NPCA NEWS
National Pest Control Agencies Newsletter
In This Issue

Qualifications review

Training courses
2.
VTA question

Animal welfare

NETS 2014 highlights
7.
Sodium nitrite
NPCA provides a forum for agencies
and stakeholders involved in vertebrate pest control to co-operatively
address industry issues, share information, develop best practice and
promote training / professional development.
Any individual or organisation engaged in the vertebrate pest control
industry is eligible for membership.
The NPCA is run by a management
committee of six people and a National Co-ordinator.
Management committee:
Brent Rohloff (Chairperson),
OSPRI New Zealand
Steve Ellis, Local Government New
Zealand
Bruce Warburton, Landcare
Research
Martin Brenstrum, Contractor
Sherman Smith, Ministry for
Primary Industries
Nick Poutu, Department of
Conservation
National Coordinator:
Maurice Kennedy
September 2014, Issue No 32
Note your Diaries
Advance notice of AGM & Pest Detective demo
Hear about NPCA’s work and have a say on planning NPCA’s programme and
priorities for the 2015 year.
Then, see a demonstration of the new Pest Detective website, which NPCA is
currently developing.
The website will be an interactive
field guide to help people in New
Zealand identify the presence of
pest animal species. It is aimed at
a wide audience, from those in the
pest control industry to community
groups, and will be accessible on
mobile devices to enable use in
the field.
When
25th November 2014

1:00 pm: AGM

3:00 pm: Pest Detective
demo
Venue:
Boardroom,
OSPRI New Zealand,
Level 9, 15 Willeston Street,
Wellington.
Next NETS: 2015, in Dunedin
The NETS2015 planning committee, including two NPCA representatives,
has already met.
The next National Education and Training vertebrate pest trend monitoring, and
Seminar (NETS) will be:
work shops on current issues in animal
pest monitoring methods.

26 – 28 August
We’re working on programme ideas to

Otago University campus.
put forward to the planning committee
and welcome suggestions, especially
Even though NETS2014 was a big
from contractors and practitioners. We
success (see page 3) and attracted
more than 250 delegates, there is still want to know what you are interested
in and what sorts of session formats
room for improvement and NPCA is
you favour (e.g. talks, workshops,
targeting two areas for NETS2015:
practical demonstrations etc.)
1) attract more contractors and
practitioners to attend
Let us know your thoughts and
suggestions by contacting NPCA.
2) include more training content.
Email: [email protected] or phone
04 499 7559.
Possibilities for training include Controlled Substances Licensing (CSL),
National Pest Control Agencies, PO Box 11461, Wellington 6142.
Tel (04) 499 7559, Fax (04) 473 7991, Email: [email protected], Website: www.npca.org.nz
NPCA Newsletter September 2014, Issue No 32
Training and Qualifications
New Zealand Certificate in Pest Management
In the last NPCA Newsletter (see p.3,
Issue 31) we outlined the review of
pest management qualifications that
has been undertaken since 2012.
The proposed qualifications were submitted to the New Zealand Qualifica-
tions Authority for approval several
months ago and sign-off is still being
awaited.
NPCA will keep members informed on
developments.
Unit standards available for accredited monitors
Possum monitoring operators accredited under the NPCA-administered
accreditation scheme are eligible to have their course unit standard credits
formally recognised.
Discussions with Primary ITO are
continuing on the process for making
an application for recognition. When
that is finalised, monitors will be contacted individually to gauge their interest.
The four unit standards involved cover:
 carrying out a possum monitoring
operation;
 describing monitoring in terms of
the RTC index methodology;
 using a GPS; and
 describing possum biology.
The four unit standards will amount to
24 credits – more than half the credits
required to gain the national certificate.
In the future it is possible that the national
Remaining monitoring
courses in 2014
People wishing to undertake
contract monitoring work are
required to have a current monitoring accreditation.
Subject to minimum numbers of
registrations, remaining accreditation training courses planned this
year are:
 14-15 October, Palmerston
North, and
qualification will be required for contract monitoring work. Currently, the
requirement is the NPCA monitoring
course and accreditation as an approved operator.
