Why a bit of effort now can help the birds later in the year

It's coming up to a time of year when what we do now can make a big impact on the upcoming bird breeding season and really make a positive change. Decreasing pest populations in July/August is proven to have significant impacts for the better come spring, now is a good time to make a big dent in all pest population numbers.

Rodents are cold and hungry, We can now knock down that population spike from March, while they are closer to homes and baits are more appealing in their desperate hungry state. Mustelids and Possums are also feeling the pressure from the colder weather making them easier to entice to traps.

Rabbits are also best to target intensively this time of year to reduce survival of spring juveniles, lowering rabbit numbers now means mustelids and feral cats have less of a food source later on, this then can lower breeding success of both apex predators.

Start preparing now, what we do in the next few months does make a difference for the birds and remember to log your catches on trapnz!

What are Pests doing in the month of July?

• Cat breeding season begins and continues to November, domestic kitten dumping increases over this time. Protect your own cats by getting them desexed and keeping them close and safe from the roaming feral cats

• Rodents still at risk of invading homes and structures, continue to be vigilant with baiting and checking traps, Mid-July natural food sources reach their lowest so prepare to ramp up efforts to take advantage of this. decreasing rodent populations during this period can directly relate to bird breeding success later in the year, pair your rodent control with possum control to further increase the baby birds chances.

• Good time to begin rabbit control

• Clean your DOC200 traps and get them out in preparation for spring bird breeding season, the cooler weather means fresh meat (a favorite bait) will keep longer