Thread: Possum trapping

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.

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


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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
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
im lucky iv been doing this stuff since I was 7 or 8 (my mum or dad had to skin them for me 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
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 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.




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.