 11-12 November, Nelson.
At present, 285 monitors are accredited on NPCA’s approved operator
monitoring database. These are field
operatives accredited for the leg-hold
trap catch and waxtag monitoring
methods, and designers.
Monitoring courses can also be run
in other regional locations on request
provided suitable field and classroom facilities can be arranged.
A further 36 people have completed
the additional on-job assessment and
have had the related unit standard
credits recognised towards the national
Certificate in Pest Management.
Monitors are advised to contact
NPCA direct for further information.
Check out www.npca.org.nz for
more information about the course
and how to register.
A successful field operative course
with 15 participants was organised
along these lines and run in Opotiki
at the end of July for the Department of Conservation.
Contact NPCA for further information.
VTA issue
NPCA is following up on a question that has been raised by approved handlers in regard to the tracking requirements of Vertebrate Toxic Agents.
It relates to the situation where the
baits contained in a single uniquely
numbered package are used on more
than one property and by more than one
approved handler. This situation may
well arise where several approved
handlers are working together to
check and top up bait stations on
several properties within an area
where pest control is being managed
collectively.
Is it acceptable practice for the bait
package to be signed out to just one
of the approved handlers, who takes
responsibility for recording the bait
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deployment to the specific properties?
Or, are more detailed records required
to track the distribution of baits against
each of the approved handlers and
the properties? This second approach
involves considerably more timeconsuming tracking entries to be
recorded.
Ultimately, the approach must meet
the legal requirements to be able to
track the contents of every uniquely
numbered VTA package over its full
life cycle.
NPCA is seeking guidance from the
Environmental Protection Authority
and others, and will notify members of
the outcome.
The question will also be clarified in
the current review of NPCA’s publication Vertebrate Toxic Agents - Minimum requirements for the safe use
and handling of vertebrate toxic
agents (Publication Code B2).
Feedback from monitoring practitioners, including contracting companies, is welcome. Email NPCA or
phone 04 499 7559.
NPCA Newsletter September 2014, Issue No 32
NETS 2014: ‘Like No Other’
This year’s NETS (National Education and Training Seminar) was a resounding success. More than 250 delegates
at the three-day event in New Plymouth saw a wide range of presentations on research, development and field
operations; went on field trips and, above all, made the most of the opportunities to meet up, swap ideas and
socialise with colleagues from all around the country. It was also pleasing to see the next generation represented
through a number of student research project presentations, often carried out in collaboration between tertiary
education providers, private companies and public agencies.
For those who were unable to attend, a brief summary of the vertebrate pest presentations follows.
Animal Welfare Amendment Bill update
Kate Littin, Manager, Standards Programme, Animal Welfare, gave an update at NETS2014 on the Animal Welfare
Amendment Act Bill and here provides a summary of her talk.
The Primary Production Select Committee finished its deliberations on the
Animal Welfare Amendment Bill in
June. The timing isn’t known yet for it
to proceed through to being issued.
The Select Committee recommended
some changes to the Bill – none of
which relate to pest management.
The main changes include recognition
of the sentience of animals, fuller
consultation with affected stakeholders
in the development of regulations,
conditions to manage animal welfare
following overseas export, providing a
maximum of ten years for transition
away from practices that do not meet
Animal Welfare Act obligations (e.g.
sow stalls), and criteria for guiding
decisions on whether a painful or
surgical procedure ought to be carried
MPI and the National Animal Welfare
Advisory Committee (NAWAC) are
The Select Committee’s report back
encouraging sector groups to establish
detailing the changes it has made to
and document their own guidance on
the Bill can be found on the New Zea- ‘generally accepted practice’, to avoid
land Parliament website in the section having reasonable, ‘generally accepton Bills and the advice MPI provided to ed’ pest management practices from
the Select Committee during its delib- being unfairly targeted.
eration can be found in the Committee
We see best practice documents, such
documents section.
as the NPCA’s best practice guidelines
You’ll be aware by now that the Bill will for controlling and monitoring verteclarify that reckless and wilful illbrate pests, as a great place to start.
treatment against ‘animals in a wild
We’ll be working on this with the NPCA
state’, pests and wild animals can be
and other groups towards the end of
prosecuted as an offence. Following
the year.
