Category: Planting and management

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Good Nature Traps

My Good Nature A24
My Good Nature A24

July 23 2014
Installed Good Nature A24 trap

August 6 2014
3 strikes recored no dead rats nearby

September 6 2014
5 strikes recorded no dead rats

November 5 2014
Replaced lure in trap

December 3 2014
Still says 5 strikes, replaced gas canister, tested (6 strikes)

December 10 2014
Gas canister says 7 strikes, no dead rat

December 17 2014
Gas canister says 9 strikes, still no dead rats

Good Nature Test Results

Early test correlates strikes more closely with canister replacement than lure replacement. Bodies may be removed by other predators, tho disposed bodies from other traps on this line tend to stay around. Strike counter checked weekly.

January 23 2015
Gas canister says 11 strikes, 1 dead rat!
Dead Rat

19 September 2015
Reset lure and new canister 3 weeks ago, 3 recorded kills – two rats and one mouse body lying on the ground! So awesome.

13 November 2016
I have had a look at my last two seasons of data and the A24 trap is outperforming my victor rat traps at 4 kills to one just based on the body counts. If I counted strikes (assuming bodies were being removed) then it might be even eight times more effective.

Great product, definitely worth the extra money. Go buy one.

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Two things about signs

Graffiti guard is awesome, I just wiped the graffiti off this ACM sign with a glove.
Graffiti guard is awesome, I just wiped the graffiti off this ACM sign with a glove.
These roofing nails with rubber washers work great on corflute signs.
These roofing nails with rubber washers work great on corflute signs.
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My Brothers awesome diet

"Hayden has gone from eating meat from the supermarket to now only consuming "pest" meats of New Zealand. Pest meats are not roadkill, but instead wild, introduced animals which are damaging our native environment; things like deer, rabbits, pigs and goats."
“Hayden has gone from eating meat from the supermarket to now only consuming “pest” meats of New Zealand. Pest meats are not roadkill, but instead wild, introduced animals which are damaging our native environment; things like deer, rabbits, pigs and goats.”

Full article on the NZ Herald

Pest meat! Unfortunately there does not seem to be a market for the rats and Possums I catch… fertiliser?

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Things Aucklanders can do to help the Hauraki Gulf

Inspired by some recent conversations, I put together this list (in no particular order).

Things Aucklanders can do to help the Hauraki Gulf

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Pohutukawa

Cloning Pohutukawa makes sense if you’re breeding them for a specific purpose. In my case erosion control. I just want Pohutukawa that are great at holding onto cliffs.

Pots

This cloned Pohutukawa worked. The one in the black pot had no rooting hormone and failed. This was my second try, the trick is to snip between the hard & soft wood.
This cloned Pohutukawa worked. The one in the black pot had no rooting hormone and failed. This was my second try, the trick is to snip between the hard & soft wood.

It’s growing slowly tho. While my seedlings are doing great.

About 400 trees, many of them ready for planting.
About 400 trees, many of them ready for planting.

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Pest Monitoring

Monitoring Tunnel (S6) Selwyn Bush 24 March 2114

Monitoring cards Selwyn Bush March 2014
Monitoring cards Selwyn Bush March 2014

Selwyn Map

MY IDs: Using this guide
S1 –
S2 Rat
S3 Rat & Hedgehog
S4 Hedgehog
S5 Mouse
S6 Mouse & Rat (confirmed by Camera Trap)
S7 –
S8 Rat
S9 Rat
S10 –

This gives us a an Autumn result for 2014 of 56% Rat, 22% Mice, and 22% Hedgehog.

Wax Tags
Wax Tags Small
These are only ones with marks, note S10 had no wax tag. I assume because of the ink markings and camera data they were both mouthed by rats. I am surprised there is any wax left on S6 given the amount of times the rats ran unto/past the tag (camera observations). On further inspection I think S6 is the only conclusive rat bite. Next time we should leave these out for 7 nights.