Thread: The Oldies possum trapping 2021

Finally got serious about trapping again after missing out last year with Covid shutting the forest. Our first pre-feed today, then Friday and setting traps on Monday. Area looks promising so will try to update as we go. Let's see how the oldies go @Mooseman @BeeMan. Was a bit cold today hence the many layers and need for a hot cuppa half way around.

give em heaps.....looks like some rather crappy weather coming later in week...

Good to see you guys back into it !!!!
Looking forward to the pictures, yarns and tales

Good on you Mrs Beeman

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Good luck.

Possum water hole found yesterday.

Who you calling Oldies @Mrs Beeman

@BeeMan has been getting our Prefeed supplies ready for tomorrow's next feed.

Meal feed pellet cinnamon lured.

Possum lollies (fruit pieces)

Mixed nuts and pellets cinnamon lured.

This is the lure for the traps. It's a mixture of Flour, Ryemeal, Kibbled maize, chia seeds and cinnamon oil. I think half of it ended up on @BeeMan's clothes but at least it smells nice. Let's hope the possums find something they like out of all that.

after 35 years of running possum operations for DOC I will share with you all the best prefeed recipe I have ever come across - Commercial grade margarine - icing sugar and Raspberry milk shake mix - we used big 10 litre pails of commercial margarine -now here is the trick and its a must do -mix Rasberry milk shake mix with icing sugar and leave overnight to absorb - then mix with margarine - a drill and an egg beater whisk on it helps mix quickly - dont try mixing milkshake mix into maragine on it own -it wont mix - in summer add more icing sugar or plain sugar if mix gets to soft - in winter add cooking oil to soften if needed- can spoon it out or put into tubes and lay that way - goes well over the top of paste cyanide - near or above trap - I have seen bark chewed of to get the last bit

Looking good

Interesting, keep the adventure going. I enjoy your writing and photos

Some of the bark biting we see around the new line. May bee beavers

Brazilian ?

Im sorry that was a bit riskah.....
back on topic....a mate who did possoms at home years back tried all sorts of lure concoctions...
cloves in the lure worked well...weanamon was awesome but no way was that safe anywhere near stock...his theory was possums got cunning and would lick lure off bait in cold nights (loads of bare baits gave him that theory) by adding something they could chew on,they bit into bait.
I know of another fella who made up heaps of marble sized balls of dough and used to drive forestry tracks and biff them as he went...after prefeeding,would do poison run.
best Ive personally done was 360 of single line...best Roger did to my knowledge was 600...I helped him skin that one and it was plurry hard work,I did the kittens and easier ones while Roger worked on tough ones back....sleave skinning back before plucking was the norm.
learnt a lot of Roger.

@Mooseman and me had lines of 300 n 400 in the days, even went our own ways one trip, he went South of camp and I went North, I got a couple more than @Mooseman, I got 367 on my line. Yep and before someone comments about how many you can skin in a day we didn't skin them, we did autopsy every one tho looking for TB. The days of putting cyanide into boiled macaroni elbows for weatherproofing would go down like a lead balloon this day n age.

Originally Posted by BeeMan

@Mooseman and me had lines of 300 n 400 in the days, even went our own ways one trip, he went South of camp and I went North, I got a couple more than @Mooseman, I got 367 on my line. Yep and before someone comments about how many you can skin in a day we didn't skin them, we did autopsy every one tho looking for TB. The days of putting cyanide into boiled macaroni elbows for weatherproofing would go down like a lead balloon this day n age.

Well bugger me
I not heard of the Macaroni trick before
We bought empty medicine capsules by the 500 pack - and then dipped them in a lured wax mix (clove oil usually) after filling with the drug

Found a lot of Possum would take them away - more so in populated areas (possum not human)

But as you know - hard to go past the Traps as a main stay through all weathers

Looking forward to later today's catch rate