Frequently Asked Questions
For best results, and to ensure a humane kill the traps must be set as instructed. See our Success Guides for details.
We’ve designed our traps to be simple to use.All you need to do is follow the instructions in the A18 Quick Start Guide precisely to set up the trap.Then resist the urge to change the setup or location or lure until at least a fortnight has passed (more info on lure replacement below).Grey squirrels, like all animals, have complex behavior patterns. Constantly moving the trap or changing the lure is just as likely to be the reason you don’t have success as the reason you do.Although you may feel like you’re having a slow start, the more time you invest in getting the trap set up correct initially and trusting that the trap and lure works, the more success you’ll have.Why not let the trap do all the hard work?
The risk of injury to non-target animals and none humane interaction mayincrease if the trap is used in a manner that does not follow our best practice guide.See Protect Non-Target Animals (link) for more information.
No. You should not shift a live trap. You must de-gas and then de-pressurise the trap before shifting. See the Success Guides for more detail.
To direct pest activity to your trap site refresh the lure in your traps regularly and prefeed them with a little of the rodent lure. This should be done at least once a month. Every week is even better! See our Success Guides for details.
To ensure your traps remain charged, replace the CO2 every 6 months. A good way to remember this is to time it with the replacement of your smoke alarm batteries at daylight savings, every 6 months.
You can test-fire the trap to see if there is CO2 remaining. To ensure your traps remain charged change the CO2 canister every 6 months. See the Success Guides for more detail.
The principle in the field is to ensure that every pest is put at risk by a trap, and that the risk is greater than the rate of reproduction and immigration. Rather than shifting your traps, add to your trapping network. Goodnature A24 traps for rats can be set 40m apart.
In a conservation network best practise is to install:
2 x A24 traps per acre when targeting rats.
Around the farm, orchard or other food rich site a greater density of traps may be required.
To maintain the conservation gains you have achieved through initial trapping, your traps should be left in place for the long term to catch any re-invading pests. Remember to refresh the lure monthly, and replace the CO2 and lure every 6 months.
DOC have done the trialling for you! The New Zealand Department of Conservation stand behind Goodnature traps as a reliable and effective tool for controlling rats. The AIHT’s have done it, as have DEFRA, used correctly, you will have great success.
Want to know how many pests your traps have killed? Install a Goodnature Digital Strike Counter. A great monitoring tool, this gadget registers a count every time your trap fires. It is particularly useful for collecting data where scavenging is a regular occurrence – at trap sites everywhere!
If you require a quote for a funding application, or for a large project please contact us directly. We are happy to offer the services of Vance Paines, our technical guru for consultancy.
Goodnature CO2 canisters are not reusable however they can be recycled with your household recycling.
The lure bottle is HDPE and is recyclable as long as it has been cleaned first. The lure bottle cap is also recyclable.
The traps have been designed for longevity in the field, and in a manner that allows us to service them if required so they continue working. We can also receive and recycle any unused traps.
Scavenging is a frequent occurrence so it is unlikely you will see everything that is killed. Rats, stoats, cats, foxes, birds of preys and dogs scavenge dead pests from below Goodnature traps. You can monitor rat levels with Rodent Detector Kits or purchase a Digital Strike Counter to get a clearer picture of trap activity.
Just in case you were wondering how many times the trap had been triggered, Goodnature has made a digital strike counter. Packed into a tiny enclosure, the strike counter slides onto the CO2 canister and spends most of its day asleep.
It is sparked into action only when the trap is set off. Because it sleeps so much, you should get five years between battery changes, even if you check it weekly.
Test fire your trap as outlined in the Success Guides – your trap may need a new CO2 canister. If you have any concerns get in touch with us!
In the field: You don’t need to do anything. The rodent will either be taken by a predator such as a badger, buzzard, cat, fox or owl; or slowly decay into the environment.
Around the home: A dead animal will get smelly after a few days of warm weather. To avoid any unpleasant odours bury the carcass under a few centimetres of soil or compost.
