Since our group started in June 2022, our trapping efforts have led to a steady increase in possum catches, with November and December being our busiest months. As of November 2024, we’ve trapped over 1,180 possums, significantly helping protect our native wildlife.

We recently visited Matangi Primary and Pentagon Early Learning Centre to talk about pest control and trapping. The kids were really interested, asking great questions about how traps work and how we can protect our native wildlife from pests.

Tamahere is home to New Zealand's endangered long-tailed bats (pekapeka tou roa), vital for controlling insects and pollinating plants. To protect them, we must safeguard old trees, control pests, and preserve dark, green corridors amid threats from habitat loss and urbanisation.

Native bird activity in Hamilton’s gullies looks to be on the rise, with increased sightings of bellbirds and kereru in areas with strong conservation efforts. This highlights the need for us to continue and potentially ramp up our pest control and native planting in Tamahere to support these birds here as well

Our latest community event highlighted new NZ AutoTraps technology, including the advanced AT520-AI. We also celebrated our 6,000 pest milestone with another creative cake from Robyn Richardson.

Pulse baiting can be a useful way to control rats on larger properties, gullies and lifestyle blocks. Here’s when to bait, how to keep bait fresh and secure, and how to use bait stations safely.

For hard-to-reach areas like gullies and steep river banks, Philproof Bait Stations are an ideal choice due to their durability, weather resistance, and secure anchoring. Their tamper-proof design ensures bait stays protected, even in New Zealand’s toughest environments.

Did you know the PhilProof bait station is a local innovation by Phil Thomson? It represents many years of his dedication to conservation and has become a vital tool in pest management efforts

Our June 2024 monitoring revealed mixed results: while some areas show progress with lower rodent numbers, others, particularly public reserves, highlight the need for intensified pest control.

We’re excited to celebrate Predator Free Tamahere’s milestone of removing 5000 pests, with special thanks to Minh for his impressive contributions and Robyn for the delicious muffins—let’s keep up the great work and aim for 6000!

We’re ramping up our monitoring to fine-tune pest control and support native wildlife, so keep those trap reports coming—every detail helps us get smarter and more effective!

As planting season kicks off, let’s tackle invasive pampas grass, which unlike native toetoe, spreads quickly, shelters pests, and poses a fire risk—check Waikato Regional Council’s resources for tips on managing it!

Even with global stars like John Oliver and Leonardo DiCaprio shining a light on our native wildlife, we still face significant biodiversity challenges in NZ—every small action, from making our gardens bird-friendly to controlling pests, helps ensure our taonga species thrive for future generations.

Predator Free Tamahere is celebrating our second anniversary with the removal of 4500 pests, thanks to the dedication of our volunteers, supporters, and sponsors—here's to more years of working together for a thriving, predator-free Tamahere!

Dr. McGaughran’s inspiring talk on eDNA at our meeting showed how this cutting-edge technology can offer deeper insights into ecosystem health and guide our ongoing efforts to restore and protect local habitats.

Enjoying Sharon's delicious peach jam is a sweet reminder that our efforts to protect local wildlife and care for our gardens are truly making a difference.

We’re thrilled to launch our local Trap Library in Tamahere, offering residents the chance to test out various traps like NZautotrap AT220s and DOC200s before buying, helping everyone enhance their pest control efforts and protect our native wildlife!

Great news: we’ve received Flipping Timmy and BT200 traps thanks to generous anonymous donors and Give A Trap—these will be a huge boost to our Tamahere pest control efforts, and we’re thrilled with the support!

Exciting news: Predator Free Tamahere has received support from Radio New Zealand's "Critter of the Week" fundraiser, thanks to Amanda Banks’ pitch!

As 2023 wraps up, we celebrated hitting our goal of trapping 3000 pests with a party and cake, honoured our standout volunteers, and are excited to continue our mission to make Tamahere predator-free in the new year!