‘generally accepted practice’ can be a
In the meantime, you can contact
defence to such a prosecution. This
[email protected] if you
means that it will be up the court to
decide, in any such case, what is gen- have questions.
erally accepted practice and whether a
particular act falls within it.
out by a veterinarian.
Anticoagulant residues in the environment
Presenter: Penny Fisher, Landcare
Research, Lincoln
mental residues of anticoagulant
VTAs.
The anticoagulant vertebrate toxic
agents (VTA) play an important role in
pest management, particularly in rodent
control.
Penny Fisher spoke about the increasing
evidence that these VTA uses are
resulting in exposure of some terrestrial wildlife to anticoagulants through a
number of pathways. Examples include
residues found in liver tissue from
harrier hawks and little blue penguins.
There are relatively few regulatory
restrictions on their use in New Zealand for both urban rodent control and
ground-based field management of
rodents and possums. Currently, the
relative quantities of VTA products sold
over the counter for urban rodent control
versus the quantities sold for field pest
management is not known. Hence it is
difficult to determine which use patterns
are most likely to contribute to environ-
Recent monitoring undertaken in
Southland waterways shows that
anticoagulant residues are also occurring in aquatic sediment and in some
freshwater fish, although at relatively
low frequency and concentration.
Further investigation of the pathways
by which anticoagulant VTAs can
enter aquatic systems would be useful
to further quantify health risks.
Ship rat (Rattus rattus)
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NPCA Newsletter September 2014, Issue No 32
Camera traps for monitoring pest animals
Presenter: Al Glen, Landcare
Research, Lincoln
Camera trapping (photographing pest
animals using onsite installed cameras) could be a cost-effective way of
monitoring pest animal abundance for
pest control operational purposes.
Al Glen spoke about trials to assess
their effectiveness in detecting rare
and cryptic species that can be difficult
to detect, especially when in low numbers.
Until recently, camera trapping has
been used mainly for large species.
images. For instance, various lures
were used to attract the animals within
focal range, given that small animals
need to be photographed quite close
up for identification. The trigger mechanisms, camera speeds and flash units
(for night-time monitoring) were other
factors that affected the quality of the
images but could also affect the possibility of frightening the target animals.
In field trials, the capture rates of cats and
hedgehogs were higher with cameras
than with kill traps. Comparisons for
stoats were inconclusive due to a low
number of detections.
Al’s main recommendations at this stage
are to use cameras with an infrared
flash as these seem less likely to
frighten animals. (Although the infrared
flash is still visible it is probably less
obvious than a white flash). Placing a
scent lure about 1.5 m in front of the
camera encourages animals to pause
long enough to be photographed clearly
with infrared lighting even though
picture quality is generally lower than
with a white flash.
Landcare Research conducted captive
trials and field trials using camera traps
to detect stoats (Mustela erminea),
feral cats (Felis catus) and hedgehogs
(Erinaceus europaeus).
Camera trapping detected all three of
these species, both in captivity and in
the wild.
A number of factors were tested in
relation to first, ‘catching’ the animals
on camera and then being able to
reliably recognise the species from the
Camera trapping captures a cat under infrared lighting (left) and a stoat under
white flash lighting (right).
Rook trapping with call birds
The rook trap also doubled at the call
with the same result.
birds aviary, in order to minimise stress
It seems likely that the call birds warned
for the call birds when the trap was
Rook populations can be successfully
the wild birds away, consistent with
deployed.
reduced using DRC 1339 poison in
rooks’ reputation for intelligence, wariaerial and ground baiting operations.
The trap was located near the rookery ness and neophobia.
