Thread: Bird Predator Control

@time out good job on the stoat, peanut butter

Same thing is happening here with the wet and mouldy boxes, bit hard to avoid it seems at this time of the year.

I reckon its ants cleaning up my GN possum paste, its not rain as all of my traps are in boxes, the paste isn't lasting long - only a couple of days.
I seem to be finding ants everywhere at the moment, inside plant covers, trap boxes, rotten logs etc.

One thing I did try the other day was just a piece of apple in a few of the boxes, I've got one of those possum masters and the rats keep eating the apple in it b4 a possum comes along.
Maybe it wont get so mouldy... we will see.

Would be really interesting to know what was getting those rats, I've seen a few like that also.
You got a spare timms you can put up there with a rabbit leg !?!

Keep up the good work always enjoy your posts.

My most prolific rat kill sites round the farm are Snap traps on post stays - leave them open or cover them to prevent bird strike
When a rat gets snapped on a stay - he gets really pissed off - and it runs down the stay - next time a rat or a stoat walks past - he will go up the stay to check out that delicious smell - sweeten up his experience with some Goodnature “Possum Paste”, Connovation “Smooth in a Tube” or Peanut Butter, stoats seem to like them all on the trap - Possum Paste is best in wet conditions as it won’t go mouldy
I got a rat on a stay last Wednesday and it had been chewed - maybe rat eating rat? - but on Saturday I got a stoat on the same stay - so maybe he or his family had been chewing out the rat
I had to cut off his tail to make him look bigger @Dundee - I didn’t know they made them this small - but I will take them any size

Excellent stuff

Im not a 100% on it but reckon that first little one could be a weasel. (short tail and it doesn't appear to have a black tip, also being much smaller)
You can clearly see the black tip on the stoats tail in that last photo.
Someone who is better at id than me might be able to confirm.

Either way its a great catch and good for the swamp comp !!
I was looking up the weasel a while ago on the nizzel and remember reading that they are hugely detrimental to invertebrate populations having wiped out some colonies of lizards and weta etc.
@time out I checked the A24s I installed on ramps last week one of them had 7 strikes, I was blown away. The ramps defiantly work!!
Cheers, looks like ill have to get a few traps on some stays too

Victory!!! Finally got this big sucker tonight, me and the mighty Jack Russell have been chasing it ( hopefully same one although not confident ) for over a week, Lou dog finally caught it in a culvert and dispatched it, Job done for now

You guys have inspired me, so i Started trapping at home and have got one rat so far and a mouse yesterday, I really enjoy it and think i want to do more around my area, we have quite a few large duck ponds on council property should I try have a yack with someone at council about setting traps?

Originally Posted by Blisters

You guys have inspired me, so i Started trapping at home and have got one rat so far and a mouse yesterday, I really enjoy it and think i want to do more around my area, we have quite a few large duck ponds on council property should I try have a yack with someone at council about setting traps?
Attachment 74576

Just get out there and do it with some victors

Victors have to be the lowest cost option Guys - this supplier has the best price I know of -
https://www.deadrat.co.nz/shop-%26-o...sPage=t/victor
I prefer the Snap-E trap for ease of use - but the triggers can fail - but easy to replace and the above suppler offers them free
Some of my trapping Mates are gun-shy and wont handle the Victor or the Gorilla - the Gorilla is very powerful but is a mongrel trap that is hard to set if wet or high humidity
The amazing thing about a Victor is they just keep on killing - mice, rats, hogs and stoats - gives them a rush of blood to the head and prepares them for the next meal

I really like the concept of the ALPs in the Goodnature (GN) A24 traps - but I have had very little success with the chocolate lure in the ALPs - I am sure it is fine if the rats are close to the trap, but it seems to have very little pulling power if rat numbers are low and the rats are a bit further away from the trap
I have removed all of the chocolate ALPs from our A24s at the Park and have replaced them with possum paste (PP) lure containers made for the A12 possum traps - I have also mixed in some olive oil to ensure they dribble down the barrel - I have had some success but I don’t think they will be as good as having an ALP pumping out the PP
I have now converted the chocolate ALPs to PP and have been installing them in A24s around the Park - a bit early to report on success yet but they must be better than an open vented lure bottle made for the A12s
The conversion process is simple - gently squeeze the chocolate out of the ALP and refill with PP from a standard pouch - the tube on the pouch fits nicely into the neck of the ALP so no mess - just inflate it to about what they look like from GN - put the cap on and you are ready to go
The conversion will allow the ALP to gently pump out PP over the next few months - I accept that the consistency of PP is different to the consistency of chocolate - so it may separate and leave me with a dry blob of PP in the ALP - but it is worth a try - I now have a heap of chocolate lure to sweeten up with something - I might use cinnamon or aniseed
I have advised GN of what I am doing - they are keen to get some feedback - I will let you know how it goes

Thanks guys I have bought 20 victors and will see what I can do to the local rat population

Originally Posted by Blisters

Thanks guys I have bought 20 victors and will see what I can do to the local rat population

How things going @Blisters?

Four hours and 9000 steps - checked about forty rat traps and 15 possum traps this morning - never saw a single rat - but one less tree climbing nest wrecker on my favorite log - bird predators are getting harder to find

First ferret caught in a doc 200 at the duck pond

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First ferret caught in a doc 200 at the duck pond

Great stuff @FatLabrador that's a bloody good catch at any duck pond keep the tail, one for the swamp comp !!

Also @time out great thinking with filling those ALPs, pretty hard to come by the old plastic containers.
I ended up just buying the A12 possum refills and putting them in the A24s, it added up tho !!

Any idea why GN can't just put possum paste in an ALP ??

A farm report - it took me a month to get this one - I saw it slope off one day and it was a bit quick for me to get it lined up - put the dog through the area but it didn’t flush - I pulled in three cages from around the farm - kept the rabbit parts fresh and even tried out sardines - but nothing worked - but they usually make a mistake and yesterday was the day - sadly it was a mother cat with milk - so months more work ahead to catch the rest of them
I have left lots of rabbits around, so flying and land based predators have plenty of options - a few rats and hogs keep on coming out



Not sure what is killing these young pheasants - but it is not eating them - seen a few lately