Well done to Pest Free Banks Peninsula who have just completed the construction of an active fence to prevent the reinvasion of pests onto Kaitorete Spit. Fencer Tom Evans and his team undertook the huge task of retrofitting existing fences by installing 19 mm stainless steel mesh to create a barrier extending three kilometers across much of the Kaitorete landscape from Prices Stream to Bayleys Road, including a portion of the Little River Rail Trail.
Site preparation to accommodate a 300mm mesh skirt, which provides a barrier at ground level, has included mowing, line trimmers, removing old posts and wire, and clearing vegetation.
It is a modified rabbit fence with electrical wires that seeks to prevent climbing but to guide pests into traps spaced along its length.
Pest Free Banks Peninsula have been carrying out an intensive trapping programme on Kaitorete since 2021, focusing particularly on hedgehogs, mustelids and feral cats and possums. Having removed a huge number of pests since that time they will now be evaluating the fences effectiveness, compared to a high density trapping network, and are confident the fence will prove to be a highly successful approach to prevent reinvasion.