However, it becomes expensive when
and left for some time to overcome
dealing with small numbers of birds,
rooks’ extreme wariness of new objects It is possible that if the call birds and
geographically spread.
in their environment. The call birds were trap were deployed by the rooks’ rearer,
they may not have given alarm calls
placed in the trap but with no success
which alerted the wild birds. This could
The Waikato Regional Council sought to in capturing any wild individuals. The
warrant further investigation.
find alternative control methods that
process was repeated at three sites
were lower cost and also non-toxic, so
that they could be deployed in urban or
peri-urban areas where some of the
remnant rook populations in the Waikato
were found.
Presenter: Paul Quinn, Waikato
Regional Council
Paul Quinn described the Council’s
trialling of the common crow trap used
in Europe and North America, but with
the addition of call birds to attract the
wild rooks. Although the traps had been
unsuccessfully trialled in New Zealand,
call birds had not been tried.
The call birds were supplied by Horizons Regional Council and reared by
Bill Smith of the Waikato Avian Rescue.
4
The aviary-size common crow trap used in the call bird capture trials.
NPCA Newsletter September 2014, Issue No 32
Resetting possum, stoat and rat control devices
Presenter: Lee Shapiro,
Connovation Ltd
A re-setting, long-life species-specific
control tool has recently been developed
and trialled for possums and stoats,
with promising results for maintaining
low pest numbers over long periods
after knock-down control operations.
Lee Shapiro described the new re-setting
‘Spitfire’ toxin delivery units and the
results of trials undertaken in collaboration between Connovation Ltd and
Lincoln University supported with
funding from the Ministry of Business
Innovation and Employment.
The new devices are being developed
to meet multiple objectives including,
most notably, being species-specific,
humane, cost-effective and requiring
only annual servicing. Furthermore,
they need to be durable yet lightweight
and portable, have data logging capability and the ability to achieve at least
100 kills per unit between servicing.
When triggered, the spitfire unit delivers
approximately 800mg of toxic paste
onto the target animal’s abdomen,
which is later ingested by the animal’s
grooming.
The same internal components are
used for the different target species but
with species-specific triggers, housing,
long-life attractants and toxins.
Possum spitfires
The possum spitfires, which are
attached to trees, were tested and
refined in a series of grooming and
ingestion trials, pen and field trials,
using zinc phosphide, which has a low
secondary poisoning risk and is relatively fast acting. The field trials
demonstrated considerable success,
with population reductions of over 90%
achieved and continued control during
the reinvasion phase proven.
The data generated in the first field trial
and those currently underway will be
used to file for registration of the device.
Stoat and rat spitfires
Trials in 2009 proved the concept for
use on stoats. PAPP toxin is considered the best option at this stage, so
after PAPP was registered for stoat
control 2011, field trials were conducted
that showed significant reduction in the
stoat population after spitfire deployment.
The stoat spitfires are currently retrofitted to DOC 200 boxes but new stand
-alone units using 1080 gel are being
developed for rats and stoats.
Toxin development for spitfires
Further work is planned to investigate
the use of toxins that will not require
a Controlled Substances License
(CSL), such as Sodium nitrite and
cholecalciferol.
Student research
Camera-trapping: feral pigs
Robert Vennell,
Auckland University
Robert reported on his supervised
summer scholarship research: – to
assess whether camera-trapping
was a viable method for monitoring
feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in a temperate rainforest ecosystem and to test
the use of a lure.
The research involved trialling camera
trapping in the Waitakere Ranges,
trialling a strawberry scented lure and
comparing the effectiveness of horizontal and vertical camera setups
The vertically-oriented cameras
recorded more feral pig observations, as well as rats and possums,
compared to the horizontal cameras,
and had less setup failure, camera
malfunction, theft or interference by
possums. No significant difference in
the number of observations of any
species was recorded between lure
and non-lure sites.
Novel possum monitoring
lures using chew cards
Jared Waters, Unitec, Auckland
Jared reported on the research
project he carried out in association
with Connovation Ltd, under Unitec
supervision.
The aim was to determine if a
combined olfactory and visual lure
was a more effective lure than using
5:1 flour / icing sugar for attracting
possums when using chew cards for
monitoring and to test whether it
reduces rat interference.
