The company tackling our pest problem - one rat, possum and hedgehog (!) at a time
Homegrown smart traps are keeping backyards and bush pest free - including those cute spiky things snuffling around on lawns at night.
Mōrena and welcome to Stocktake, created in partnership with Kiwibank.
At our West Auckland home we have a rodent problem with a possum that runs amok. So I called the team at Goodnature, a long-running local company in the pest control business, to find out if they could help. I wanted to know if their traps were easy to set up, whether my pets were at risk, and if they could deal with it once and for all. I got my answers — then they told me something so surprising I’m still recovering from it.
-Chris Schulz, business editor
‘They are super killers. They just mess up everything’
A rogue rodent has been terrorising our home. For the past few months, a pesky possum has been leaping across fences, running across rooftops, climbing through trees and generally making a noisy nuisance of itself. Sometimes I go outside to watch our resident cute hedgehogs run around on the grass at night and our problem possum lurches into view, its eyes glinting fiercely in the moonlight, ruining the moment.
For months, I’ve wondered, “How do I get rid of that damn thing?”
That’s why I’m on a Zoom call with Dave Shoemack and Craig Bond. Together they run Goodnature, a Wellington company making smart traps that exterminates pests “humanely”. Unlike other traps, no poison or glue or inescapable box is involved in this New Zealand-made product. Instead, their traps kill unwanted possums, stoats, mice and rats instantly then reset until the next one shows up. Their mission statement is, “Rewild the world,” and it’s working: their traps are available in 40 countries.
They’re popular because they’re easy to use. Customers set them up low on the ground and a tube of lure (a chocolate or meat paste) entices an unwanted animal within range. When it reaches its head up to lick the lure, a trigger is initiated. “A piston, powered by gas, comes from the side straight into the animal's head and kills it humanely within a couple of seconds,” says Shoemack.
A notification is sent to the phone of the trap’s owner alerting it to the kill and the trap resets, ready for the next one. Goodnature’s range of traps can be left to do their thing for months at a time. Using the app kills are catalogued, showing just how many unwanted pests have been eradicated around the country.
This sounds like exactly what I need. But I’m worried about my pets. The pair inform me their traps are too small for my cat or my dog to get hurt in any way. “We have no evidence of a dog ever getting into these traps,” says Bond, who tells me their specialist possum trap has just been taken off the market as it needs a refresh. He assures me it should be back in action soon.
But there’s another problem. As Bond patiently informs me that my annoying possum isn’t my only problem pest that needs dealing with, my jaw drops.
My snuffly hedgehogs need to go too.
“I know hedgehogs are cute and everyone loves them but they do a huge amount of damage,” says Bond, the company’s co-founder. “[Our traps] will definitely kill hedgehogs and we make no apologies for that here in New Zealand. They are a really big problem and that problem is growing.”
Hedgehogs are a problem? That’s news to me. Bond tells me it’s true. Shoemack, who joined Goodnature as CEO, recently installed a Goodnature trap in his backyard only to find a hedgehog was the first thing it killed. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, what have I done?’” he says. Dismayed, he ran into the office the next day to ask what was going on.
Bond told him what he told me, then listed all the damage hedgehogs can do. “They cruise along the forest floor eating everything … all the ground-dwelling invertebrates, all the eggs, all the ground-nesting birds,” he says. “We're finding them spread further and further into the bush relatively recently … They're super killers. They just mess up everything.”
Rats, stoats and mice, which their traps also deal with, do damage of a different kind. “They’re eating baby bird chicks, lots of little invertebrates, lizards, weta. They’re the primary food source for our bigger animals like morepork (ruru) and all sorts of bigger birds. [The rat is eating] poison and then our native bird species have been killed through secondary poisoning by eating the dead rat.”
These problems have been growing and demand for Goodnature’s traps is at an all-time high. The company’s been in business for 20 years but things have really taken off across the past five, with it doubling in size thanks to growth across America, the UK and Europe. They’re now celebrating after selling their 500,000th trap and recent investment from Gallagher Group. From Newton, Wellington, where their traps are built by hand, they’re cleaning up bush and backyards all over the world.
