Possum trapping

Hello all, im new here and was looking for information on trapping possums. Ive searched the forums and have found a lot of good information on lures and so forth and i have tried pretty much most of the combinations of different lures without any luck. I know how to check for possums as i normally just shoot them but i have had no luck in catching them in traps. I am using Victor no1 traps i have 30 of them set over 3 nights at the moment and i have had a 0% catch rate... do i need to get more traps? I know the possums are there because i shot 12 last night in the trees above the dam traps when i was out checking the traps!..My last lure i tried was icing sugar and flour 1 part icing sugar to 5 parts flour. I have the trap set on the tree base around a foot away from the trunk and put the lure on the tree trunk. I have used this method for all the lures i have tried and i havent caught a single thing. any ideas on what im doing wrong?

Take some pics of a few of your sets and post them.

If you have monkeys in a tree a trap is set on, it is likely your are missing the approach or something is putting them off your set.

Has your lure been touched?

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Ill post some photos later on today, and no the lure is not been touched

Nunga have a look around second hand bookshops for Possum trapping by Graeme Marshall. I go for a highly scented flour and cover the pan of trap only as it catches them high up the leg with no skin break.Not a fan of smear of flour up tree trunk as i want them in trap not feeding them.If public land minimum trap locating marker to cut down on stolen traps,if private a strip of white plastic or shopping bag hanging above the trap so they get nosy.

The traps need to only be about one hand span from the tree ,about maybe 6" or 150mm max . As for a lure you need to use a decent amount ,have a look on youtube there are plenty of examples .

I went out today and got some shop lure its called good nature possum paste its orange in colour i have put this on all my traps. here is a photo of what most of them look like.

Attachment 49619

Stick your lure about a hammers length up the tree so the possum has to reach for it and catch his back leg in the trap


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Originally Posted by Nunga

I went out today and got some shop lure its called good nature possum paste its orange in colour i have put this on all my traps. here is a photo of what most of them look like.

Attachment 49619

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Yeah. Get trap as said above, a hands span from tree. Set as pictured above will result in a low percentage.

I just use flour with ground cloves for lure.
Smear a line starting 2 foot up the trunk about a foot long above trap.
I also might staple something to peak their interest like a length of shopping bag or a thin length of white plastic sign board also 2-3 foot up the tree.

Don't be afraid to cam your set up a bit as well. Doesn't need to be perfect.
Look for marks that indicate the side a critter will climb tree and in turn approach the set.
Guide them in to your set with with logs and rocks etc.

Keep at it and you will work out a strategy.😆


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I got 4 possums with those 30 traps yesterday this time. changed the sets to what you all have said and im about to go back now to check to see if that has helped i will let you know the outcome.

some areas hold poison/trap shy coons just a matter of upping your game a little as R93 pointed out don't be shy on covering the traps a little especially with them all nice & shiny ! first time I cam across it I was in waipori falls a Farley remote village in the bush but I guess others had the same idea as me so end result was difficult possums to catch I tried a few different lures curry powder , cinnamon , aniseed & peanut butter none worked that great in the end I got my hands on 15 prefeed stations & 6 bags of cinnamon pellets kept them topped up for a week then crushed up a bunch of pellets put a handful on the ground infront of the stations small blobs of poision then covered in the cinnamon mix & bingo only down side if your to far off the beatn track theres a bit of work involved ...good luck
also don't move the traps that are catching only move the ones that aren't :thumbsup:

yeah, the traps that seem to be catching are all on the south side. I have 10 more traps going in that area tomorrow. I got 6 this time round.

I have another question. how far apart would you recommend placing the traps? and how long should i leave the ones that are not catching in place?

how far apart....on any good trees...10mtrs not too close where heaps of sign but 25-30 would be norm around a fence line. get right down and look hard for where possums are walking....bit like a sheep track but more subtle,place trap on this run and you should be good. looking at photo,personally I would think possums are going up one leg or the other so will miss your trap completely,work out which leg they climbing and put trap beside that and see how you get on. G.Ms book is full of good info.

also when you "dong" your possum and its dead and peeing let it do so around your trap..the scent will help up your catch rate.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

how far apart....on any good trees...10mtrs not too close where heaps of sign but 25-30 would be norm around a fence line. get right down and look hard for where possums are walking....bit like a sheep track but more subtle,place trap on this run and you should be good. looking at photo,personally I would think possums are going up one leg or the other so will miss your trap completely,work out which leg they climbing and put trap beside that and see how you get on. G.Ms book is full of good info.