The possum spitfire: the animal must stand on the platform (trigger 1) to
reach up to the lure block (trigger 2). Once both triggers are activated, a
measured dose of palatable toxic gel is fired onto the animal’s abdomen.
The combined Lure it Spray and
Blaze (LISB®, Connovation Ltd) was
tested in regenerating forest near
Waitakere. Teeth impressions on
chew cards showed significantly
more possum chews and significantly fewer rat chews at LISB-lured
sites compared to the flour/icing
sugar sites. The results show that
Lure it Spray & Blaze has the potential to increase the accuracy and
precision of possum surveillance
using chew cards.
5
NPCA Newsletter September 2014, Issue No 32
Exotic bird incursion response operation
Presenter: Art Polkanov,
Department of Conservation
The potential for exotic bird species to
colonise and spread should not be
underestimated – nor the significant
negative consequences that they
could have on New Zealand’s native
biodiversity and its economy.
Art Polkanov talked about the range of
feral exotic bird species known to be
present in the Auckland region and the
incursion response to confirmed sightings of red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus
cafer) in 2013-2014.
New exotic bird species can find their
way into the wild through accidental
and deliberate release of cage/aviary
birds, as well as through accidental
freight importation (as probably with
the red-vented bulbul). The practice of
releasing birds for good luck amongst
some immigrant communities is a
known source of liberation.
The birds have varying abilities to
survive in the wild and varying potential impacts on natural and productive
environments.
to reduce the risk of captive bird
escape.
The red-vented bulbul is a highly
invasive and damaging species that
has colonised numerous places worldwide. Therefore, the Department of
Conservation, Auckland Council and
Ministry for Primary industries
launched a control programme, using
a publicity programme and incentives
to encourage public participation in
surveillance and reporting of sightings,
as well as several methods control
and capture methods. Postoperational monitoring is now gathering evidence to confirm the hoped-for
successful eradication.
Useful lessons were learnt from the
operation and the question raised
as to whether any measures, such as
legislative change, might be required
Landowner engagement in pest control
Presenter: Chris Monk,
Waikato Regional Council
For a regional council, landowners can
be a great asset or a hindrance to the
success of pest control.
Chris Monk outlined his observations,
as a biosecurity officer in the Waikato,
about what motivates landowners to
become actively involved and the
barriers to involvement.
He has found landowners can be
motivated to accept pest control on
their land, or to undertake it themselves, for a variety of reasons including: pleasure in experiencing flora and
fauna; protecting a rural lifestyle;
hunting interests; economic interests in
protecting farm production; providing a
source of traditional pocket money for
rural kids; promoting flowering for more
honey; peer group example, and
protection for future generations.
Equally varied are the barriers to landowner acceptance of pest control.
Some people are simply antiestablishment, be it local or central
government. Some people may want
6
to participate, but cannot afford the
cost of fencing or equipment, or are
physically unable due to age. For others,
who see no economic benefit, time
spent on pest control is better spent on
production. Others still, feel that food
gathering and food sources could be
adversely affected. Misinformation and
poor understanding of how and why
pest control is necessary is also a
major barrier.
To address those barriers, one form of
engagement is not enough. As well as
the traditional letters, newsletters,
newspaper, and even TV coverage,
social media and community network-
ing is gaining traction these days.
Whatever the media, the messages
are best reinforced by personal one-on
-one conversations to answer each
landowner’s questions, address misinformation, establish credibility and offer
support. Although time and resource
consuming, these conversations can
change opinions and behaviours.
A national ‘toolbox’ of techniques and
approaches to achieve increased
‘buy-in’ to pest control would ultimately
help councils implement regional pest
management strategies.
NPCA Newsletter September 2014, Issue No 32
Long-term costs and benefits of aerial 1080
Presenter: Graeme Elliott,
Department of Conservation
Graeme explained the science behind
the 'Battle for Our Birds' predator
control response programme. He
outlined why the concerted aerial
1080 response to the heavy beech
mast in the spring of 2013 (see NPCA
newsletter #31) is needed this year
and, in fact, in all large beech mast
years.
