Finding out what pests are at your place is not always easy. Many pest animals are active at night – such as rats, possums and stoats. They can be hard to spot during the day.
Tracking tunnels
Tracking tunnels are a great way to see if there are any animal pests running around your place.
Tracking tunnels consist of a tunnel placed on the ground with an ink pad, white paper and some food to entice animals to walk through.
- Peanut butter bait will attract rats and mice.
- Meat or a raw egg will attract ferrets, stoats and hedgehogs
As the animals walk through the tunnel, their inky paws leave footprints on the paper. You can then see what’s walked through during the night.
The Kiwi Conservation Club has great instructions for making your own tracking tunnel: www.kcc.org.nz/how-make-tracking-tunnel
Checking your footprints
See our Footprint ID card (PDF, 485.07 kB) to see what walked through your tracking tunnel.
Who am I? Activity Cards
Who am I? (PDF, 1.26 MB) - Help Fantail find out who his enemies are.
Learn more about the animal pests found in Otatara. You’ll also learn about what the Otatara Landcare Group is doing to control pests at Bushy Point.