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Which book is this?

i think it is Possum trapping by Graeme Marshall?? oh yeah by the way im trying a new lure. i have got Maple syrup Cinnamon and flour to thicken it up into a paste and i have put this on the traps that i know caught things in to see if that works. ill let you know the results tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by Nunga

i think it is Possum trapping by Graeme Marshall?? oh yeah by the way im trying a new lure. i have got Maple syrup Cinnamon and flour to thicken it up into a paste and i have put this on the traps that i know caught things in to see if that works. ill let you know the results tomorrow.

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Ditch the Maple syrup and do not under any circumstances put any lure on the trap . Smear the flour on the tree !!!!!.

Nunga it looks like you are starting to get things sorted.A raid on the smellies and perfume cupboard is an option.

I used to use aniseed essence and flour only


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He mate..firstly there is not really any set rules that's what makes it fun ..its something you learn to do ....its like starting school!!!
gota study aye :P
I think stick to the aniseed / flour mix its solid sometimes rats can be a problem but at least with a trap you catch them ! ...mix it a minimum 10 days before you use it & keep in a air tight container at all times longer you leave it the better if ur in a hurry mix the aniseed up first store it & use a curry powder/flour mix first u will get away roughly using that straight away just put plenty of curry in there ...pic some country you want to trap , look at the lie of the land...sometimes a safe bet is to trap a few spur,s , first up then 1 down another..get a feel of where/what level the coons are at...set your traps properly youv only got 30...which is fine just set them properly (its an art) , that pic u posted of that trap at the base of tree you could have set that a few different ways at a minimum put some sides on it "as mentioned" even better ,pluss lowered it , little cover over it ...nothing in for 2 nights move it don't leave it any longer that go,s for all your traps less the ones that catch a coon..the way things are these days you keep moving pretty quick & that's fine it keeps you thinking & fit :)...you must work on the theory they are little trap/poison shy if your near bush edge they will be...once you work it out ul be a trapper :thumbsup:
im lucky iv been doing this stuff since I was 7 or 8 (my mum or dad had to skin them for me :D else id break the tails !) started off with cage traps lol before I was 10 I had my pony trained to carry my coon,s , traps etc & that was when there was plenty around ...BUT even then there were plenty of trap shy coons & poison for that matter someone's always chasing them :)
never forget an old fella all the cockys used to talk about him he was ledged In our district every winter he would turn up was in his seventy's when I spoke to him a couple of times but the biggest impression I got from him was his sets I would come across while hunting ...most o them were awesome especially the ones on or close to the bush edge ...proper sets that stayed there (not the traps) but logs or roots chiselled out from his tomahawk or small logs buttoned up sometimes nailed up against a tree etc ...awesome :o
sometimes times you can just wander along plonk a trap or plob of goo down & bingo , its been a while since iv had a spot like that but I do have a place in mind maybe this winter il go back last time I was there it was late in the day weather had been crap but stoped raining so went into a new spot up a big spur down another for a bit of a test run ..wee runs all over the show some where leafless !! using cyanide/aniseed flour lure & for marking my line I was using toilet paper :oh noes: yep later that night it pissed down & the next so 3 days later I went back not that hopeful struggling to follow the line with sodden paper washed in I only got half way wasps gave me the shits but managed to skin nearly 80 of the bigger ones before I had to turned back but that was may average 4.70 a skin :(
never been back ! maybe this year .

Cheers for that, All my sets are about a hours walk into the bush. I am deep in there and have my spot marked on the GPS. Tomorrow im going to move all the traps (the first five sets on the left) that havent caught anything and looking at them i would say they havent caught anything because i have placed them in the wrong place or tree, I have noticed the wind has changed direction and it is blowing hard on that side of the mountain which might have something to do with it. I do not think it is cause of the lure i have tried. I would say its more to do with I was in a rush to set them when i first started because i have caught possums on all the lures i have experimented with now. Ive been hiking gear up for a few days and i will start on making a base camp tomorrow if i get the chance so i can stay there a night or two that will give me chance to set the traps properly, ill set the traps in the day and shoot them at night in a different area and see how that goes. I just got 10 more traps as well and ive sorted out a numbering system as i have found it very easy to lose track of what traps you have checked and what havent been checked. I also think a notebook is in order to log which traps have been successful and which needs moving.

Boaraxa...I had one trap that was set as you describe....4 post staples held trap in place whole thing was set level with tree root on side of tree and chiselled down with tomahawk ...that one trap used to catch nearly every night..on a tawa tree probably 3 feet through right beside farm track. the possums used that one root as a stairwell and the trap had been put in the stairs if you like....