In mast years beech trees produce
large quantities of seed, providing
plentiful food for mice and rats, which
breed prolifically as a result. With more
rodent prey, stoats also breed prolifically. The increased numbers of rats
and stoats prey on native birds and
other native fauna, posing a serious
threat to vulnerable species.
Mast years occur only once every 2 –
6 years and, if moderate, the predator
threat can usually be managed locally
as required. However, heavy mast
years tend to be widespread, with
potentially catastrophic consequences
for species vulnerable to stoat and rat
predation. Such is the cycle of mast
years and the related increase in
predator populations, that vulnerable
bird populations do not recover, let
alone increase, between mast years.
Over the long term, that spells slow
decline and eventual extinction if regular, major predator control is not carried
out, timed to optimise protection of bird
species during their breeding seasons
in heavy mast years, as figure 1 shows.
DOC monitoring this year has shown
that the predicted high predator levels
are occurring at most beech forest
sites to potentially disastrous levels,
and so most of the planned 'Battle for
Our Birds' predator control will be
implemented.
Aerial 1080 has been used for rat and
stoat control during beech mast
plagues only since 2005, when it was
found to be effective because even
though stoats don’t eat 1080 pellets,
they were being killed by eating the
poisoned rat carcasses. In turn, prefeeding the rats with non-toxic baits a
week or two prior to the poison drop was
overcoming rats’ natural suspicion.
Consequently, aerial 1080 is now known
to be an effective control method for
the large-scale control operations
needed in mast years.
Student research
Rats in stormwater network?
Josie Broadbent, Victoria
University of Wellington
llona Keenan, Biosecurity Technical
Advisor with the Wellington City
Council, reported on a research
project carried out by Josie Broadbent under the Council’s summer
scholarship research programme run
in conjunction with Victoria University
of Wellington.
The Council wanted to find out
whether pests, particularly rats, are
using the numerous points of access
from the city’s stormwater network to
enter the parks and reserves system,
as the effectiveness of the council’s
poison bait station layout is closely
related to how and where pests are
entering.
Josie’s chew card study aimed to
test whether these access points
would be significantly correlated with
a higher presence of rats and other
animal pests.
Overall detection of rats was low in
comparison to mice and possums, but
as there were a number of variable
that could have affected the results,
clear correlations could not be
identified.
Sodium nitrite
registration
The use of Sodium nitrite as a
vertebrate toxic agent (VTA) against
possums and feral pigs was approved
by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA ) in November 2013.
Registered under the trade name,
BAIT-RITE, the paste bait product
is now on sale.
It doesn't require a Controlled
Substances License (CSL),
although pig control requires
approval from the EPA., for which
an application form can be downloaded from the EPA website.
Figure 1: Long-term impact of Battle for Our Birds: more intensive and frequent control should see good population recovery, particularly of species
that are less prolific breeders.
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NPCA Newsletter September 2014, Issue No 32
Pest fish eradication in Taranaki – a window of opportunity
Presenter: Jenny Steven,
Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation (DOC)
is working towards eradicating the pest
fish Gambusia affinis from the three
known sites in Taranaki. Gambusia
control has been put into the ‘lost cause’
basket in many regions but in Taranaki
it may still be possible to prevent the
widespread establishment of the species.
DOC analysed and selected the treatment options through an assessment
of environmental effects (AEE) required
for the resource consent. Eradication is
likely but cannot be confirmed until
next summer.
The operation has provided useful
lessons to take into account before
tackling the two other sites, both
near Waitara. Feasibility studies and
consultation are underway.
Gambusia is classified as an ‘Unwanted
Organism’ under the Biosecurity Act
1991 as it is a very successful invader
of freshwater environments that preys
on or competes with native fauna.
Gambusia are a threat to aquatic invertebrates, native fish, and freshwater
fisheries.
