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http://www.wildernessmag.co.nzCOLUMNISTSPamHutton,SarahMay
Little,MaddyBellcroft,HeatherGrady,
MeganSety,MattWinter,MarkWilsonCONTRIBUTORSGeorgeDriver,Pat
Barrett,DaveMitchell,ZhiYuenYap,Neil
Silverwood,DavidBarnes,JoStilwell,
KathyOmblerEDITORAlistairHall
[email protected]DEPUTYEDITORMatthewCattin
[email protected]ARTANDDESIGNPelinHall
[email protected]ROVINGEDITORShaunBarnett
[email protected]
ADVERTISINGSALES
CherieFinal
[email protected]
PUBLISHERDavidHallSUBSCRIPTIONS
AndreaCowan
[email protected]
MandyMattison
[email protected]E-newsletter
Togetthelatestin
outdoornews,gear
andthelatesttrip
recommendations
headtoourwebsite
andsignuptothe
WildernessWeekly
newsletterA goodratisa trappedrat
THANKSTOmycolleagueMatthew,I nowhavea
woodenboxinmygardenhousinga rattrap.Baited
withpeanutbutter,it’sprimedtocomedownhardon
anyratthatpokesitsheadin.
Unfortunately– andtothedismayofmydaughter,
ZKRFKHFNVLW ĆUVWWKLQJHYHU\PRUQLQJå ZHKDYH\HW
tocatcha rat.Matt,ontheotherhand,hascaught
four.It’snota competition.
Intheweeksinceweboughtthetrap,inspiredby
Matt’sstory‘Beginningthebackyardbattle’which
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ourkills.It’salwaysthesame:“It’sempty!”(Though
onedayshesaid“Ants!Thereareantsinthetrap!”It
seemstheylikepeanut
butter,too.)
Intruth,I don’texpect
tocatchmanyrats.We
livenextdoortothelocal
primaryschoolwhichhas
alsobeenrunninga trappingoperation,eliminating 16
ratsfromtheareainthepastfewmonths.
Ourtrapincreasesthebufferslightly.Italsogives
mydaughtera chancetoparticipateinpredatorcon-
trolherself.I hopeherparticipationnowwillleadtoa
lifetimeofcommittedbackyardrattrapping.Forthat
tohappen,weprobablyneedtocatchatleastone.
SoI’mconsideringborrowingMatt’snextkilltoputin
ourtrap.That’llkeephermotivated.
It’sessentialshegetsintoitifthePredatorFree
2050 goalistohaveanychanceofsuccess.It’sno
goodrelyingonotherstoeliminaterats,possumsand
otherbird-munchingpredatorsfromthecountry.One
ratinonegardencanundoallthehardwork.Andwith
a mega-mastseedingeventoccurringrightnow(see
p13),therewillsoonbemoreratsthanever.
$QGWUDSSLQJZRUNV:HèYHEHHQWKHEHQHĆFLDULHV
oftheschool’srat-catchingeffortswithtui,fantail/
piwakawakaandevensilvereyevisitingourgarden.
Itmakesa changefromthedoves,sparrowsandmy-
naswe’reusedto.
Matt’sdonehisbitandwe’retryingtodoours.
Haveyoudoneyours?
lCONSUMER SPECIAL INTEREST BEST MAGAZINE, EDITOR AND JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
- Magazine Publishers Association Magazine Awards
 
ARE YOU TRAPPING PREDATORS?
I’d love to hear how much success you’ve had.
Contribute to our letters page by emailing me
at [email protected]We’re conductin
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We’ve got some
for grabs, too.- AlistairHal
 
gourannualreader
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neat prizes upReader
Survey!