Have to,set them 750mm above ground om the island cos of kiwis. 2 4 inch nails in the the trunk at right height, snip heads off wih bolt cutters. Traps slides onto them through the round spring holes and staple chain low enuff so you can reset it on the ground

Well i have been at this for around three weeks now and i have been taking notes in my little black book and i have come to the following conclusion... Trapping for me with the exception of one trap is totally random. The traps are all over the place in which ones catch and which ones dont. Traps that catch good one day are untouched the next two and when i go to move them they have caught one! I have not seen any pattern at all, Building the sides up did nothing to increase the catch rate, Infact the tree that catches the most is a small skinny tree with no sides at all and just sits there at the base of the tree this trap has only had 4 days out of the three weeks empty. Today i only had 4 in the traps and the rest were empty, Cant blame the weather as it is not to bad out there. I would of thought i would be seeing a increase of my catch rate with the amount of research i have been doing and following all the do and donts people say but after three weeks I feel as if nothing has changed it is very disheartening to say the least. I was thinking to setup a infrared camera at one of the traps and see what is going on...maybe it is the mice or rats eating the bait who knows....


Well thats my little rant for the day.

i set a camera up on one of mine, rats were there all the time on the island. little buggers would walk on the arms but not on the pressure plate!

Nunga, I have had similar experiences; I am a pretty casual trapper and will usually put traps out a week or two a year. I have tried many homemade baits including just plain flour and everything seems to work. I am pretty careful about where and how I place sets, but as you said I can't see any rhyme or reason to it. Some traps catch almost every night and some that I think are in the perfect place catch nothing. I have had trouble with trap shy possums and will put out a few un-baited covered traps in obvious runs, and they catch surprisingly well. I think it is just a numbers game, you do the best you can and you take what you get.

I have found what has been eating all the bait.

Attachment 50562


Bloody rats!!

ouch....one way to stop them breeding I suppose.

I have another question for all you trappers out there. ...How many traps do you use and what percentage do they trap at on average? like 100 traps @ 20 a night or what ever.. The reason im asking this is to get some kind of idea where im at with my trapping skills and expectations.

Put out 30, catch 5 or 6 on a good night

I usually trap for a few weeks each year, being self employed I can just take the time off to suit, makes a welcome change from my usual work. In the country I work, I can effectively run 100 traps. I set approx 40-50 that I can do a drive by in the truck and the other 50-60 in lines of 10 in the patches of bush, some may take 30 minutes to walk to. I flag nearly every trap as I am on private property and the flagging tape or plastic attracts the possums - fluro yellow works the best. Once I have my traps out, I check them in the morning and reset, have a snooze if I have time and then recheck all the drive by ones an hour or 2 after dark as well as spotlighting my way around. That way those 40-50 are possibly catching twice a day. And you get the added ones from spotlighting. You need to be catching about 30 per night from 100 traps to make it worthwhile. At an average of $8-11 per possum that should bring in close to $300 per day. Take out your expenses and it works out about the same as wages. has been some good advice on here, take it all in and keep on having fun.

Try scraping a small hollow, use your hammer. set trap so its more level with ground, then you can sprinkle a little soil on top of trap to hide it a little. Very frustrating hobby. them bears have been avoiding traps, poisons, bullets all there lives and they are not stupid. good luck

Good to see some good advice

Lures make sure your lure has icing sugar in it a possum will lick flour and move on if it is sweet it will keep licking until it stands in the trap, If you are trapping on a big tree lure it on all sides so any passing possum see the white blaze and comes looking. Possums only smell lures from about 2 to 5 metres. Even lure between traps it is not wasted as if your trap is full that other possum will be looking for that sweet feed tomorrow night.

If you only have a few traps prefeed ahead of your self so that the possum is visiting the site you are going to put your trap on before you get there and you will increase your catch. You will get to know how many nights a trap will catch for and just keep moving the if walking past your old sites lure these up as you go and when you see a possum is eating that lure each night set a trap often the best possum to get caught are the big fury does. Fur prices are good and skin prices are getting better so hope you all have a good season.

The Feral Action Network runs a good insurance scheme of $10 million Public Liability and $5 million Rural Fire for trappers and environmental workers costs under $300 well worth belonging contact nzferalaction@hotmail.co.nz

Prebait is a great tool, it makes your future trap sites a part of the coons routine before you get there. You can sort the best spots for traps etc with a minimum of work adjusting markers etc to make life easy. A mate does this with great success, prebaits for up to six weeks then in for the kill. He runs 100 odd traps and sits around 90% for a week or longer.

For lure we always used whole meal flour, icing sugar, cooking oil and aniseed or rose essence. The oil puts some water resistance into it.