I’m going to create a quick post about T-Rex/Tom Cat tips, so please contribute to it. The more tips and lure ideas, the better!
HI
Good idea is it worth talking to Traps to see how this can be organised so that valuable info doesn’t get lost over time,
Nothing but rain in Tauranga so I’m just writting pages of info on possum control using Kill traps basically everything thing learn’t over 3 years in a 1,000 hectare block, yes it does work , obviously people will have different ideas but there is a real shortage covering the basics and tricks tips available and frustration from groups that they are re inventing the wheel
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Hi again all, It was mentioned in this thread that it might be worthwhile approaching the “powers-that-be” to highlight our suggestions. I would be happy to coordinate this if I can garner the support of a couple of co-authors. The thrust of the letter would be to highlight where practical scientific support could be given to the pest control community, including research and advice for those closer to the coal-face, based on our combined experience. Any interest?
Hi the question would still be who to approach I suggested Predator Free before as they were set up to help groups and joe bloggs.
There is a heap of good info out there burried in Landcare reports just finding it is difficult they have a hopeless website to try and search for anything. DOC are fairly much a write off
I don’t know if it will go anywhere but a few months ago I revised my user firendly sentinel info sheet and sent a copy to Traps.co the reply from them was maybe they should create a section called resources which would be good as valuable info gets lost in forums. a couple of weeks ago I finally finished nine pages plus video on possum trapping using single set kill traps again I sent a copy to traps.co for possible use if they make a resources section but haven’t heard back
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I think a “Resources” section would be a good idea, but what goes in it would need to be controlled, otherwise you just end up with a mix of anecdotal stuff and well-researched material. The provision of Landcare reports should be possible where there are no commercial sensitivities. I was thinking the letter would go to Predator Free and whichever Minister is most closely connected/responsible.
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Just wanted to add my 2C into this discussion. Im developer of the F-Bomb, which has largely been a self-directed and funded development exercise. The funding landscape and perhaps priorities have changed significantly over the last 10 or so years in ‘conservation innovation’. Once upon a time DOC was the main player in town, and they undertook a great deal of independent field science and on-the-ground evaluation of the various tools and technologies that came along. Landcare research also did the same to a degree. DOC werent really a funder of technology according to them, but did seed fund Goodnature to the tune of $750k and have had their fingers in a few other pies. What has changed is the shift of a large chunk of government funding into Predator Free 2050 ltd - according to their annual report around 20% of conservation funding. Simultaneously DOC has pretty well stopped undertaking the independent field science type stuff around device efficacy in the field - this is something I have heard first hand from a senior scientist who used to undertake much of this work. PF2050 ltd, as far as I can tell looks to be chasing unicorns and operating on some pretty cosy terms with a few key players who they seem to fund over and over, and even fund without putting calls out for wider RFPs from the market - something a government department cant really get away with. We have tried to get funding for independent Field trials at scale undertaken through these channels but there doesnt appear to be the appetite (even though we are the first company in 20 years to achieve the highest level of NAWAC humane compliance for traps across 5 species - equivalent now to the DOC250 which is still considered the gold standard of traps in this country). As you can imagine the field science is rather expensive work - many hundreds of devices over wide area, long term trials comparitive against existing devices with a great many man hours, robust scientific method, planning and data collection etc etc. For my tiny business, we simply cant afford to do this stuff ourselves. In our development we have relied on anecdotal and small-scale trials to validate things and ensure we are heading in the right direction, but this does not have the weight of large independent trials, and rightly so. We now work with our bigger customers on data capture and try to at least get some scale to our trial work as its simply cost-prohibitive for us to fund this ourselves. For example we are involved in a circa 200 trap project in the Ruapehu area which is starting to see really compelling results in side x side evaluation at the moment. I dont imagine this situation will improve anytime soon with the change in government, so unfortunately you will have to trust that we, as a manufacturer have the best interests of conservation at-heart and are working every day to test, develop and validate things in a robust manner. Its not easy.
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Hi
funny that this should come up. Yesterday I had finally had enough of 2050 and the non practical way they operate and sent them an email which wasn’t easy have they don’t have a contact us on their website, probably so that pesky people don’t annoy them while they are in their Queen st office.
