Trapping enthusiast moves to the best catchment
Warren doesn’t beat around the bush. This trait has gotten him in hot water a few times over the years, particularly in his previous senior management role in the health sector. So when he gets onto the topic of trapping there’s no holding him back. He’ll convince a possum that it’s a good idea to get trapping!
Warren and his wife bought their 1.13ha Motueka Valley property back in 2021 after developing a connection with the area through family holidays. He says he’s always wanted a lifestyle property, but one you don’t have to mow!
When they took possession of their little piece of paradise, Warren had the gorse removed which completely cloaked the hillside, and organised the planting of 2,300 natives. He purchased most plants from Westbank Natives, and some from Titoki. He also potted up seedlings to grow on, then bring back and plant out, and received some trees through Trees that Count. He’s planning to plant 300 – 400 more natives this year, then start building their house at the end end of the year to achieve his dream of living in the bush.
The natives are growing well, and there’s little sign of the gorse. There are also two small wetlands on his property and a spring that has crayfish (kōura) in it that he’s restoring. He says the spring flows with clean water all year which is a godsend.
Warren marvels at the native bird life here. Compared to Canterbury where he lives currently with zero native bush, he reckons the bird life in the Motueka Valley is phenomenal. This is his “why” that drives his passion and motivation for trapping – protecting our precious native creatures (watch the video) by getting rid of critters that don’t belong here and that do so much damage.
He is a BIG advocate for encouraging (firmly!) everyone to get behind the trapping effort and is hoping to convince his neighbours to put some traps out.
The uninhabited 9.5ha of trust land next to him is a mix of exotics, orchard, gorse and blackberry, and is a haven for animal pests. This is a big reason why he’s catching so many rats, possums and hedgehogs. As he says in the video:
“We really need to do something about tipping that balance. By not killing that hedgehog it might eat 40 wētā each week for it’s life. So we’re indirectly killing native animals”.
He’s gotten stuck into trapping on his property despite not living here yet. Because he’s not here all the time, the first trap he put in is a battery powered self re-setting trap from Autotraps that only needs to be checked every 6 months – perfect for an absent or busy landowner! It’s not cheap, costing a bit over $500 but it’s worth every penny according to Warren as it’s been catching good numbers of possums, rats and mice.
Warren has a pretty good trap network on his property now with 11 traps in total – one AT 220, 2 A24s, 5 DOC 200s and 2 rat tunnels, and he’s currently putting another few in. He says the ATT20s are a great trap, and as well as the intended possums, they also catch mice and rats. Pics and videos of the traps are shown below.
And he’s been very successful with his trapping efforts. Since late January he says the rats have come back in, and he’s catching plenty. Previous to this hedgehogs were the catch, and he caught around 16 hedgehogs prior to Christmas.
Warren has a few trapping tips for anyone wanting to get into trapping:
- You don’t need an extensive trap network to get started. Just put one out to start with and build from there.
- traps need seasoning first. Some guts, blood, rotting carcass, and food is a real plus and will mean you’ll catch more. New traps smell to new and foreign.
- peanut butter goes mouldy too quickly so isn’t the greatest bait unless you’re re-baiting often. You’re better to use tallow/dripping/raw beef.
- it’s often a good idea to have a few different traps clustered together as in the photo opposite. This can lead to more catches.
- It’s good to keep a record of your catches. If you don’t want to use trapnz, you can just record them in a simple spreadsheet.
- If possible do some camera monitoring too to find out what animal pests are doing. Warren said he thought hedgehogs were thick as two short planks, but he’s seen on camera that they sometimes don’t go into the trap. They just eat all the lure around the trap and right up to the start of the trap, and that’s smart. He’s changed how he’s set up the traps as a result.
This footage shows a hedgehog investigating one of Warren’s traps.
To avoid being too gruesome, this video doesn’t actually show the animal being trapped, but Warren can report that it has been recorded as one of his catches.
Warren is enjoying having a project to get stuck into after a head injury in 2023 which has meant he’s had to leave his job, and often leaves him tired and frustrated.
“Being outside pottering around on my land listening to the bird song is the perfect recovery time for me, and I’m even happier when I can see my trapping is going well. It’s so satisfying”.
Warren will certainly be a great person to have around once he moves here to help with the job of getting rid of animal pests from the Motueka catchment. We look forward to your arrival Warren!
The Pest Management Group of the Motueka Catchment Collective is currently having a big push to get the community trapping. If you’d like a subsidised trap or two, make sure you register your interest here – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G69JFGC. Jacob Lucas, member of this group and mate of Warren’s has this to say:
“Come on Motueka catchment community. Get stuck into trapping and you won’t regret it! If we all get behind the trapping effort imagine what the sound of birds will be like flying through the valley. Sign up for a trap or two now!”