A pest-free garden will allow the native species in your garden to thrive. Below is a quick step-by-step guide on how to eliminate these nasties
1 Use Timms traps for catching rats and possums.
2 Use DOC 200 traps for stoats, rats and hedgehogs. Hedgehogs do not deserve their Mrs Tiggy-winkle reputation since they eat eggs and chicks of birds that nest on the ground.
3 Put bait stations on posts or trees a metre off the ground to stop dogs accidentally coming into contact with bait.
4 Use Brodifacoum bait for rats and possums and RatAbate for rats.
5 Check traps at least once a week. Check and top up bait stations every two days initially.
6 Try a self-setting trap to catch rats and stoats from Goodnature. A possum trap is being trialled. See www.goodnature.co.nz
7 Complete an NZQA course on pest control. See www.nzqa.govt.nz
8 Plant flowering native plants to attract native birds.
9 Put a bird feeder in your garden to top up the food your plants provide.
Find out about one man's mission to create a pest-free garden
