Last week Predator Free NZ (PFNZ) released an annual wall planner to help you tailor your predator control to seasonal changes in the environment and maximise your effectiveness. Information includes what predators might be up to in your landscape at different times of the year including what trees are attractive to possums, when birds are breeding and much more.
Maybe not all of it is applicable to us here in Wainui, but it’s a really good start to help us think of what we should be doing, and when!
I particularly like:
- Jan/Web/March: Mustelid (ferret, stoat, weasel) juveniles have left the den, and populations peak. Consider increased trap servicing. ABSOLUTELY
- March – April: Major possum mating period for the year. Juveniles are dispersing. Opportunity to exploit promiscuity (use possum ‘night clubs’). Pulse bait in bait stations. Rebait and set kill traps.
- March – July: Rodent populations have started to increase exponentially. Good time to pulse bait.
- July – Dec: Feral cat breeding season begins, kittens in dens. Dumping of domestic kittens common at this time of year.
- July – Sept: Intensive rabbit shooting will reduce the survival of spring juveniles’, limiting mustelid and cat population increases.
- Sept – Oct: Second possum mate period, opportunity to exploit promiscuity (possum night-clubs); pulse bait in bait stations; rebait and set kill traps.
- Sept – Dec: Eggs common in the landscape, best time to use fresh egg baits in traps. Ensure the egg shell is horizontal on the nails. Dirty hen or duck eggs covered in poop are best.
- Nov – Dec: Mustelid (ferret, stoat, weasel) juveniles start leaving the nest — populations begin to peak. Consider increased trap servicing.
You can download a PDF of the calendar from our site here, or from PFNZ, where you can also buy prints for your wall.