The newest predator-control tool from Boffa Miskell

Boffa Miskell lead the successful research, development, and commercialisation of POAUKU long-life lure blocks for Predator Free 2050 Ltd.

POAUKU are premium, long life, high-quality lures with proven attractiveness for rats, possums, and mustelids. It translates in Te Reo as POA = Lure and UKU = Clay.

POAUKU are robust, inedible, and environmentally friendly nature means they offer a substantial improvement over many conventional lures, such as peanut butter and fresh meat (which rapidly deteriorate in the field and can be consumed by non-targets.

Location

National

Project team

Helen Blackie

Project date

2017 - 2022

These scents were rigorously field tested in a wide range of habitats and environmental conditions from Northland to Fiordland. The lures remained attractive to target species for more than 12 weeks (with rat and ferret interactions continuing to peak at 12 weeks of field deployment).

POAUKU were developed through Predator Free 2050’s Products to Projects fund, which helps bring affordable and effective predator control solutions to the market.

Key features:

  • 100% natural ingredients
  • Treated with a proven long-life scent
  • Proven higher interaction and capture rates
  • Reduces time and labour costs associated with refreshing traditional, food-based lures
  • Environmentally robust, even in extreme weather conditions
  • Can be used to attract the target predator(s) to standard traps, bait stations and monitoring devices
  • Solid-state (inedible) by non-targets
  • Sustainable and environmentally friendly
  • Simple to deploy, lightweight, and mess-free
  • Multiple scent options available to provide for diversity

This commercially available lure has sold over 20,000 units in New Zealand in the first year, with negotiations underway for use throughout Europe and America. A spin-off project has now been funded by DOC to investigate further scent options

Learn more > PoaUku long-life lures (shopify.com)