Thread: Bird Predator Control

@BillyXmas546 very cool thank you will add that to any new traps i place

"question" should we wash out the traps after killing a cat in them. I never seem to catch anything or another cat in a trap for a good while after killing a cat in that trap, with possums get another the next night. What has got me wondering about this is that I have 6 traps in an area approx 10m x 300m, 2 cages and 6 kill traps each trap has caught a cat once only, when I'd caught 5 I knew where the next one would be caught, in the trap that hadn't got one yet and that's what happened there is obviously a lot of cats in this strip along the edge of the bush, can the cats smell that they will get killed in there? I know its overkill that many traps in a small area but they're hidden from old ladies walking past with cameras and then social media. Any thoughts?

Great observation and question. i know that a trap that has caught a hhog is like a magnet to another hhog but as i catch minimal cats i dont know , will watch with interest.

Nothing exciting around the Park – just the odd possum, hog and rat – numbers are low after we put a session of Contrac through the place
We had a cat stealing rats from boxes up one ridge – so I put a possum master on a ramp – a piece of rabbit for bait and got him in a few days
A bit of action around the Street –
I got a cannibal down the side track – a very large Norway – the Victor didn’t hold him but he was stunned and had a long rest in the box
Getting big Norways coming up from the avocado orchard
I have been after a rabbit digging holes in my lawn but he doesn’t seem keen to run through the tunnel - I got a bit excited when I found an animal in the Fenn6 – hoping it was the lawn digger – but turned out to be another big Norway – the Fenn6 clamped him but he was still very much alive – so I had to go and get the air rifle for a head shot – I was surprised that the Fenn6 didn’t kill him – but he was big and strong
I have a cage on a property down the bottom of the street – the owner found a half-eaten rat pulled out of a Victor Pro – a very delicate eater so thought it would be a cat and suggested he put the rat body in the cage – he found a ferret in the cage next morning – so they are still around
Amazing to think we have Norways and ferrets roaming around our properties – no wonder the dog gets excited about scent trails on the lawn

I cannot catch rats at the moment. I've got them in the roof of the house and chicken coop.
I've used peanut butter, blue smooth paste, walnuts, eggs, mayonnaise, biltong, salami and cheese. Nothing I'm using will catch the mongrels.
There must be so much food around they won't go in the trap.
GRRRRRR

Finally managed to catch a couple of rats. First one was with walnuts the rat was walking over the trap treadle. It had gotten jammed up. When I freed it next night got one. Then no more. So I enclosed the hole they were coming into the chook house under the wall, with pavers and set a fen in the tunnel. Got the big male last night. He was really cunning wouldn't go in a trap. Might have to rethink the size of my entrances in the traps cause he is bloody huge.

That is one big rat. well done

Last year during the winter i had a few stoats on a line with the back end eaten off tail included grrr.. I have just been up and checked out a high country line and had 3 of the 5 stoats eaten BUT this time the bodies were almost picked clean and the tails were all intact LOL

Trying a couple of new trap ideas. sorry i cant do photos but they are double set traps 1.1m long, both run thru types, both with a dirt floors and traps set at ground level, both baited . One has a viewing gap right around it so the stoat can see the egg/rabbit lure no matter where it is . Will keep you posted.

we had a few ferrets eaten in traps...then I caught a BIG ferret...how the heck it managed to get head into and over trip plate of doc250 was surprising...I have cut the square in mesh larger by one line in each direction so 5x5 not 4x4 which helps no end clearing hedgehogs...as does getting rid of bottom wire in middle section.

The video links are of a deer trap I built - it shows the deer going in and the deer escaping a few hours later, When we checked the trap at 4am it was sleeping so we decided to wait till daylight 7am before dealing with it. It got out at 6-30am. I will continue my story in the next link.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/141z...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z-o...ew?usp=sharing

OK to continue, a large Kanuka tree fell over the deer fence and wrecked it. I don't want to repair it till we cut down the other 15/20 large kanuka trees that are ready to fall over the 100/150 meters of broken fence, meanwhile, the deer are coming in eating all the natives I've planted. So we built a deer trap and I tacked the net to the door intending to fix it later after it was proven to work. I checked the whole bloody thing but the door was up and I never noticed it. However, the deer wasn't panicked notice how it just walks away when it gets out. It was back there at 11 that morning and back in the trap the next day and night. The trap has had 4 deer in it at the same time. I've repaired the trap and will be setting it again when my neighbor is available to shoot and gut it. I don't want to sound useless but I don't have a rifle and need to watch how to gut a deer before taking it to the butcher (also a mate) for sausages (trying to avoid criticism)

Originally Posted by BillyXmas546

I don't want to sound useless

With all due respect Billy there is absolutely no chance of that !!

Your opinion on all matters trapping is greatly appreciated. As is your knowledge and wisdom.....you have a huge amount to share.

Awesome looking setup

Gunna be tasty sausages

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kukuwai, I plan to build a smaller version approx 600x600x1200 for cats and possums, I've filmed them walking around the traps a lot more than going in them so something double-ended covered with small mesh netting that's too large to be noticed as a trap or a danger, maybe with hazing at both entrances.

Make sure you keep us posted

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A local friend is running 120 Possum Masters in a reserve near the Kaimais – checking two weekly so needs lure to stick to the trigger – previously using solid state lure tubes but now converted to a small piece of carpet clipped to the trigger. The carpet is smeared with raspberry jam so insects have difficulty extracting it all from the carpet – so the possum enjoys a last bite of sticky jam.


I have trouble keeping an attractive lure on my Sentinel traps – the solid state aniseed lure tube tied to the trigger plate loses it’s odour fairly quicky and although I apply some possum paste each time I go past – the result is short lived and I don’t catch many possums.
So I decided to try jam on my Sentinel traps – so I decided remove the solid state lure tubes and go back to the original bite blocks – with jam on both sides of the bite block and also on the back of the trigger plate
I checked the first five yesterday and got a big possum – looks like he nearly got away with the bite block that was not installed properly – they are a bloody difficult trap to deal with while mounted and fully set.


But today I tried one with carpet and raspberry jam on a gum tree they have been ripping into – will see what happens


Rats are rare around the Park – but plenty of them around our Street – some big Norways coming up from an avocado orchard or the estuary – but plenty of Victors waiting for them