Pest Free Greenhithe

27/05/2026

Come and join Louis & Brianna tomorrow evening. We have some interesting videos to show you of what could be happening in your backyard at night.

Louis & Brianna will be talking all things trapping this Thursday evening, 7.30 pm - 8.30pm at 12 Greenhithe Road (small community hall)! Come along and find out how the Pest Free Greenhithe projects are tracking. How can we catch those stoats roaming our community? Tips and tricks on catching rats, possums and stoats will be shared. Find out how you can get involved. Light refreshments will be provided. Email [email protected] for more information.

21/05/2026

🟫 Chewcard monitoring is happening throughout reserves in Greenhithe this month. These cards will be left out for at least 5 nights & help give us an indication of how our pest animal control is working.
🐀Predators will nibble on the peanut butter filled cards & leave behind bite marks, which, and with a bit of detective work, we can work out what predator had a snack. 🔍🌿 Reach out if you would like some chewcards for your trapline .. or backyard.

19/05/2026

Did you know there are three species of rat in NZ? They all have furry bodies and short legs, but their body size and tail length varies.
Ship and Norway rats are the ones we're most likely to encounter, with ship rats being more common, dominating forests. Norway rats are more likely to be found around urban areas and waterways.
Ship rats eat seeds, fruit & can have a sweet tooth, so mix up your lures (think nutella, peanut butter, apple, nuts with a sweetner) if you're wanting to catch ship rats.
Norway rats tend to prefer meat based proteins, so if you've just been using peanut butter, you won't catch many. Cooked bacon, fish oil, pet food, or rabbit can help lure Norway rats.
Read this Predator Free NZ article for more great tips!

Aotearoa New Zealand has three rat species with similar looks but different behaviours. Knowing which makes your predator control more effective.

14/05/2026

Oh no - yep rats do like waterways. If you trap along a waterway, thank you for keeping up your efforts. It's īnanga spawning season & their eggs make tasty treats for rodents. Reach out if you can help out.

12/05/2026

Outlook Reserve was the place to be on Saturday! 🌞🌿
We kicked things off with some solid mahi controlling wild ginger along the streamside, thank you to everyone who rolled up their sleeves. 💚🌿
Then a few intrepids joined Louis for a Walk A Trapline, checking and resetting traps and adding fresh eggs to tempt those elusive stoats. 🥚🪤
Despite several sightings, we’re still waiting on our first stoat catch of the year. The mystery continues… 👀🐾

07/05/2026

🎉 We’ve crunched the numbers… and a huge 214 pest animals were caught/recorded in April!
Amazing work, Pest Free Greenhithe whānau 🌿💚
As we head into winter, keep setting and resetting those traps, together we can stay on top of pests in our neighbourhood 🐀🦊
Need more bait, traps or gear?
📍 Pop by the shed today - 12 Greenhithe Road
🕟 4.30pm–5.30pm
Louis will be there to help you out 🙌

01/05/2026

⚠️ Stoat caught on camera in Greenhithe
Warning, this isn’t a cute wildlife clip. This is real, and it happened here in Greenhithe.
A stoat was filmed taking a chicken egg after several attempts. Next time it could be a native bird’s egg, and chances are, it already has been.
Stoats actively forage during the day and run on a constant cycle of hunting → eating → sleeping. They’re relentless, fast, and incredibly destructive to our native wildlife.
What you can do:
Keep your traps well maintained
Refresh bait regularly with something attractive
Clear entrances and keep trap sites tidy
Check your trapline often, every check helps
This is a community‑wide effort. Every trap checked, every lure refreshed, every sighting reported makes a difference.
Let’s get this stoat, and its friends, before more native wildlife is lost.
Thanks to our Eco Champion who caught this footage and shared it with us.