I have a relatively new tims trap that won’t trigger. I can see the possum on a trail cam eating the bait.
I can hook a stick to the trigger bar and pull it and the pegs out of the ground, I have to bang it on top with a mallet repeatedly to get it to go off. Is the sensitivity adjustable? Or have I got a dud trap? Cheers
@otagomark I’ve read that you can adjust the sensitivity of a Timms Trap by bending the bar, but I haven’t done it myself. I’m not sure how much you’d need to bend the bar to compensate for it being insensitive enough that you can pull the trap out of the ground by the trigger!
Do you have any photos of the trap mechanism (set and unset) that you could share?
If you bend the bar forwards, the sensitivity increases. I would often find Timms with the bait missing, until I modified them.
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Bend the rod forward as explained by WFW - it’s good to adjust a Timms trap to trip with a “gentle” slap on the side with both hands. If the trap has a sensitive set – a rat should trip the trap and take a ride to the top of the box – if he is going to steal your apple, then best that you catch it or he will be back for the next one.
This is a April 2021 picture - the red plastic box was getting old and the next possum that was caught ripped out more plastic around a the mounting screws and dragged the box 10m down the bank – I have never seen that happen with a genuine yellow Timms made by Stallion Plastics in Palmy.
I always cut a slot in the lower box to allow the bait rod to be pulled out of the box for rebaiting – it saves undoing screws – but these days mine are all mounted on plywood bases with a slide system – one screw to remove as required.
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