Comparison of two luring methods for trapping brushtail possums in non-forest habitats of New Zealand

Abstract

A national trap–catch monitoring protocol been developed to standardise the settingand luring of leg-hold traps for monitoring brushtail possum control operations in New Zealand. The methods recommended were initially developed for use in forest and scrub areas, but a suitable luringsystem was needed to monitor possum populations in grassland (tall tussock) areas. A backing board in a metal frame was developed to which the standard dry flour and icing sugar lure could be applied. Because this added cost to monitoring operations, a trial was carried out to assess whether backing boards could be omitted and the lure placed directly on the ground. Results showed that traps with groundset lure had a capture rate of only about 50% of the rate achieved with lured backing boards. Traps with backing boards are more visually attractive, which probably explains their higher capture rate. To increase the capture efficiency of trapping, we recommend further research on improved visual lures rather than olfactory ones.