But there’s no getting past the fact that an animal is being killed every time one of Goodnature’s traps is used successfully. Is that really humane? “It’s a tricky one. We’ve all struggled with it,” says Bond. “But that's why we put so much effort into being as humane as possible, and as targeted as possible, and ensure that we don't kill non-target species. We’re trying to control an invasive species which is causing massive problems to biodiversity. Ultimately, we believe it's justified because of the gains we get through both biodiversity and the health of our forests, the health of our land and waterways, and then ultimately, the health of our people.”
That might go over the head of my daughter, who just loves the little hedgehogs. How do I break the news to her that her spiky friends are a massive problem and need to be eradicated from the garden? Bond faced the same thing with his own daughters, and he did so by explaining there was a simple choice to make. “We either have a hedgehog or we have lots of native birds and invertebrates and really healthy forests regenerating,” he says. “That’s the choice, because that’s what the hedgehog takes from us.”
This is business banking for better
Kiwibank wants more Kiwi businesses implementing sustainability initiatives to help reduce their carbon footprint – but they know how hard, and expensive, that can be.
So they’ve created the Sustainable Business Loan with preferential internet rates, to make it more affordable for businesses to make a positive impact. Find out more about the Sustainable Business Loan here. Sustainability & lending criteria, terms & conditions & fees apply.
NZ just signed up to a global staredown with Meta and Google
Legislation requiring the big digital players to share revenue with local publishers is directly inspired by examples in Australia and Canada. Toby Manhire looks at the history and the stakes.
The limits – and possibilities – of counting carbon
Counting carbon emissions is messy, complicated and imperfect. But it’s a start, and not one that any business – or nation – can afford not to make. Shanti Mathias asks several local companies how they’re making it happen.
Pensioner poverty has changed the retirement debate
A new report shows serious risk of doubling the number of retirees facing rent and mortgage stress by 2048. Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson joins Bernard Hickey to discuss how we can keep elderly renters and those still with mortgages out of poverty and what will happen if nothing changes.
Start growing your money with Kernel Wealth
Built by and for New Zealanders, Kernel Wealth’s versatile products can meet a wide range of personal finance needs. Whether you’re interested in index funds, high-interest savings accounts or a new KiwiSaver provider, their fully digital platform and helpful, fully human customer support team can help you find an innovative, tax-efficient and quality-first product that meets your needs. To learn more about their offering or to find out how it could work for you, visit Kernel Wealth today. (Sponsored)
Kernel Wealth is the manager and issuer of the Kernel Funds Scheme and Kernel KiwiSaver Plan. Investing involves risks. For more information please see the Product Disclosure Statements at www.kernelwealth.co.nz
Here’s a handful of quick links…
An arts organisation awarding a contract to provide a ‘digital service’ wouldn’t normally be newsworthy – but yesterday’s announcement from Creative New Zealand will raise some eyebrows
Māori business leaders are feeling less mentally healthy but more optimsitic than the overall business leader community (paywalled)
American-New Zealand company Rocket Lab forms dedicated military and intelligence unit (paywalled)
We asked Kiwibank economist Mary Jo Vergara for a 101 explainer on what inflation is, why it matters and how you can best prepare for it
The bikes are still put together in a garage in Nelson but this business could be selling 35,000 of them in Europe very soon
Many of our best media talents started their careers at a small Wellington radio station. Maggie Tweedle remembers 45 years of RadioActive.FM
An organic kombucha company has products recalled for being too high in alcohol, reports Stuff
The fair pay agreement legislation, passed in October, has the potential to transform our local dining culture writes Charlotte Muru-Lanning
Finally, if you want to buy a family member a gadget this Christmas, here’s a guide that has something for the whole family — even a smart plant that waters itself
If you liked what you read today, share Stocktake with friends, family and colleagues.
