Recently, I substituted smooth aniseed lure for possum dough. Over a period of 4 years, I’ve used the latter in 15 Sentinel traps to remove over 300 possums from a 3Ha block. I decided to try the aniseed lure because the dough tends to absorb a lot of water in rainy periods. I found that with the new lure, the bait clips were cleaned out every night in a way had not previously occurred. Suspecting mice, i put a cam on a trap and discovered that the bait was being stripped not by mice, but by a weka that was climbing the tree, a blackbird, a tauhou and a bellbird. I could not tell how many of each were involved. In any event, the bait was stripped before nightfall. I stopped rebaiting the Sentinels to discourage the birds. Today I caught a blackbird and a tauhou in D-traps, and a chaffinch inside a Victor box trap. I am surmising that the birds generalised sny artificial structure as a potential source of food. In any event, an unwanted outcome that appears to have been prompted by the pink aniseed lure. Has anyone observed a similar outcome? I have advised Connovation of my experience.
No experience with pure aniseed, and no problems experienced with possum dough. However this time of year I do experience more catches of exotic birds.I have to be very careful not to put the Victor traps too near the end of the tunnel, and not to add anything too tasty near the opening to tempt them (or the rats) inside.
Thanks. This lure is actually a pink paste. Aniseed is a good possum attractant - i used the oil on traps when I was a youngster selling skins, but it could be that the bright colour of the smooth lure - in contrast to the brown of possum dough - is attractive to birds, which wouldnt be helpful! And I was surprised that the chaffinch had gone to the end of the trap for peanut butter. In 4 years I’ve caught one small bird in a Victor box - a sparrow. What I have learned is that birds are much smarter than I had assumed and research repeatedly shows it. I don’t put generalising beyond them.