The Timms Trap — Possum Trapping Made Easy

Forest and Bird, Volume 21, Issue 3, 1 August 1990, Page 33

The Timms Trap — Possum Trapping Made Easy

Fiona Edwards

K ILLING POSSUMS can be an unpleasant business, no matter how much one dislikes the damage they inflict on forests. However a trap which has come on the market in recent years makes possum trapping relatively simple for the ordinary person. Noeleen Clements is one such. A committed Forest and Bird member from Ruatangata, west of Whangarei, she is also committed to the eradication of what she describes as "furry, browneyed overstayers." Last year Noeleen and husband Tony moved onto a 9-hectare property, covered with a mixture of mature bush,

regenerating scrub and blackberry. They bought the block to enjoy the bush and the birds. Instead they saw the bush start to die and the birds disappear. After witnessing totara trees debarked and their fresh shoots eaten bare, the taraire berries consumed by possums instead of pigeons, and brown kiwi evicted from their nests by squatting possums, Noeleen took action. Armed with three Timms Traps, she

has killed 300 possums in the last 12 months. Each possum is attracted to the trap by the bait placed inside the innocuous looking plastic box. Inside the trap is a simple device which quickly and effectively breaks the animal's neck once it takes the bait. The possum is killed instantly. Noeleen then scoops the possum out and buries it. On the top she plants a native tree. "The possums had a go at my bush; now the bush can have a go at them!" she laughs.

Notes on Timms Traps e Timms Traps are especially designed for trapping possums in easily accessible areas. e Use apples as bait as possums like the smell. e Move traps around the property and place in nesting sites such as logs, holes, dense scrub. e If you have household pets, place pepper around the trap. e Keep children away from the traps. e The traps retail for around $30-$40 and can be purchased from the Department of Conservation or stock agents.