Despite many years of predator control, rats are still finding Uretara Island an attractive feeding ground. Rats prey on eggs, chicks and a variety of insects and other small invertebrates and compete with birds for berries, fruits and flowers, as well as eating the seeds of native plants preventing re-generation. Their presence also encourages other raiders, such as stoats and cats, which in turn prey on a variety of native birds and invertebrates. Across the harbour from the island on the eastern Ōhiwa headland rats are the number one predator too. Ōhiwa care groups and individual members of the harbour community however have been fighting them for many years. And they are not giving up.
A new phase of an on-going rat control operation that will cover Uretara Island, the adjacent saltmarsh and private land near the Department of Conservation reserves has recently been decided on by the Nukuhou Saltmarsh Care Group, the Department of Conservation and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, in consultation with Te Ūpokorehe Resource Management Team, Whakatōhea and Te Rūnunga o Ngāti Awa.
Control is set to begin after 1 March 2025 and finish on the 28 February 2026. Warning signs will be placed immediately prior to the operation starting and will remain until the caution period has ended. The small blue-green waxy DitracTM blocks containing the anticoagulant diphacinone will be placed in white bait stations mounted on stakes or trees for the control of rats on the island. Caution has to be applied by humans and dogs as eating baits or poisoned rats can cause poisoning.
By maintaining rat control throughout most of the year, pest levels are thought not to be able to recover, and the ecosystem to have the best chance to improve.
The Nukuhou Saltmarsh Care Group has regularly controlled rats on the island since 2012, and even longer in the saltmarsh and along the Nukuhou River. The return of mātātā, or fernbirds, to the area has been one of their many successes. In the last year the group has extended their ‘A’ line, a trapping line that runs all the way from one side of the island to the other, and a roster of volunteers ensures the traps are serviced regularly.
In November 2024 the Ōhiwa Headland Sanctuary secured a Trust Horizon grant for $13,000 to deploy 25 AT220 NZ AutoTraps across difficult-to-access public land. The Ōhiwa Headland Sanctuary Trust actively works to restore the character of the Headland including Pataua Island Scientific Reserve, Ōhiwa Scenic Reserve, Oscar Reeves Scenic Reserve, and Ōpōtiki District Council Reserves. There are currently 165 residents on either side of the Headland, and another 140 properties within the buffer, who, similar to the group at the Nukuhou Saltmarsh, support the programme by maintaining their backyard traps, monitoring trap lines, weed control, and planting.
Do you want to help win the rate race? Check out Predator Free Bay of Plenty’s useful guide how to trap rats at home here.
(Sources: Bay of Plenty Regional Council, ‘Key facts about rat control for Uretara Island and Nukuhou Saltmarsh, Ōhiwa Harbour, 2025/26'; Trust Horizon; Margaret and Stuart Slade, Nukuhou Saltmarsh Care Group; Mithuna Sothieson, Ōhiwa Headland Sanctuary)
