Trapping together in Kaikorai Valley

We had new and experienced trappers come and learn some new skills at our AKV trapping workshop last week. It’s really exciting to have new trappers come on board, and we really appreciated the camaraderie of our regular trappers.

Here are three of the trapping tips that were shared on the day:

• On a black D-Rat trap, or a wooden victor trap, put the bait in the little well. Don’t put it around the treadle, as you want the rat to be correctly positioned for the trap to be activated.

• There are a lot of things to remember with trapping, but as you do it more and more, you find you get into a rhythm of it.

• Always make a record on trap.nz when you change the bait on a trap, even if you don’t catch anything. This information is used in multiple ways, not just counting how many catches we get. For example, if a trap is being serviced regularly but isn’t catching anything, we know that it’s being looked after and not just abandoned. We then might consider moving the trap to a new location.

It’s important to keep your trapping knowledge up to date. If you’d like to have a refresher session, or if you’re curious about trapping and aren’t sure where to start, you can come to one of three other tutorials we’re running before the end of the year. Our next trapping workshop will be at 10am on Saturday 20 June. You can RSVP here: Trapping Workshop - June