The key to having consistent, successful results is location & placement, before you even use the trap; clear up competing food sources in your area. Pre-bait the site with the chocolate formula and use the detector cards. Rats communicate through their breath and whiskers, if a good head of rats in your area feel safe to feed on the chocolate gel, they will pass this on and actively seek out the food. Look to place the traps nearer where the rats are living, in a safe place out of sight of avian and ground predators. Don’t be tempted to put it where you saw one running down the side of a building, this is not a feeding spot. They will not have the confidence to stop and feed here.
Once they have taken all the free offerings, set the trap in an area that is away from disturbance; place in a box or under shelter at a 45′ angle as this will help hugely! The detector cards will tell you if they feel safe to feed there.
It will take a few days for the rats to overcome their initial fear of it, then you should start seeing results. Don’t be afraid to continue offering freebies of the chocolate formula, this will help vastly! Check out our easy lure pouches, they are perfect for the job. The big thing with our traps is finding where the rats will interact comfortably, you may feel like you’re having a slow start, trust us when we say that the more time you put in getting it right initially; the less time you will put in later.
To get the best results from your A24 rat traps ensure you use Goodnature Rodent Detector Cards to find suitable sites for the traps. Not every trap site is equal, and the detector cards will quickly reveal the better sites.
Rather than setting your trap near an existing food source for pests, install the traps away from food competition for better results.
If your trap is already installed near a compost site or other excellent food source you may have to remove the food source or restrict the pests’ access to that site. If pests are in the habit of accessing a regular source of food you may have to break that pattern to get them interested in the lure within the trap.
Pre-feeding with the lure pouch will dramatically increase catch rates, give it a go!
If you need extra assistance give Goodnature a call!
Food-rich areas are complex rat trapping sites and may require extra effort to achieve success. Locations where you see rats or signs of rats are not necessarily spots where they will trigger the trap. Use Rodent Detectors to determine the best place to set a trap. You may have to disrupt the rats’ routine by moving or reducing access to the food-rich source, if possible, forcing them to look elsewhere for food.
The general rule of thumb is two per acre (spaced 40m apart). If you have a large area for conservation or a complex site such as an orchard, then please call us.
While our lures are long life, they will eventually tire and diminish in scent when exposed to air. At least once a month, remove the shroud cap and take the long life lure bottle out, tap it against the tree trunk so the tired lure is dabbed out as a pre-feed to attract pests. Wipe all excess lure away from the bite block, or mouth of the lure bottle, and return to the trap. See the Success Guides for more information.
We usually establish a landscape/grid operation where it is not critical that all animals are affected immediately, only that they are attracted to the trap by the formula; and it is ‘armed’ when they interact with it. This may happen on the first night, or after many nights; when they are in this area of their home range. Timing is not critical since control is achieved over a period of weeks, and then maintained over longer periods.
Goodnature’s long life rodent formula is not attractive to cats. The shroud entrance is also too narrow for a cat to fit its head into, and the trap is installed 12 inches off the ground to further prevent a cat interrogating the trap. It is extremely unlikely that a cat will trigger an A24 rat trap. Neighbourhood cats, however, are likely to remove dead rats and from below the trap. You may also purchase an extender tunnel to add a third layer of security.
Use target specific Goodnature stoat formula in the A24 Rat & Stoat Trap. Set the trap near the edge of a stream/waterway, on a ridge, track, or on a crop margin/hedge line. Ensure the trap is set away from houses and other food sources such as chicken coops that can act as a competing food source for the lure.
Be aware of hedgehogs, these are a protected species in decline. A well-placed A24 set at 12-15 inches above the ground will make it difficult for entry. Hedgehogs may scale log piles but they are not built to climb vertically. If your detector cards show hedgehog activity in your area, it is important to do 
everything you can to stop interaction with the trap. This can be achieved with our UK specific formula for rats, building up around the entrance of the tunnel to restrict access, or used in conjunction with the excluder tunnel we sell you can help protect this species.
If you have any more concerns over hedgehogs in your area, please get in touch. We would be happy to offer support on how to carry out a safe trapping regime that will help to protect hedgehogs in your area. Check your garden doesn’t hold these hazards that threaten our prickly friends.
A responsible, well thought out trapping regime will actually benefit hedgehogs by stopping food competition and predation of their young.
