Hunting rats in Wellington flats
Renters across the capital, including students and young professionals, have been united by a group known as Traplordz, which launched in June to target predators.
Founder Tait Burge said:
‘‘We have these native species here that need to thrive and for that to happen, people need to get involved.’’
Burge founded Traplordz with Hugo Reeve and Claudie Ramsden-Bradley.
Living on the south coast of Wellington, Burge said they were first concerned about the little blue penguin species. To date, they have 50 people signed up and have trapped 11 rats and three mustelids.
That haul would increase as the weather became warmer and more traps were given out, Burge said.
‘‘We didn’t realise how much interest was going to be around this project.
‘‘For us, it’s a really good result just getting these 50 traps out.’’
At Traplordz headquarters – a laundry shed in the backyard – Burge brews peanut butter bait.
In the backyard there’s a stack of trap boxes that have been painted by local street artist Dside.
Forty-two boxes were painted and numbered as an edition, so every flat would have a unique trap.
Burge said more artists were being lined up for future trap art.
When a new Traplord joins the ranks they receive everything they need for free. The starter pack includes a trap, a unique trap box, a guide and peanut butter bait.
Every week catch data is reported, from which Traplordz chooses a winner. The main focus was rats and mustelids, particularly in student areas like Aro Valley and areas surrounding the Zealandia wildlife sanctuary, Burge said.
Rats are not just an issue in student flats. Results from the capital’s annual rat census show rodent numbers have increased by 5 per cent.
This month, Predator Free 2050 committed $3.2 million to Predator Free Wellington and Capital Kiwi over five years, with the goal to make the capital city predator-free.