Saw another recipe for cleaning rust which is molasses with water on a 1:9 ratio.[10 per cent solution by volume of molasses in water (1 part molasses to 9 parts water) The dude bought the horse molasses from Farmlands. The article is in the Shed magazine April/May pg 6.

Some of our DOC250s at the Park are getting a bit scungy inside - might be general dampness or might be some of the Connovation Salmon spray I squirt around
I see one of your pics Chris, you had a scrubbing brush beside your gear - do they need a scrub out now and again - or does that just upset the sweat smells of deceased rats and hogs
We have now kill trapped 131 Possums, 200 Rats and 20 Hogs - God knows how many killed with bait - but still haven’t touched a stoat or ferret 


I saw a cat up the farm a week back so set a cage - didn’t get the cat but got a quarter grown kitten - bound to be a few more of them with Mum but too much travel for me to operate a cage and check it daily so I need another solution - get lucky with a 22 while I am working up there or try a kill trap
I picked up some No6 Fenns on TM a few months back but have only used a couple in dry culverts to clean up some rabbits - but also caught some Hogs - so gave up - can anyone think of a suitable housing for some Fenns that might catch a cat

hopfully taking this guy out mite save a few ducklings and pheasant chicks, caught in a doc 200 trap near the dam that i shoot on.

bit off topic but caught a tom cat using tuna as bait 

I enjoy your posts Cruz.

Been slow in my traps this year, I had not checked them for a couple of weeks and found a very manky hedgehog   

I put a few DOC200s around my ponds a few months ago. Caught my first stoat this week! Hopefully that means there aren't too many around .....

[quote author=7246555A575D476B7B4646340 link=1378501783/70#70 date=1389949536]Constructed the first couple of traps today – a bit rough so maybe some variations tomorrow
Couldn’t buy any square mesh so had to settle for a viewing hole with some netting
The box is 400mm long – made of 150*20*1200 palings – all glued and nailed
Got the trap positioned close to the entrance hole so he might jump on the foot plate
Started off with an egg and a chicken drumstick for bait couldn’t see any bunnies so fresh meat may have to come later
Total cost of a trap was $3 for the wood and $5.50 for the trap – nails, glue and other bits sitting on the shelf – plus a bit of time



Thanks for the advice threeoeight - I am going to bring in my first ten boxes for maintenance - will wire brush the traps and give them some lube - might save some concerned looks from my wife about buying more trap gear
I am going to knock out the end with the small hole and convert that end to steel mesh - will take the wire netting off the other end to give them a larger entry hole - will convert the top to a screw latch instead of the silly wire hooks
I am sick of getting down on my knees to see if there is anything in a trap box
I am also going to open up the steel mesh entry openings on all my other trap boxes (250s etc) - I reckon two pieces of mesh out each way is not quite enough - hogs are really having trouble getting in and I am having real trouble getting them out
Also been reading back through the two threads on stoat trapping - I am going to find some ponga logs and set up some Fenns like “Traps” showed us in Stoat Trapping Notes - tunnel - trap - tunnel and no stinking bait - might even try a few Fenns in culverts now the rain has stopped