I’ve had problems over the last few months with possums eating chook food from the chicken feeder. I set both Timms and cage traps baited with carrots right next to the chook feeder but they were not interested, they just honed in on the chook food.
So I put an infrared driveway sensor on top of the feeder, so now when a possum approaches the feeder I get an alert, I then quietly slide open the ranchslider door and shoot it.
Photo of the sensor sitting on top of the feeder on this link, but the link expires in 30 days.
I have since used the same thing to detect possums and rabbits approaching the vege patch.
michele26,
Aug 22, 8:34am
Cunning plan on your part well done they can be a pain in the proverbial
pauldw,
Aug 22, 8:42am
Why put the trap right beside something they prefer? Try putting the trap somewhere else with something more attractive than carrot in it. Apples work for me.
beebb3,
Aug 22, 9:19am
I have the Timms traps and they are excellent. I use half an apple with couple drops of - oil of aniseed - on the centre. Get that from a health shop, lasts for ages,as its concentrated, still on my first bottle. Eucalyptus oil too I believe is good. I would put the trap nearby - under some trees or bushes. Goodluck.
medcare,
Aug 22, 9:44am
I think they just become addicted to the plentiful and delicious chook food, they seemed to prefer it to carrots or apples.
Both the baited Timms and cage traps, complete with crumbs left outside to lure them in were first in line on the way to the feeder but they just walked past and ignored them, like they were mesmerised by what they knew was coming.
veejay13,
Aug 22, 9:51am
Why not bait the trap with chook food? And can you shut off the hen's supply at night so that the pests can get it only from the trap?
medcare,
Aug 22, 11:00am
I tried that but on rainy nights the chook food in the cage trap gets wet and spoils.
It also meant I had to remember to bait and set the trap every night, then remove the bait and unset it before 6:15am when the chooks would feed.
By using the sensor, all I had to do was turn the alert receiver on at 7pm and off before 6:15am (otherwise the chickens were triggering it).
The other issue with baiting is that on some nights, usually after shooting a possum there was no activity for a week or so, so if I had to bait and set, then un bait and unset it every night and morning, rain or shine, then it was all for nothing, likewise if it rained then all I got was washed out chook food.
medcare,
Aug 22, 11:03am
Once the possums were dealt to, then I mounted the sensor over looking the garden and left it on 24x7 so if a different possum, or a rabbit or even a chook got in the garden, then I knew straight away.
friendly_prawn,
Aug 22, 11:48am
Apples are a very poor way to attract possums unless they have pre learned its a food source. They'll walk straight past your apples to get at the chicken food. Try putting apples else where and the possums wont even get a chance to find them. They'll be too busy making a bee line for the chook food.
friendly_prawn,
Aug 22, 11:51am
You could put a lid / cover over a cage trap. Problem solved, no more soggy chook food.
But there is nothing wrong with your current approach. Sounds like it works like a dream. Wouldnt want to be woken up at 2'am to go out and shoot one though. With a baited cage trap even if a chook gets caught in the morning you can just release it so no harm done.
What I would suggest would work far better and may be your best solution. Is buy some talon or pestoff possum bait and set up feeding stations in the bush away away from the chooks. The stuff works like a dream and will solve your possum problem for months. Using the whole bag in a drum. Possums will come and eat then go away and bring back their mates. Soon you;'ll drag in possums from miles away. With in a week or so they die. So it gets rid of possums out of the area for quite a while. Takes months for other possums to start drifting back in to your area. Im assuming you are rual and have a bit of bush around the place.
regy_2005,
Aug 22, 11:57am
Caught heaps of possums with apple
zak410,
Aug 22, 12:11pm
Second this, I even caught possums that came to our lemon tree to eat the rind of the lemons with apple in the tim trap !
rainrain1,
Aug 22, 12:49pm
A bit of cinnamon mixed in with flour, opossums like the smell of that
friendly_prawn,
Aug 22, 1:10pm
Im not saying possums wont eat apples. I am saying its a poor lure. Apples will work if possums come across it and are hungry as nearly any food source will. I have even seen possums feeding on dead possums. But there are much better lures available than an apple. An apple over all is a very poor lure and I should know.
medcare,
Aug 22, 5:05pm
I have thought about pestoff (Brodifacoum) but without a pest control license you can only buy the 0.02% strength, a lethal dose is 120g and it takes up to a week to work, so in reality the same possum can keep coming back over several days and eat more and more until it dies, so maybe each possums eats 300+ grams ? I hear your idea about a whole bag in a drum because if the bait trap runs out then you may end up with sub lethal doses and possums can go bait shy. Not a bad idea though.
bill1451,
Aug 22, 6:45pm
lifestyle block 2.5 acres, we have a rabbit in our garden, cant really use a .22 because of proximity of neighbours just wondering what we can use to trap or catch this pest before he brings his mates in, fairly wary and when I see it I never have my slug gun.
samanya,
Aug 22, 6:58pm
Same here, I'd like to know as well & I don't own a gun. The little sods are digging up my flower gardens, I know where they live! Under the big hedge on my road frontage . busy road & I can see the headlines now if I borrow a gun . Cyclist shot on ***** road!
gamefisher,
Aug 22, 7:28pm
Pindone in bait stations for rabbits if you don't mind poison or cage traps with the floor trip-pad for possum cinnamon or aniseed as a lure eg Listing #: 1740321121. I find hanging hanging a piece of apple with a piece of string above the trip-pad lace with a couple of drops of aniseed oil works fine. Good for catching rats as well with just chook pellets.
bill1451,
Aug 23, 6:48pm
so since I cant really use a .22 on my "getting built up, too many neighbours" lifestle block area, I have come up with an idea to give the rabbit a sporting chance, use a crossbow, reputed to be dead accurate to 45 m and no liscence required, thoughts please.
zak410,
Aug 23, 7:53pm
Get a good dog.
friendly_prawn,
Aug 23, 8:03pm
I have trialled the method with the drum. Just a drum big enough to tip the whole 10kg bag in. A hole cut near the bottom so they can reach their paws in and make a little cover to glue / screw over the hole to protect it from rain. Kind of like a little veranda over the top of the hole.
I have done it so know how well it works. It works like a dream.
friendly_prawn,
Aug 23, 8:05pm
haha, possums and rabbits will happily munch away during the night while the dog sleeps restfully at the foot of your bed.
bill1451,
Aug 23, 8:07pm
have googled this and sounds like a long slow death with the possibility that other animals, dogs cats birds etc may get it as well, I could not live with knowing my neighbours dog might get it. Nah I,ll stick to my crossbow.
friendly_prawn,
Aug 23, 8:53pm
x1
Its nasty stuff and the animals die a slow agonising death. I do agree. Its not pretty stuff. And they do need to find other solutions. Unfortunately its the only real option that works well. Unless you want to spend the time and effort to get a cyanide / poison license. Thats a far more effective way of going about it. Be a pain in the ass to have to do though. As for poisoning other animals, not if you have a clue what your doing. If you are going to be an idiot about it then of course it could be an issue.
gamefisher,
Aug 23, 9:04pm
Yes, and a subsonic .22 to shoot them when bailed in a tree etc 100% success rate, been there and done that and quiet amazing to have a good possum dog bailing under a tree yet when you shine a spot light it takes some time to find and see that there is a possum up there.
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