Although the official possum control season (autumn-spring) is over, it would be rather ambitious to assume that our winter efforts have removed them all.

Timms possum trap.

Possums are much more widespread during the summer months making it difficult to target a large portion of the population, hence the winter-timed possum season.

That is not to say that the damaging effects of possums go away over the summer and many land-owners make contact with people like myself asking what can be done to protect flowers, fruit and vegetables during the off season. 

There is a growing range of possum kill-traps on the market and a few of these show some potential but the one that has continued to impress me the most is without a doubt the Timms Kill trap. Many of you will be familiar with these bright yellow plastic traps as they have been on the market for something like 25 years or more. 

There must be hundreds of them out there mouldering away under fruit trees, still doing the business after all this time. At $35-$55 each they present real value for money and I have yet to find any other kill trap that is as efficient and reliable as this unit. 

Timms traps come with the manufacturer’s baiting recommendations but these are often lost over time as traps change hands or are loaned from one property to another.  Baiting is crucial for these traps to function as they are intended and every time I have ever had anyone less than impressed with their performance it has turned out to be a baiting issue. 

The most common mistake by far is to bait the trap with a half of an apple or similar fruit, this is far too big as the weight affects the trigger mechanism and makes it harder for the animal to set it off.  A large bait also allows or even encourages the animal to take a sideways bite and this changes the angle of the head as the trap goes off which can result in an animal firmly captured but not killed cleanly.

Small cubes of apple or carrot should be used; I favour carrot as it lasts for up to ten days.  Baits should ideally be slightly wider than they are high (e.g. 25mmW x 12mmH) as this encourages a straight-on approach and results in good clean kills. Carrot rings cut at 10-15 mm thick are ideal. Push one of these onto the baiting prong (through the centre) until the carrot hits the bend in the steel. 

Additional lure in the form of scented flour or cooking oil sprinkled or squirted at the entrance to the trap is a great addition and is likely to result in more captures. Mix cooking oil or flour with concentrated cinnamon, aniseed, curry powder, vanilla essence etc- they all work well and the kitchen pantry is probably the best place to start. 

Be sure to peg Timms traps firmly to the ground and don’t leave them set when very young children are about.

Many people ask how safe Timms traps are around pet cats, I will always leave the final decision to the property owner but I can honestly say that I have never heard of a cat being caught in a Timms trap when baited as prescribed above and would have no problem having them around my cat  (if I owned one).

Set Timms traps at the base of trees/plants that you are trying to protect and adjacent to possum pathways/runs. 2-3 traps per 10-15 acres is often all that is required to achieve the results. When captures stop, try changing their location and switching lures.

Happy Trapping!

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