Waikato Regional Council says there's been a huge amount of interest by community groups in carrying out their own control of plant and animal pests.
Chairman Laurie Burdett says there were 41 applications from Taupo to Coromandel for the council's $75,000 Small Scale Community Initiative Fund.
He says the council agreed to fund 26 projects, which range from $5000 to buy 30 gas powered animal traps for pest control in native bush north of Cambridge, to a small rat control initiative near Hamilton costing just $300.
Mr Burdett says the fund began in 2009 on the Coromandel Peninsula, where a local contractor had a discretionary fund of $10,000 for community initiated pest control.
The local demand became so great it was increased to $65,000.