I made several points firstly why they have never asked community groups, councils etc what they actually need to do a better job, basically all our pest control tools are 20 years old and when did you ever see an upgraded mark 2 trap or bait station, probably only cost about 1 million to do that compared to the 100 million they have already given ZIP for what a DOC person told me was an unsustainable approach, if people knew how much Toxins had been thrown in there there would be an outcry.
Another point I raised was why they keep funding things that will never stack up on a cost to benefit last two in newsletter are good examples the ZIP rat tunnel already better options available ( I make one of them ) and the bait sensor at $190 each .
2050 don’t seem to look at what is actually needed they just fund what people put in front of them and yes it certainlly looks like there are some prefered companies regardless of if they have produced worthwhile results.
I make and develop several things like my possum excluder baffles, mods to make sentinel traps user friendly, better safety catches for DOC traps etc. I have developed a better user friendly possum kill trap which I have still not decided if I will put into production or not being a nobody chances of funding from the likes of 2050 to take it through testing won’t happen
The whole DOC involvement in Goodnature was a very sad afair which for legal reasons I can’t go into but heads should have rolled and some did very nicely out of it.
My big hope for 2050 is that the new government pull the plug on it and given even half of the funding back to other areas to develop better pest control tools. Hard to see how they can make good pest control decisions have a look at 2050 website at staff and nearly all are admin, communications or finance roles
have a good day
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Have you considered approaching pest control companies about your inventions?
You might be able to sell your designs to them, avoiding the hassles of developing and testing them on your own.
What about asking trappers and/or trapping groups to invest?
There are enough trappers in NZ, that even small individual investments could add up. Would I invest $100 (or more) in your attempt to put a new, better rat trap tunnel on the market? Hell, yes, I would.
If your inventions are as good as you claim they are, I want the opportunity to see them in action!
Cheers.
Hi there is a huge cost to take something like my possum trap from making a few and testing in the field to getting NAWAC cert and going into production, basically the payback per trap doesn’t stack up. all pest control companies want is something they can stick on the shelf, sell and make thier markup.
I have fairly much given up on The possum baffles I make which stop possums from stealing rat bait go in the philproof bait stations and allow you to carry out rat only operations or reverse and do possum and rat operations I have made thousands and people using them love them plus it significantly reduces bait used I have even sold them to DOC but getting manufacturers to accept something different is difficult. I have made Kea/ Weka versions to keep them out of bait stations worked great during trials but DOC would not get behind the idea because it was tooo different and they have no best practice etc for this type of thing.
One thing I brought up with the director general of DOC after they contacted me about some of my work on user friendly sentinel traps, was that what was needed was a system in DOC where people could submitt ideas or finished products for evaluation to DOC and if they agreed they had promise find a method to where the products could be developed, that idea didn’t go anywhere. One of the DOC managers who wished me luck with getting that accepted told me nobody really left in DOC Wellington who could evaluate anything anyway.
cheers
No promises, but I know somebody that is employed by a rich businessman that’s a conservationist. I’ll run the idea by him of seeing whether or not his boss might have any interest in investing in one or more of your inventions/products.
Cheers.
Hi Thanks I really appreciate the offer but at the moment please don’t ask for me as I hate to muck anyone around, at the moment I’m playing around with a couple of options to get a better user friendly possum trap available for people to use at a reasonable price, that may or may not come to anything but in a couple of months I will know more
have a good day
If industry proven contractors are not included within the discussion of PF2050 and collection of science the science collected may well be lacking a practical approach. If technologies are excluded research funding by clicky Conservation networks then communities will not enabled with funding to adopt more successful methology. If a technology used as per designers expectation has continually delivered similar results across larger landscapes over the last 10 years within field of professional implementation what is the point to need validation by scientists when capture data is available as reference showing to be over 425% more efficient than traps used in the same environment and 625% more effective over monthly return visits. Why are community groups wasting funding to deliver less captures using single acting hardware because they wish not afford one member a $250 per year CSL licence or employ a contractor?.
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Nice to see a proactive supporter! www.enviroMate100.co.nz
We experience your deleema, we started well in truely before PF2050 were limited by DOC because of over commitment into GoodNature the Green’s National Deal. Our enviroMate100 was commercialised without external State funding in 2017, has been used in the field since 2015 and applied in field research since conceptual design in 2010. Why would PF2050 Ltd exclude a tool that has delivered possum and rat absence in some landscapes from just $7.50 per hectare?