How can you help PFHC?

The Pest-free Hibiscus Coast Project offers several levels of participation, from trapping rats and possums, to volunteering or business sponsorship. Please select the option below that most suits you:

Record a trap catch

Possum trapping on your property

Predator control in your backyard

From 2020-2024 we have distributed nearly 2000 rat traps to residents across our community. 

We will be continuing this in 2024-5 but with a slight change to ensure we get the best outcomes for nature and offer the right support to our amazing local community.

If you are interested in doing predator control in your backyard:

1. Email us on pfhc@forestandbird.org.nz. Tell us where you live, your contact information and why you want to get involved. 
2. We will contact you to arrange a visit to your property, so we can provide you with the best tools and advice for your location. These will be provided free of charge on a short-term loan basis, to make sure you are happy with what you need to do. 
3. All traps we provide will be pet and child safe and humane tested.
4. Your commitment is to setting the traps regularly and recording any catches. 

Check the map below to find out if you live within our project area. If not, we can signpost you to one of the other local conservation group for support. 

Neighbourhood Groups & Community Volunteers

Wherever you live on the Hibiscus Coast, we’d love you help you start trapping together with your neighbours. Neighbourhood / street groups are popping up everywhere as people recognise how much more effective and satisfying it is to trap together. 

If you are interested in setting up a trapping network with your neighbours, get in touch with us and we will advise you on the best way to do this, discuss which pests you are targeting, and help you bring people together. 

Work at a school? We can also help you set up a trap line in your school grounds as part of our education programme. 

Community Volunteering:

We are looking for members of the community who are keen to get more involved, be it supporting your neighbourhood with their trapping, helping us record data or running events, there’s a role for everyone and we’d love to hear from you. 

Possum or Hedgehog Trap Library

Check out this video of Rhiannon explaining how our trap library works. 

Possums can cause huge damage to native forests, preventing tree growth , flowering and fruiting, as well as consuming native birds eggs and chicks. 

Hedgehogs pose a significant threat to our ground nesting birds such as the tūturiwhatu, New Zealand dotterel which nests on some of our local beaches. They can travel 2km in one night, and push the adults off the nests to eat the eggs, a scenario which can also happen in your chook house. In addition, they eat large amounts of invertebrates, competing with native birds, consuming as much as 160g in just one night, a diet that includes our native wētā.

Contact Rhiannon Thomas on r.thomas@forestandbird.org.nz to borrow a humane, easy to use trap for 6 weeks. (Only available to residents within our project area.)

Live in the area and already have a trap or bait station?

Join our project! Register with us and let us know where you are and when you catch something or get bait taken, we can also provide you with advice on how to increase your catch rate.

Find out more about the Pest Free Hibiscus Coast Project in our latest Forest & Bird magazine article here: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/making-difference

Pest Free Hibiscus Coast is currently supported by grants from the following, as well as some of Forest & Bird’s corporate partners. 

Auckland Council, Foundation North, Hibiscus & Bays Local Board.

We are in need of additional financial support for this project, so if you would like to discuss how your business can help, please contact Project Manager Jenny Hanwell.