Trapping.

Set up some traps on the weekend. Did a pre bait on some Thursday and set up 16 traps Friday. Three in traps Saturday. Had a couple get out [emoji35] set some more and changed a couple.

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This morning ended up with seven. One on a poplar the rest in pines. Two on a double on a old man pine [emoji41][emoji106].

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10 possum total.
600 grams fur.
$1.80 kg for body head/claws off and guts out.
If I average $10/possum.
2.5 hrs work ( setting, plucking/gutting, pulling traps. Not including travel as was already on job)

So 10 possum/ 2.5 hour = $40/hr.

Not bad.


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Originally Posted by tiroahunta

Set up some traps on the weekend. Did a pre bait on some Thursday and set up 16 traps Friday. Three in traps Saturday. Had a couple get out [emoji35] set some more and changed a couple.



This morning ended up with seven. One on a poplar the rest in pines. Two on a double on a old man pine [emoji41][emoji106].

10 possum total.
600 grams fur.
$1.80 kg for body head/claws off and guts out.
If I average $10/possum.
2.5 hrs work ( setting, plucking/gutting, pulling traps. Not including travel as was already on job)

So 10 possum/ 2.5 hour = $40/hr.

Not bad.


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I understand the cash for the fur, but was wondering what industry buys the carcass at $1,80 for kg? Its not something I want to do, I am simply curious what uses possum meat? Dog food or Cat food? I think its great that there is a financial reason to be trapping them. If there is money generated by trapping then that is another way to reduce the amount spent on poisons like 1080 in those places.

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Originally Posted by timattalon

I understand the cash for the fur, but was wondering what industry buys the carcass at $1,80 for kg? Its not something I want to do, I am simply curious what uses possum meat? Dog food or Cat food? I think its great that there is a financial reason to be trapping them. If there is money generated by trapping then that is another way to reduce the amount spent on poisons like 1080 in those places.

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As @berg243 said. Pet food. If I wasn’t selling it would be going to my working dogs. Missus is getting a companion dog on Wednesday and is going to put it on raw food diet so some of what I trap/shoot will go towards that.


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There was a joker on here recently who joined up and put up a post about buying bulk carcasses for pet food. If I recall there was minimum weight requirements though...

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Originally Posted by timattalon

I understand the cash for the fur, but was wondering what industry buys the carcass at $1,80 for kg? Its not something I want to do, I am simply curious what uses possum meat? Dog food or Cat food? I think its great that there is a financial reason to be trapping them. If there is money generated by trapping then that is another way to reduce the amount spent on poisons like 1080 in those places.

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Probably shouldn't mention this but it was back in 1990 and the particular shop has now closed down...
But back in my University days I supplemented my meager student allowance with possum skins to the local skin buyer and would sell the carcass to the local chinese takeaways (delivered to owners home address not the back door of the shop).

Just looking at your ground trap sets, you want to bed your traps into the substrate a bit more, so the trap sits firmly on the ground. Might explain a couple of your escapes. The trap shouldn't be easily moved when touched. Give the ground a couple of whacks with your hammer to soften the soil and then dig in the front end of the trap (the triangled end of steel base furthest from tree base) into soil, wriggle the set trap into the soil so it's firmly seated. Also, trap is best set about a hand width from your flour blaze. Hopefully this will make sense.

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Originally Posted by charliehorse

There was a joker on here recently who joined up and put up a post about buying bulk carcasses for pet food. If I recall there was minimum weight requirements though...

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Yes. 500 kg. Out of my league though...


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I’ll take all advice on board. Learning as I go....


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Originally Posted by tiroahunta

I’ll take all advice on board. Learning as I go....


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Check out this fellas youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/KeepingItWild

Has some good vids on trapping possums, from memory he called them 'life of a possum trapper' [emoji106]

Me and the boys have been getting amongst it, the fur stash is building and we are dreaming of what we might buy when we sell it. [emoji41]

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https://www.youtube.com/c/KeepingItWild

Yes Shay Williamson and now wife Abby
I gave her a pair of my Boots to head back down to Tuatapere with after their wedding back in BOP

He's a goer and even an old Possum plucker learnt something off his Vlogs (can't remember what it was but :-)
Shoots a lot of bush Deer too that boy

I bloody enjoy his vids. No frills, good solid kiwi kid [emoji106] He knows is stuff too [emoji41]

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Originally Posted by tiroahunta

As @berg243 said. Pet food. If I wasn’t selling it would be going to my working dogs. Missus is getting a companion dog on Wednesday and is going to put it on raw food diet so some of what I trap/shoot will go towards that.


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I hope the missus's new dog will be sleeping outside! :sick:

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Originally Posted by berg243

pet food place down here buys possum,goat , wallaby ,deer , pigs ,chamois , tahr , rabbit ,hare ,pheasant , chukor ,quail ,duck and goose only intestines removed heart lung liver and kidneys must be in carcase . hope to get out and try some trapping this coming week myself.

