Thread: Possum Trapping

Cheers for the advice guys.
I'm using cinnamon, icing sugar and flour in one mix then rubbing it on the tree. Does anyone mix there bait with water as well for a different consitancy?

No problem at all sparrow, I'm glad I can give something back.

Anyway... (10 traps)
tue 1
wed 5
thur 1
fri 0
sat (today)6

Couple days were pretty poor, didnt set traps for the fri morning. Been finding a lot of set off but empty traps this week sadly, any tips on getting a better conversion rate?

Carrying possums by the tails in my hands is what I've been doing but can see it getting a bit much if I start getting more than six lol anyone have any genius ideas?

Thinking of maybe investing in a farm bike once I have a decent amount of traps out there.
And is there any quicker alternative to using your hands to pluck I heard there's a machine but can I just use a cordless pair of sheers or something like that?

Cheers
Scotty

Why are you carrying them? Give it the sleepy stick the probably carry it to the next trap to give it time to "relax" then pluck while still warm. You need a plucker machine to pluck when cold. Often hand plucked is worth more.
I think you will find they won't take fur that's been cut.

I bring them back down for the pigs, suppose the guy should understand I cant carry them all if I start getting more. Think 6 is my max after this morning. What should I do with the ones I kill and don't take back down with me?
Hmm guess ill just pluck then
Cheers mate

Originally Posted by scotsman

I bring them back down for the pigs, suppose the guy should understand I cant carry them all if I start getting more. Think 6 is my max after this morning. What should I do with the ones I kill and don't take back down with me?
Hmm guess ill just pluck then
Cheers mate

for one's you have plucked a big throw if you want to skin them hang them near the trap and skin them the next day then throw

If you are having the traps go off and no possum you possibly are setting to far from tree, I set a hand width from the trunk, another possible cause could be not having the trap stable and the possum stands on the edge of the trap and it tilts and goes off. It pays to use your hammer and dig a little out and place trap so it sits nice and stable, also I set the trap with the dog closest to the tree. There is a chance that when the trap is sprung the Dog ( bit that holds jaws open and is set on plate) could hit the possums foot and throw it away from the jaws, not often but can happen.
An unstable trap is more likely to be the problem of sprung traps and no possum.

Originally Posted by Mooseman

If you are having the traps go off and no possum you possibly are setting to far from tree, I set a hand width from the trunk, another possible cause could be not having the trap stable and the possum stands on the edge of the trap and it tilts and goes off. It pays to use your hammer and dig a little out and place trap so it sits nice and stable, also I set the trap with the dog closest to the tree. There is a chance that when the trap is sprung the Dog ( bit that holds jaws open and is set on plate) could hit the possums foot and throw it away from the jaws, not often but can happen.
An unstable trap is more likely to be the problem of sprung traps and no possum.

Took your advice mate and haven't found an empty set off trap since


Update: 27/3-31/3 (13 traps)

Mon- 2
tue-3
wed-3
thur-1
fri (today)-2

Pulled all my traps out today going to go set them in a new area this weekend.

I've caught 40 possums since I started on the 7th of march and I've filled about 3/4 of a black bag with fur. Still to sell it, probably will soon, all that talk about weavels in the fur bag has got me paranoid

cheers
scotty

good to see your getting a few scotsman, don't worry about the weavels they take some time to do any damage

Been a while since I updated this..

I've got just over 30 traps at the moment.

Probably averaging about 6 a day right now taking into account the bad days. My records 9. I've hit it a few times, still not got those double figure numbers!
Bagged a quad as well which is great lol
Have learned a ton since I started but still got a lot to learn. I spend more time in the bush than I used to due to having more traps, taking more time setting them properly and scouting new trapping spots. It probably takes me 3-4 hours sometimes more, depends how good a day it is and where my traps are etc. Feeling pretty fit as well I might add. Really need to invest in a quality pair of waterproof boots though...like really lol
Caught a black one the other day, I skinned it but not sure what to do with it now. I've only caught 2 so far and a few in-betweens.
Also I swapped the cinnamon in my bait mix for vanilla essence which has been working nicely for me although I have problems finding the right consistency of my bait I prefer it to be powder but cant really get that with the essence?? Got a little box of ginger as well I assume its in powder form, might try that next week to see what its like.

Scotsman

thank's for the update scotsman,i have been wondering how you where getting on.what do you want to do with the black ones i.e keep or sell?

No problem mate. Do you know how much are they worth for just the skin? I seen a possum skin rug with a pretty hefty price tag, think it was 60 skins but that would take a while to get so maybe like gloves or a hat haha

@scotsman i have no idea what you get for skin's i just pluck them when i'm working,if you want to make something with skin's freeze them until you have what you need and use a tanning kit,a hat sound's nice and a good place to start pics when done please

Nice to hear you are catching a few and that the advice has helped you out, keep it up.

Sweet, I've got that one in the freezer just now. Would be pretty cool to make something out of a few skins. I'll need to start learning about it, soon as well cause its getting cold and a warm hat wouldn't go a miss!

Sounds to me like you've got it sussed, well done for getting out there and making a decent go of it. When I'm trapping down here in the mainland I can run about 100 - 120 traps comfortably for a week or 2. Nearly all my traps are set in strings of 10, makes it easy to keep a track of them and if I have a long continuous line I put a piece of different coloured flagging tape at each 10th one. I try to set about half of them where I can get to them on a bike or in the truck, like fencelines or 4WD tracks etc. And then I set the other half by walking them in. Then I check all the drive by ones after dinner at night, spotlighting as I go, and resetting them. Next morning I do the walk in ones. Then I do the drive by ones to the end of the lines, wait until an hour after dark and check them again on my way back to the hut. This way I'm catching on half of the traps at least twice a night, and shooting any others in the spotlight as I go. I aim to get better than 30% or 30 possums per day from 100 traps, for 6 or seven nights. Plucking I can average just over $8 per possum, so thats $1600 for the week minus expenses. If I get more than 30% then I'm making pretty good money. The best line I have plucked so far averaged $12.51 per possum, prime winter fur, on big mountain possums.
And I try to spend just a bit more time on each set to make sure its in a good place and is bedded well - after all if you are gonna put in all that effort you might as well make it catch as many as possible.

Thanks for the advice mate! I like these ideas, they sound very efficient. How far apart would you say you put your trapping lines between each other like do you have a minimum distance you'd like to keep?
And to yourself or anyone else, what are the main things your looking for when picking a tree to put your trap on, is being right on possum run way better than a tree that's covered in scratch marks for instance. Now that I've started noticing possum runs more I've being following them either up or down and setting maybe 3 traps on them. Normally ill always get 1, but rarely 2. Varies each night which one its on. Is this a thing I should be doing or am I wasting a trap or 2 on it?

Cheers