Whangamomona is great to visit - unless you are a stoat or rat

Murray Peat with a stoat he has trapped.

Murray Peat is no friend of stoats.

In fact, the Whangamomona resident has recently trapped and killed his 100th stoat.

Murray says he has been trapping pests for the past five years, his way of doing his bit to make Taranaki pest free.

Over that time as well as the stoats, he has caught 260 hedgehogs, 272 rats, 50 rabbits, 19 feral cats, three possums, one weasel, one hare and "a very small pig".

Murray says he started trapping pests to help native wildlife.

"I really like birds and I had planted trees suitable for specific native birds. I wanted to reduce the pressure pests put on the birds so I started trapping them [pests]."

He started with two second-hand traps. He now has 45 traps in use and constantly assesses what works best.

"I have recorded the amount of pests I have caught since I started and which trap caught them. This gives me an idea of what is working."

Murray says when he first started, he only expected to catch stoats and rats, and soon was surprised by the numbers turning up in his traps.

"I was quite surprised at how many stoats were around because I hardly see them."

While his aim was to catch stoats and rats, he is pleased with the other pests he has been able to catch, as they all impact native wildlife in the area.

Murray says he is doing his bit to make Taranaki pest free.

"I'm just trying to reduce the number of pests. Pest control is becoming very popular and I am just doing my bit to help."