Boffa Miskell Ltd | Pest Animal Management Plan | Wharekirauponga Compensation Package | 30 May 2022 27 7.4 Trap preparation & deployment Before traps are deployed, all sharp edges on the wire entrance baffles of trap boxes need to be filed back to a smooth edge. This will reduce the likelihood of a target individual either avoiding the trap or entering the trap then backing out due to injury caused by any sharp edges and subsequently developing trap shyness. All traps need be test fired and checked for mechanical reliability prior to deployment. All DOC200 traps should have their triggers calibrated to 70 g to ensure weasels are also targeted. The factory trigger weight for DOC200 traps is reported as 80 g (Haworth, 2018) meaning that female weasels at the bottom end of the size range will likely not trigger them. How to calibrate the trigger weight of DOC traps is available on DOC’s YouTube channel DOCskillable (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11t9II2FpFk). Upon deployment, traps should be ground-truthed to ensure the most effective placement to maximise target catch. This refers to the placement of the trap within the environment at a scale of metres, which can have a dramatic impact on capture rates. For example, mustelids and other predators are attracted to cover and tend to avoid open spaces, so traps should be placed near cover such as under a tree or shrub where possible. The person deploying the traps must: • Ensure each trap is placed near cover; • Orient traps to allow easy entry; • Clear the entrance of vegetation and debris; • Check all traps to ensure they are good working condition before deployment; and • Record an accurate GPS location. 7.5 Lure types Lure types in kill and live capture traps depend on the target species: • Traps targeting rodents, mustelids, and hedgehogs (e.g. DOC series traps) should be baited with either Erayz, a hens’ egg and peanut butter and/or POAUKU long-life rat and stoat lures. In spring/summer (August to February inclusive), traps should be baited with fresh rabbit meat, or salted rabbit if fresh rabbit meat is not available, to better target mustelids. Other options include Eggsellent lure and fish, and for rats only, chocolate and macadamia nuts. • Traps targeting possums should be baited with fresh apple and peanut butter, and/or POAUKU long-life lures. If the trap type is unable to support a large bait (e.g. Trapinators), peanut butter is able to be used on its own. Cat biscuits can also be an effective lure and be used intermittently to diversify lure type over time. Other options include Eggsellent lure, smooth in a tube and possum dough. A white flour and icing sugar blaze can be placed on the tree trunk below tree-mounted possum traps to act as a visual lure. • Traps specifically targeting cats (i.e. SA2 Kat traps, Timms traps and cage traps) should be baited with a combination of salted rabbit, jelly meat, cat biscuits and/or fish. To maintain an effective trap network, all lures need to be replaced at least once per month, increasing to once per fortnight between August and March (inclusive), when frogs are more active. This aligns with the recommended trap serving schedule (Section 7.6). The lure type
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