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they better not be buying phesant duck chukor n quail........ not sure on legality of that,cant buyn sell trout so unsure about game birds...

trap in 2nd photo....now personally I would set it up on the limb at ???knee height??? easy enough to set it there,up off ground so no kiwi risk and anytime I have done so they caught well.a root leading up onto a tree is the very best...buttress think they called...trap set on them is always a good idea...a couple of strategically placed staples to sit trap over holds it in place.

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Originally Posted by mimms2

I wondered why this? I've always put them fairly hard against the trunk (if not kiwi zone, when they get nailed up tree). Very few escapees, catch rate as good as any.

But yeah OP, you don't want them to kick it over and trip it off, or get half-caught... then you have a trap-shy possum.

I also only give it a stripe, fistful of lure from ground level to not much over knee high. Saves on lure. Maybe I'm just cheap.

Not sure if anyone buying green skins again? Mind you, greys never worth much unless they're big, but knock yourself a couple dozen frames together and skin the biggest - worth well more than fur alone.

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I was taught close to the trunk, more front foot captures, hand width away you get back foot captures. Back foot is better, less sprung empties.

Second photo is where it got away. It was able to get over the side n the weight with force allows it to get out.


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Get that trap bedded man, you'll get a lot less escapes.

How close you get the trap to the tree and how much lure you use is a personal thing.

The hand width from tree and lure up to approx knee height (50cm) came about in the 1990's (and subsequently taught) from the need to have a standard approach to possum montioning. With monitoring (which is a statistical protocol, essentially "counting" possums) there is a need for each line and each set, regardless of who sets it or where, to be the same. I.e. to minimize human bias. So hence the need for teaching and requiring a very standard approach. Many people took that to mean its the best way to set a trap. That is not necessarily so. The old school skills used by skin hunters for many decades last century, such has hazing etc, work very well.

Just don't go burying it or covering it with leaves etc -the old Lanes Ace (what some call "gin" traps) worked well for this but modern #1 sized traps just are not big enough to handle the rubbish.

Before someone flames me, I do set about hand-width out and about a knee high of lure, because that's what I've always done....

I never used lure at all.......just set on preaching trees or on runs. oh the days of lanes ace traps.....the good ol days.

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Originally Posted by Sarvo

https://www.youtube.com/c/KeepingItWild

Yes Shay Williamson and now wife Abby
I gave her a pair of my Boots to head back down to Tuatapere with after their wedding back in BOP

He's a goer and even an old Possum plucker learnt something off his Vlogs (can't remember what it was but :-)
Shoots a lot of bush Deer too that boy

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I watched his 4 series of trapping last night. Learnt a some new things, couple things I’m not sure I’ll incorporate. Was surprised at at the things I was doing was similar.


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I always use three sticks when setting on a clean trunk. Two lean against and out from the trunk, at each side and one at the front that the possum steps over. The trap and stick should be one possum step out from the trunk so he has to step firmly onto the trap to sniff the lure. The sticks at the side stop the possum stepping on the outside of the trap and only catching a claw.

@Moa Hunter have you got a pic of that set up?

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

I never used lure at all.......just set on preaching trees or on runs. oh the days of lanes ace traps.....the good ol days.

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The only time I used traps with no lures was with a heap of Lanes Ace. Some one forgot to bring the box of traps (#1s) and the flour lure. Luckily the bloke I was working with had about 50 of the old school traps, we set them up with no lure. I predicted we'd get very few, but old mate reckoned we'd get heaps. Well next day we'd caught about 40! I couldn't believe it.

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Originally Posted by Dama dama

@Moa Hunter have you got a pic of that set up?

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No photo sorry, but basically a triangle with two sticks standing up and one across the front laying down. Possums will place a foot on something they can grip which will be trap jaw. The stick at the front gives them something to put a foot on and step over rather than gripping the jaw with the next step onto the plate. I would try the traps half of them set opening cross ways and half of them long ways. A rub of apple before the flour works as well as anything. One apple will do ten traps

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Originally Posted by sore head stoat

I was taught close to the trunk, more front foot captures, hand width away you get back foot captures. Back foot is better, less sprung empties.

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Yep, as above. However, I may adjust my distance closer to the base of the tree if there is quite an angled ramp, as opposed to a vertical trunk. With those pine trees, you might find running a handful of lure from top down easier (starting at 50cm height and working down trunk), than from the base of the tree up to 50cm height. Reason being, the bark on mature pines can make it difficult to get a good, consistent and strong blaze, and lots can end up on the ground. Try to limit any lure in areas that will encourage a possum to feed where it's not going to be caught. So aim for a 10cm width blaze above trap.