The change of season signals a drop in temperatures but an increase in rat numbers, making it the perfect time for Onerahi residents to grab a free backyard trap.
“As we say goodbye to summer and welcome in the new autumn season, we can expect to also welcome a few unwelcome pests onto our properties,” says local Predator Free Onerahi group member Mark Garry.
“Predator Free Onerahi still has a limited supply of free rat traps, which have been supplied by Tiakina Whangārei, so this is the ideal time to set up a trap in your backyard and prevent rodents from making themselves at home in your houses, sheds and composts as they seek warmer places to nest.
“We are regularly stationed outside New World Onerahi and have given out hundreds of traps over the last year, so we are expanding our trapping network across Onerahi which is great news for our native bird population.”
As well as supporting people to maintain their own traps in their backyards, Predator Free Onerahi is servicing and maintaining traps and bait stations in spaces throughout the suburb to ensure that the movement of introduced predators is restricted. Passionate locals are leading the following projects and are actively seeking other Onerahi residents to join:
- The Waimahanga Track has regular trappers that maintain stations along a section of the track below George Point Road to the first bridge. This is complemented by the newly formed Waimahanga Track Action Group which has started managing weeds at the northern end of the track. They meet on the fourth Saturday of every month and are always looking for new helpers, get in touch with onerahi@tiakinawhangarei.co.nz if you would like to join.
- The Beach Road Rat Management group is maintaining trap stations around the rock wall and regular monitoring has shown a huge decline in rat population, which benefits the predator free Matakohe/Limestone Island by reducing the risk of rat invasion from the mainland.
- Traps and bait stations around the Old Scout Den on Beach Road have been regularly refilled and serviced.
There are currently over 330 pest management devices recorded on TrapNZ in Onerahi. Tiakina Whangārei encourages everyone to register their trap on TrapNZ to help identify where the gaps in the network are and also to understand how many captures there are in the area. If you need a trap or would like to get involved in any other way, please get in touch with the Predator Free Onerahi group onerahi@tiakinawhangarei.co.nz