The pest eradication game is changing quickly. Increasingly we are recommending high interaction multi-species traps like the Tāwhiti Smart Cage. Getting the older designs to compete takes a little thought and effort, but with a few tweaks you can get a bit more out of them.
One of the most effective changes we’ve made for catching possums in Timms traps is to stop using apple and cinnamon. Don’t get me wrong, fruit and spice suits possums, but it doesn’t suit me and my precious time.
I’m constantly walking past traps on my way to move animals, collect fire wood, fix a fence, general stuff. If there’s a possum in a trap I’ll clear it, but the chances of me having replacement cinnamon or apple in my pocket is next to none, and if the last lure used was apple the chances of it being viable for another catch is very slim.
Instead of apple we’ve been making bite cards out of corflute and using long life baits (such as Connovation Smooth, Possum Dough, or make your own.) We now catch multiple possums per bait fill, and the bait lasts for many weeks. With corflute and a long life bait there is a high chance it will have enough bait for a second or third capture, and we regular get those.
I suspect corflute works so well because it is soft to the bite, and the lure gets into the flutes and stays there. But what ever the reasons, it works, saves my time, and catch more possums.
Bite cards in traps aren’t anything new but they aren’t standard in Timm’s traps and Timms traps are everywhere. An easy upgrade for much better returns..
How to make a Corflute Bite Card