Have a look here on how to create a safer more enriched sanctuary for them in your garden.
We’ve designed our traps to be simple to use. All you need to do is follow the instructions in the A18 Quick Start Guide precisely to set up the trap. Then resist the urge to change the setup or location or lure until at least a fortnight has passed. Grey squirrels, like all animals, have complex behavior patterns. Constantly moving the trap or changing the lure is just as likely to be the reason you don’t have success as the reason you do. Although you may feel like you’re having a slow start, the more time you invest in getting the trap set up correct initially and trusting that the trap and lure works, the more success you’ll have. Why not let the trap do all the hard work?
The risk of injury to non-target animals and none humane interaction may increase if the trap is used in a manner that does not follow our best practice guide. See Non-Target Species for more information.
The trap should always be set as close to vertical as possible, to ensure humane interaction. In a Woodland area, the A18 should be sited in areas where there is known Grey Squirrel activity. It is ideal if the A18 can be fixed to a tree that produces a food source for Grey Squirrels. This means they will travel to the tree often and look to feed. In a garden situation, the A18 can be fixed to a tree or a fence post.
Always set the A18 at 1.5 meters or above, either on a tree or fence, and as close to vertical as possible. Setting the A18 lower than 1.5 meters may potentially enable other species to interact with it.
Every location will be different. Grey squirrel movements, populations and behavior vary throughout the year. Provided the trap is properly maintained and located, it will always be ready and waiting as a constant control measure. There is no set time limit on attracting a grey squirrel into the trap. Sometimes you might see grey squirrels go near, but not into the A18. However, if there is heavy squirrel activity in the area and no grey squirrels are caught in the first 4 weeks, you might consider changing the lure.
Grey Squirrels can be very fussy eaters and their diet will change throughout the year. However, the Goodnature lures have been scientifically formulated to appeal to grey squirrels and independent tests have proven they work. Most customers achieve success with our lures.
In the event you have not caught a squirrel in the first 4 weeks and there has been heavy squirrel activity in the area, we have provided a lure basket so you have the option of trying different lures that may better attract your local squirrel population (e.g. peanut butter, hazelnut butter, crushed walnuts). Please refer to the non-target tab for tips on how to minimise risk of attracting non-target species.
While our lures are long life, they will eventually crust over or diminish in their scent when exposed to air. Once a month, remove and discard the spent lure from the basket and refresh with new lure from the lure pouch. Always remember any quality humane pest control device is only as effective as the quality of the lure used to attract the pest. It is the lure that motivates the target pest to enter and activate the trap. The fresher the lure the better the smell and better chance of success.
Scavenging is a frequent occurrence so it is unlikely you will see everything that is dispatched. The beauty of the A18 is that it resets. Once a squirrel has been dispatched, it will fall out of the trap and onto the ground. Here it is likely to be scavenged by other animals such as foxes, birds of prey or corvids.
It is often deemed that March through to September offers the best time to control grey squirrels. One of the great things about the A18 is it is ready all year round with minimal maintenance, so it is possible to catch them all year round.
As the A18 is a non-toxic trap the squirrel can be left to be scavenged and feed other wildlife. However, if you wish to move them, they can be placed elsewhere in the woodland. Please dispose of dispatched animals responsibly.
Wild animals are used to coming across deceased animals in nature, seeing another squirrel under the trap doesn’t put them off.
Each Co2 cylinder holds enough Co2 for 18 strikes.
Protecting Non-Target Species
The best way to minimise the risk of injuring non-target animals is to follow the Goodnature best practice tips. The Goodnature formulas is specially designed to appeal to grey squirrels and not other animals. If different lures are used, the risk of attracting other animals is potentially increased. Do not use seeds in the A18GS.
The A18, along with all other lethal traps, should not be used in areas where there is a known population of red squirrels or martens.
A18: If the A18 trap is set at 1.5m or above as recommended, we are not aware of any risk to hedgehogs
We do not recommend placing the A18 within 5 metres of a bird feeder. Creating high levels of bird activity around any trap should not be encouraged. Ground feeding of larger size food items to encourage grey squirrels; such as whole maize is advised.
