Pest Control
War on pests avoids targetting pets and dinner
Opinion - Introduced pests kill some 25 million native birds every year, but not everyone wants to be woken by birdsong, writes Dave Hansford.
Willow pest moving on to new tasty delights
The potentially devastating giant willow aphid is moving to other hosts as well, including apple trees.
Putting the karearea among the pigeons
A New Zealand native falcon has helped chase away more than half of the pigeons at a University of Canterbury campus. Audio
Better rat trap snaps up double win
Kevin Bain - engineering sparky by day, innovative rat catcher by night - has won two innovation awards.
New facility aims to transform pest management
Self-setting traps and low profile, more affordable predator-proof fences are just two of the methods being trialled at a new facility near Christchurch. Video
Fruit-wrecking pest threatens feijoa season
The guava moth, which ruins feijoas, is getting worse and spreading south from Northland, growers say.
Seed restrictions risk growing vege costs
Tougher restrictions on seed imports could cause a vegetable shortage and raise the price of flowers, merchants and growers say. Audio
Fears 1080 change will poison consent process
Worried communities fear they will have no say on the use of 1080 when the government takes over the management of pest control. Audio
Central government to regulate 1080 drops
The government's announcement it will take pest control out of the hands of local government has some worried communities will no longer have a say. Audio
Government to take control of 1080 rules
The government plans to nationalise the rules for using 1080 poison and other pest control methods.
Rise in number of velvetleaf cases in Waikato
The invasive weed velvetleaf has been found on more farms in Waikato, prompting the Waikato Regional Council to ramp up its local response.
Fourteen flies cost $15.7m to eradicate
It cost the government more than $1 million per insect to eradicate the Queensland fruit fly, a potentially devastating pest species, from Auckland.
Leaves, not eggs, in Southland Easter hunt
Teams of biosecurity staff in Southland have been out each day over Easter trying to locate outbreaks of devastating pest plant velvetleaf.
Hot February boosts business for insect controllers
Pest controllers say last month was a bumper month for bugs as the country experienced one of the hottest months on record. Audio
New Zealanders bugged by rise in insects
February was a bumper month for insects, pest controllers say, as the country experienced one of the hottest months on record.
Oashore
Ecological protection goes hand in hand with farming at a 550 hectare coastal property on Banks Peninsula. Cosmo Kentish-Barnes meets Oashore farm manager Kate Whyte, who has safeguarded the last… Audio, Gallery
How successful has DOC's massive 1080 programme been?
In what it has called The Battle for Our Birds, the Department of Conservation has done aerial drops of 1080 across hundreds of thousands of hectares of beech forest to try to knock back a pest… Audio
Predator Free New Zealand
The Predator Free New Zealand campaign is now a few weeks old. Few would disagree with the idea, especially with so many endemic species under threat from a long list of introduced predators. But can… Audio
Guarding New Zealand's shores
Summer's the busiest time of year for the men and women charged with keeping New Zealand free of invaders like fruit-fly, or rabies, that could arrive by boat. Audio
Spying on Wild Animals with Remote Cameras
A biologist is asking citizen scientists to help identify thousands of photos of introduced predators taken by remote cameras Audio