Thread: Bird Predator Control

Results should be out at the end of the week fullas,they made a cock up and had to withdraw the price list.Hope it doesn't affect any that have seen the list already @kukuwai

Nice surprise to come home to

Well done, me too

Good effort by all 2000 tails.
Interesting stats 2000 predators at 1 kill per day per year = 730 000 kills saved

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A nice surprise in the mailbox tonight - thanks for your info on the prize draw @kukuwai, @FatLabrador and @Dundee
Fantastic competition that H&F run each year - thanks Andy Tannock - 2000 mustilid tails - that must make a huge difference to game bird survival

I like to mount traps on ramps - fence post stays or just old branches leaning on a tree - I like the concept of a trapped rat pissing down the ramp - I am sure that it is a powerful attractant for the next victim that walks past - might be a rat, mustilid or even Harry the hedgehog. I can hear you saying that Harry is a ground based predator - but I have caught them in a timms trap 1m up a 30 degree sloped ramp.
I got Harry and his mate on Tuesday - one on a ramp and one in a Doc250 - what a mess 9 days between checking traps can make
Three of us are currently trapping about 50 acres in the Park - some intensively and some sparsely - the 2018 spreadsheet has 83 victims - 5 possums, 7 hogs, 1 cat and 70 rats - the bloody cat managed to get inside a Doc250! - this time last year our 2017 spreadsheet had 62 victims - 10 possums and 52 rats
So even with intensive trapping and poisoning - we are really just running a control system to stop predator numbers from exploding - a bit demoralising really - but we have to keep going
Trapping can be a lonely business - but for the past three months I have had a new Mate who was keen to learn the trade - Girls can do anything - she pulled Harry out of the Doc250 on Tuesday but I couldn’t get her to clean out the live bait on the bottom - she can even set a Doc250

Well done in the comp fellas, I didn't manage an entry this year although since October have removed 7 cats and 30 odd hogs.

Had two ferrets turn up from no where this week a junenile in a doc 200 and an adult behind the pond in a Timms, they must be getting mobile now the easy young birds have all Buggered off or something? so that's at least 2 tails in the freezer for the next 8 months keep the traps going fellas

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Well done in the comp fellas, I didn't manage an entry this year although since October have removed 7 cats and 30 odd hogs.

Had two ferrets turn up from no where this week a junenile in a doc 200 and an adult behind the pond in a Timms, they must be getting mobile now the easy young birds have all Buggered off or something? so that's at least 2 tails in the freezer for the next 8 months keep the traps going fellas
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Bloody awesome effort @Sparrow 7 cats is gunna have to make a difference !!

Well done on the tails in the freezer too

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yep its great getting the cats have a tom giving me the runaround currently and someone has seen a kitten couple of times so here we go again….

Great work @Sparrow - hard to know which of these bastards do the most damage - I suspect cats kill to feed themselves but I understand ferrets and stoats kill for fun
Hogs kill everything on the ground - birds and much more - a seriously underrated pest - but some people are fascinated by them
I got sick of the cricket yesterday so jumped in the car and did half of my trap circuit up the Park - hour and a half and got 4 rats and found Harry came back to check on his mate from Tuesday - big buggar - how did he get inside that box? - missed a possum in a Timms - bloody string snagged on the corner of the mounting board so he pulled out - I bet he wont come back!

I am just trapping a public Park these days - not catching any stoats or ferrets, but they must be around as I see them dead on the highway
Rat numbers increased during March - despite very low kill numbers in January (23) and a slight increase in February (36) - kill numbers during March have increased to 114 - four of us cleared 34 on one day
It looks like they have had a great summer breeding season and the younger ones have left home and are on the move - looking for a good feed of possum paste and some steel around their necks
We are seeing aggressive feeding on trapped bodies - some completely or partially devoured back to the box trap entrance and some removed from the tunnel traps
Some Ditrac bait starting to move this month - but that won’t do them much harm
Other than the rats, we got 4 possums and 8 hogs in March - 195 bird predators so far for 2018
I am starting to get a few bodies under the A24s - two sites with double kills and three sites with single kills - so they do work - but mainly young rats learning some “hard” lessons
I am always looking for a new set and continue to find fallen logs to be very successful - often over-night results - possibly the younger ones checking out something new
Not sure where these rat numbers are heading - but Predator Free NZ seems to be a long way off using traps and bait - we got 500 bird predators during 2017 and it looks like we will see that sort of number again this year
Quail numbers are looking good - several coveys of 50 or more - great to see them doing well

A good double yesterday with 2 hedgehogs


Changed out some rabbit that had done its dash for some chicken necks and bang.

Originally Posted by Sparrow

A good double yesterday with 2 hedgehogs
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Changed out some rabbit that had done its dash for some chicken necks and bang.

Minta !! Well done @Sparrow. Did the cat get a Morgan Score

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ha … would of done alright was the biggest Tom yet

Great double Sparrow - which is the worst predator - I would go for the ferret which is an indiscriminate killer - but both are ugly
I have been operating 5 Doc250s around the Park for nearly four years and never tripped up a mustilid - just hogs and rats - but yesterday was payback for our efforts
I always thought it was a good set - alongside a farm fence, bush on one side and nice grass on the other, plenty of rats, rabbits, Quail and Pheasants to eat - what more could a ferret want - well maybe some very manky “Chef” salmon and chicken cat tucker - or was she heading for the plastic eggs - when I am desperate - I will try anything - ironically I was ready to buy some chicken necks for a change
Also got three rats and a couple of Mates got five rats each - 215 pests so far this year

Love your guys work,i see that ritchie is trying those Victor traps. Victor with the white shroud are pretty good i reckon,they get that bar across the ears and lights out.