hi everyone,
i have a terminator trap laced with a clove plug. i also spread blaze. my hunting camera recorded TWO possums standing on it and licking around the trunk and trap. neither showed interest in sticking their heads in. I tried loading a video up but not tech savvy enough. 
any advice greatly appreciated
Yeah I had similar problem last year, check out âTrap shy possumsâ thread. When you know possums are there, you have different types of traps out and get critters on camera but they wonât put their head into any of them.
Best advice I got was legholds which have had a better success rate on these hard to catch ones. Cheap and easy to set. You do have to be there of course to check them in the morning and have a way of killing what you catch. Not set and forget like many traps
best of luck
Are they close enough to HQ that you could use 1 or 2 cages?
Cinnamon-coated apples have been effective for me, as have feijoas, but I donât know if theyâre available at this time of year.
Best of luck.
We do pretty well with Nutella on the bite block and just a dab of Nutella at the base of the tree. We prefer Flipping Timmies, but Trapinator (Is that what you mean? Or is there a Terminator?) is similar without the sensitivity adjustments.
Maybe have less things to interact with around the trap and encourage them to get their head in.
It can be seasonal too. We were catching less around the Poplar/willow trees in spring with all the new shoots for them to eat.
As Willo says, apple with cinnamon is also great, but again Flipping Timmies are more apple friendly that the Trapinator. I had to use a stick to stop the lid closing and pushing on the apple - I guess not designed for that. Good luck!
Hi
Trapinator is not my favorite trap, have 300 sentinels, but the possum should at least be a bit closer than base of tree, what I would suggest is to use a wooden running board, board off old pellet is ok, board at about 40 deg 50deg if there are kiwi or weka around, and about 240 mm from the top of board to bottom of trap, put some small dabs of lure on the board, if you donât have any commercial Blue Smooth or Possum dough just try some peanut butter.
Cam Speedy has just done a webinar which will now be on Predator free website, the first video he shows is one of mine using lure on the board to get possums at the top of board and next to trap
good luck
@dave_e I imagine this is what youâre describing? I put a couple of beefy nails out the back of the board so it can hook over a branch, or a fence line, or either side of a small tree. Could use a chord, whatever suits. Easily moved, but wonât fall over.
thanks for your reply. i have one leg hold near traps, so far theyve missed standing on it despite covering. im feeling nervous about it as i dont want to hurt other animals 
thanks for that. no kiwi or wekas im going to try the board and will watch the webinar
thanks for response. yes it is a trapinator. i was using apple /cinamon or cloves in a timms trap. over summer, it now has a terracotta lure. i also had issues fitting apples in the trapinator
Hi I should have added a photo this setup works for traps that have entrance at the bottom
Landcare research from the 90âs plus our own 300 trap trials show that using a board catches significantly more possums, Possum like to investigate before commiting to going after the lure so using a board or putting the trap above a branch they can sit on gives them a comfortable place to investigate, putting some dabs of lure on the board gives them a safe taste of what is in the trap
That mobile trap and board is a good idea lets you move it easily when you spot possum sign
Hi Tarata, Yes I understand re not hurting other animals though sounds like you don;t have weka/kiwi (as we don;t either).
From my reading, practice is not to cover the leghold treadle plate which it sounds like youâve done. Rather, leave it exposed and âhazeâ or direct the visiting possum right into the site with a corridor of branches etc leading directly into it. Other attractive waypoints on the corridor could be dab of lure, piece of shiny tinfoil etc. Make sure no twigs are so close that when stepped on they would set the trap off. Just beyond the trap place your lure, say apple/cinnamon, possum dough/aniseed spray etc. I put the lure on a tree trunk, say a possum length up, with the leghold placed just in front of the tree. Hopefully your corridor and your lure lead the animal directly towards the trap rather than relying on luck for them to step on it. Final point, trap is attached to tree so that anything caught doesn;t take off never to be found. Good luck
UPDATE: caught one possum, using mayo as suggested by the group. THANK YOU to those you took the time to help me! together we will succeed
Hi again tarata
Iâve just posted results of latest leghold exercise on topic âtrap shy possumsâ which you can find under Predator Control Strategy tab if youâre interested.
Glad you had success with mayo, my go-to is now aniseed based on my latest results
thanks, yes big relief to finally catch one!, the other one i havent seen for awhile.(maybe its moved to the neighbours hehe)
I 'm curious about using aniseed. do you use oil?
hi again Tarata
I use a Connovation possum lure that is aniseed liquid in a spray bottle. It is quite oily and can go hard in cold winters, not sure of its actual composition tho.
I use a little of this, a couple of drops is enough, on a rag to lure them to the tree that has a leghold trap at the bottom. Have also used same spray on a foam block in Trapinator, it lasts a few days of scent but not a full month.
If you don;t want to buy a whole bottle of this lure (overkill for so few possums) anything that smells aniseedy, even a licorice allsort would probably bring them in. Possum Dough is a very nice product to use and same scent.
Cheers
Thank you for all your help, its seriously appreciated. ive been following your advice so far. the connovation lure sounds cool, and i might try that last. My wife came home today with star anisee, which we are thinking of grinding and adding to blaze/mayo or the dough?
last night I shone the torch on the trees and two pairs of eyes stared back at me at first, then a second set turned and faced the light!. SOOO it appears i have a mummy possum again with a joey on her back. 
I have set the trailcam up tonight so hopefully that will explain a bit
