engage a community
      • WEBINAR: Expert trapping tips with Cam Speedy (PFNZ Trust)
    • Resources for schools
      • Predators & Predator Free 2050
      • Native Species (Momo Māori)
      • Trapping Guide
      • Monitoring Guide
      • Learning Resources & Activities
  • Miramar
  • Island Bay to CBD
  • News
  • Contact