DOC ranger, Jenny Steven, described
the treatment carried out so far on the
first of the three known gambusia sites in
Taranaki. The farm pond was partially
drained and rotenone toxin applied as a
dilute slurry of cube root powder in
March 2014.
In planning the farm pond operation,
Gambusia (Gambusia affinis): although only 3.5 - 6 cm in length and short-lived,
they are successful invaders. They were originally spread due to the misconception that they control mosquitoes. Photo: Glynn Hills.
Update on bird repellent to protect kea from 1080
Presenter: Michelle Crowell,
Department of Conservation
DOC has been working with the Kea
Conservation Trust, TBfree New
Zealand Ltd and Landcare Research
over a number of years to develop a
repellent to prevent kea deaths during
aerial 1080 operations.
Michelle Crowell outlined repellent
trials that had been undertaken since
the 2013 NETS conference.
A field study using a single bird repellent
(d-pulegone) in an aerial 1080 operation
near Arthur’s Pass in August 2013
resulted in five confirmed kea deaths
out of 34 birds likely to have been
exposed to toxic baits. The concentration of repellent was less than intended
in the field study, raising questions and
generating investigations about the
bait stability.
In November 2013, a pest efficacy trial
compared the proportional reduction in
8
possum and rat population indices
between standard aerial1080 treatment,
a single bird repellent (d-pulegone)
treatment, and a treatment with two
different repellents (d-pulegone and
anthraquinone) in a 1080 operation
near Haast. The repellents were at the
target concentrations. The different
repellent treatments made no significant difference in the proportional
reduction of possums. However, standard
1080 bait was more effective at reducing
the rat tracking index than the repellent
treated baits, and the least effective rat
control occurred at the blocks where
two repellents had been used.
A list of five research areas were
identified by the collaborators as the
recommended next steps toward
developing a bird repellent to protect
kea in aerial 1080 cereal operations.
These include further research on dpulegone and anthraquinone as well
as screening alternative repellents.
Kea standing on snow, St Arnaud
Range, Nelson Lakes National Park.
Photographer: C. Rudge. Crown Copyright: Department of Conservation Te
Papa Atawhai, 2010
NPCA Newsletter September 2014, Issue No 32
Bite Me! - Possum interaction rates with chew cards
Presenter: Samantha Brown,
Landcare Research, Lincoln
Chew cards are increasingly being used
to monitor possum populations at low
densities, providing a low cost, easy
to use monitoring tool available to
both professional pest controllers and
community conservation groups. However, as with other devices used for
possum control and monitoring, the
frequency with which individual animals
might visit a chew card but avoid
detection is not known.
Samantha Brown outlined a preliminary
study Landcare Research has undertaken, to create ‘electronic chew cards’,
using radio frequency identification (RFID)
technology, previously developed for
use with leg hold traps. This involved
attaching a standard chew card to a
frame with electronic trigger switches
that sent an RFID signal if they were
activated. This technology has enabled
possum encounter and interaction rates
with chew cards to be investigated.
Possums fitted with active RFID collars
were detected by an RFID scanner and
a passive infrared (PIR) movement
sensor at 12m, 3m and as they triggered
the electronic chew cards. Behaviour
around the card was observed using
motion activated trail cameras. Electronic chew card sites were placed out
for seven nights at 100m intervals in
bush on farm land in Kaikoura which
has been subject to infrequent, low
intensity possum control.
Of possums that encountered a chew
card, 89% revisited that card or another
one nearby within seven days.
Further work is planned to better understand possum behaviour when encountering and interacting with detection and
trapping devices and improve our ability
to control invasive mammals more cost
effectively.
Not all visits to chew card sites by
possums result in a detection but chew
cards are more likely to detect the
presence of a possum in the area than
traps. Chew cards detected 94% of
possums that encountered them and
65% of possums chewed a card the
first time they encountered one. The
study found that on average 75% of
encounters with chew cards resulted in
possums chewing the card.
The number of individual possums that
visited each card ranged from 0 to 6 and
averaged 2.6 (including un-collared
possums). By night 4, 88% of cards
had been chewed but possum visits
declined over the final three nights.
