Possum trapping

I've done a fair bit of possum trapping in my day & caught a few .When I was much younger and worked at the meat works I would spend the off season running trap lines .I usually set 130 odd traps ,these were set over 3 nites then shifted on to fresh ground .Tree bait isn't really that important as they are very nosey buggers and will come take a look at just about anything .I used gum tree oil and flour which was both cheap and worked well.Traps placed one hand span wide of the base of the tree,some sets were only a couple of meters apart ,depending on the account of possum sign ,they will travel up to a mile along runs to feed on certain types of trees at different times of the year.Willows in early spring ,pines when the buds are bright yellow ,gorse and black berry when in flower .

Edited by Rabbiter - 11 Dec 2016 at 7:17pm

im using Victor No1 leg hold traps. they cost a bit more than the cheap Chinese ones but they are a lot better quality and will out last them hands down.

this is my results so far.

First night, 30 traps set using flour and icing sugar, 0 caught  bait untouched.

Second night using good nature possum paste brought from the shop 5 possums caught only two stations untouched with bait.

Third night using a mix of shop brought and a mix of Maple syrup Cinnamon and flour to thicken it up. my mixture all bait gone shop brought stuff one station untouched. 6 possums in the traps.

Forth night, 50/50 mix of my stuff and shop stuff... only three caught and two stations of brought stuff untouched.

I am hoping this poor result is because i am not placing my traps correctly and bad weather. We have a big front coming over tonight so i dont think i will have too many in the traps tomorrow. next week is looking better so we shall have to wait and see.


Edited by Nunga - 20 May 2016 at 5:26pm

Ha Ha, was wondering. That's a hairy excuse.