those boxes are the same as what we started out using only difference is we has leg hold possom traps in them. if you use 6x1" timber the trap will wedge nicely in and anything has to go over plate to get at bait..yip they work good. if targeting rats try a few bluebird rashuns.
I  could suggest using older lanes ace traps but rules being rules better not

Cruz,your box looks fine. Only suggestion, try screwing a cup hook under the lid and hanging your chook leg rather than leaving it on the deck. Cheers.

chris wrote on Jan 17^th, 2014 at 8:01am:


Agree as well.  Having run a few lines over the years and still doing a bit around the farm and in a DOC block it is noticeable that the same traps catch a lot of stoats and some never do.  After a while you get to see a pattern of favoured habitat.

When I was working in the bush a possum trapper mate used to run half a dozen as a bit of a challenge and his strike rate was phenomenal once he sorted out the right places to set them.

yes skin your rabbits. cut them into hunks and salt overnight, drain off liquid and store in freezer. i use hen eggs all winter, one egg per box and thats fine for bait.
fresh is best but i have caught stoats on very heavily putrified rabbit meat baits.
i don't think they go in to eat it but they are so curious i don't think they can help themselves and go in to check it out.
they definitely feed on dead rats in my traps and some are very rotten and maggoty. i wouldn't be surprised if they eat maggots also.
stick at it cruz, they are cunning little bastards but they have chinks in their armour.
i notice in one of those links they have traps out in open grass areas. personally i wouldn't do that.
put them under cover so the stoats feel more confident.

Made a few changes from the first one in the picture in my previous post – all a bit rough – cut with a skill saw – fit where they touch
Version 1 was made with 160*20*1200 fence palings from ITM – problem with the 20mm timber is it leaves a bit much space in the bottom of the box and you need to use a packer down the sides to make sure the trap stays in the centre – timber is a bit unstable and needs to be nailed before it warps
Version 2 was made with 160*25*1200 fence palings – timber is much stronger – the gap inside is perfect for the trap - but trap ends up a bit heavier - $1.30 per paling so two per trap with a bit of waste
Version 3 – I found some 20mm welded mesh for the bait end of the trap – much better for the animal to view his last supper – I also used a bit of 50*40 across the top at the mesh end as it is much stronger to pivot the top with a decent size coach bolt – much easier to staple some mesh than to drill a large viewing hole with netting cover
The box is 400mm long less the saw cut – so three pieces out of one paling – cut the top (500mm or less maybe) and an end out of the other paling – a bit of spare which is useful if you are making a few
I have just made three of the latest version – I am going to use them round our subdivision where we have about twenty one acre sections – about half the boundaries are onto a tidal estuary and the rest is onto various avocado orchards – there should be lots of quail and pheasants but instead we have lots of fat rats that love avocados, lots of rabbits and people see the odd stoat – very few quail and pheasants
I stirred up some interest in predator control – one neighbour set five rat bait stations a few weeks back and is still feeding them – another has caught 22 in a cage – poor quail didn’t stand a chance – but where you have avocado orchards – you have heaps of rats
The entry hole is 50mm – I got most of the ideas off the net – watching trapper Joe or his mates in Wisconsin or other places
Left my small staples up at the farm so couldn’t attach the latches – just made out of a bit of 2mm soft wire
I am going to give the bait pan a miss and just put the bat on the floor up by the mesh – should also be easier to shake out the maggots through the mesh

yep top effort cruz!
maybe a nail banged in through the floor to hold your bait? make sure critters cant reach in through mesh and grab bait.

GQHOON wrote on Feb 3^rd, 2014 at 8:57am:


+1, I have been keeping an eye on this thread, all very interesting