Thread: Possums

Welcome to the thread. Trapping is by far the best way, with leg hold traps the preffered method. The most reputable brands are dukes, victors and bushmaster. Traps, Bait & Accessories for sale at Trappers Cyanide Ltd - Canterbury, New Zealand sell bushmaster. You put a lure on a tree, usually either cinnamon, aniseed or eucalyptus oil mixed with flour and rubbed above the trap, to draw the possums in. Doc offers trapping permits, but most are taken, quite often even when people aren't actively trapping, just "booking" the block for themselves so that others can't use it and/or letting numbers increase. Get in with a farmer. Also you have the option of skinning or plucking. Skinning can make you more money, but you have a lot more work to do, and if you have to hike into your trapping area you have to carry all the skins/carcasses out. As mentioned above, pluck the fur by hand while the 'coon is still warm.
Look in the small game hunting on this forum and fishn'hunt.co.nz there's a goldmine of info on this subject.