Hi this paper is intended to help guide people build up skills and become a better possum trapper, I have not gone into the debatable issue of what traps to use
cheers
Dave
possum control using single set kill traps edit.pdf (874.1 KB)
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@dave_e thank you for sharing this. This paper is full of good ideas and suggestions - appreciate the work you went into preparing this.
I have been involved with a project for 5 years, and I’d like to share your paper with other members of the group - some who have been involved for 15 years and are hard to change how they have done things in the past! I’ve moved trap and bait stations position locations, shared observations on where animals are passing (ie animal tracks) and where they are not - and generally we are more successful now with our predator control than they were 6 years ago. Thanks again
Hi Eric
I have been doing this for a long time but try to keep my mind open to different ways of thinking and ideas but I also meet plenty of people who are stuck in their ways and reluctant to change or even accept that there is more than one way to do a job, proof is generally in the results. people who said we could not trap possums to low levels over large areas have now changed their minds and copied what we do with modified Sentinels. which is great as it helps to open their minds to other new/better ways
have a good day
Dave
Flexibility and experimentation are crucial. Using the same traps, techniques, and lures year-after-year is a recipe for failure.
When I first started trapping, I was using 4 DOC 200 single-sets with standard lures, like an egg, and a few snap traps. In Year One, I trapped 25 rats, 16 small rodents, and 1 weasel over 4 hectares of mature bush and scrub. After Year One’s poor results, I did a lot of trapping research; I re-sited my tunnels; I invested in a variety of traps and more of them; I bought, made or modified DOC and snap trap tunnels; I tried numerous techniques; I experimented with dozens of visual and edible lures; and I check my traps frequently. As of 11/11, I’m up to 135 rats, 199 small rodents, 4 stoats, and 2 weasels in Year Five.
When trapping possums, I’d bet good money that using 2 models of trap, instead of 1, and using a variety of lures would result in much higher kill rates.
(Note: I’m not able to trap many possums, because the forestry blocks in the area regularly control them).
Hi It was my suggestion to Trap nz that got this new section where field proven peer reviewed paper could be shared , Unfortunatly it looks like it might just turn into another forum where anything worthwhile gets lost.
regarding your comment on lures maybe worthwhile reading page 7 Lures
cheers