A camera records a possum’s behavior during as the animal, fitted with an
RFID collar, encounters an ‘electronic
chew card’.
Using wireless networks for remotely monitoring traps
Presenter: Bruce Warburton,
Landcare Research
modelled and costed in comparison
with field checking.
Large-scale trap networks have the
potential to effectively maintain pests
at low densities. Unfortunately, there
are high costs in regularly checking the
traps, most of which are empty.
Economic analysis showed that, with
current technology, the wireless
options are, as yet, too expensive to
be cost effective compared
to ground-based trap
checking. The technology
is just one factor, however.
Other factors that impact
on the cost-effectiveness
of a sensor system include
the number of access
points to easily maintain
the network, having longlife baits that won't need
frequent refreshing and, of
course, working at low
enough pest numbers so
capture rates are not so
high that traps have to be
checked frequently to
clear them.
If traps could be remotely monitored,
using a wireless sensor network, could
costs be significantly reduced?
Bruce Warbuton explained recent investigations into this question undertaken
by Landcare Research in collaboration
with the Hawke's Bay Regional Council
and Canterbury University Wireless
Research Centre with Ministry of
Business Innovation and Employment
funding.
The concept involves using wireless
technology (a node) on each trap to
send a message whenever the trap is
triggered. The typical requirements for
satellite or local network receivers were
DOC is co-ordinating a
workshop with interested
parties to plan further work,
and in collaboration with Hawke’s Bay
Regional Council, Landcare Research
is planning a potential pilot field trial
aimed at obtaining more information to
better model the economics.
Using GIS view-shed analysis to determine which traps
are within direct line of sight from fixed receivers.
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NPCA Newsletter September 2014, Issue No 32
Thermal imaging for surveying animal populations
Presenter: Bruce Warburton,
Landcare Research
hot-spot frames need to be checked
rather the all the video footage.
Thermal imaging technology has developed rapidly over the last 5-10 years,
making it a potential tool for monitoring
vertebrate pests .
The next step is to further field test the
technology for detecting possums and
check how many false negatives (i.e.
possums present but not detected) and
false positives (e.g. a cat identified as a
possum) we get.
Today’s high definition digital sensor
technology holds the potential for
detecting animals more accurately and
miniaturised equipment makes transport
and field use easier.
Bruce Warburton outlined work Landcare
Research has been doing for TBFree
New Zealand to test the technology.
In parallel, they have been developing
image-recognition software that currently
only detects hot spots not specific
species. However, even this is a timesaving improvement because only the
A significant constraint on using this
technology is the height the aircraft has
to fly at in order to ensure sufficient
pixels are on each animal to enable
species identification. Although aerial
thermal imaging does not work well
where tall vegetation screens animals
under the canopy, it holds considerable
potential for multi-species monitoring
over large areas of low-stature vegetation in areas such Marlborough, Otago,
and the high country, and farmland.
Four deer
Student research
Rainbow skink invasion
Jacqui Wairepo, Massey
University, Albany
Jacqui is currently running the rainbow
skink (Lampropholis delicata)
detection and incursion response
operation on Great Barrier Island,
where a breeding population of the
skink was discovered in May 2013.
Rainbow skink have been classified
as an ‘unwanted organism’ in New
Zealand although to date there have
been no attempts to control populations or the species’ spread.
Jacqui outlined the adaptive methodology used in manual trapping on
Great Barrier Island and also discussed
the upcoming laboratory trials, and
problems encountered in their planning, which will be part of research
to find ways to minimise the risk of
rainbow skink incursion to off-shore
islands.
Possum
▲ Digital data for a possum and four deer.
▼ To enable thermal image recognition of possums a camera-carrying helicopter must fly at 330 feet compared to 1000 feet to identify deer
Rainbow skink (Lampropholis
delicata). Photo: Grant Maslowski
Update on Goodnature
automatic traps
Darren Peters reported on the results
of field trials of these traps at
NETS2014.
We will pick up on the results of
those trials in the next newsletter.
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