Trapping Feral Cats

There are several ways of eliminating feral cats, including the use of poisons. Whilst poisoning may have merit it is not recommended as a general method as considerable expertise is needed in the use and placement of poisons and there are also numerous disadvantages in its use - the main one being that it is usually impossible to determine an outcome. We will therefore discuss the more practical methods used to trap feral cats.
There are three main methods used a trap feral cats:
1. Using a cage trap
2. Using the 'Timms' kill trap
3. Using a leg hold trap - whilst such traps are widely used by experts we do not favour general usage as their placement and management is far more critical than with the other two traps mentioned

1. Cage Traps

For cats meat is attached to the rear hook and when the cat pulls on the meat the cage door closes. Most commercially available cage traps need to have fine chicken wire attached to the rear end and rear sides of the cage; otherwise harrier hawks will pull the meat through the bars.

Large numbers of harrier hawks have been caught in cage traps. (More on this later)
Cage traps should be bated with small pieces of meat and traps should be set along fence lines, along the edge of water and in vegetation free areas under trees. They should be moved to a new site every three months.

Fresh meat should be added every two weeks, each cage should be checked daily for content and at the same time the door should be checked to ensure that no vegetation is going to prevent it from closing.

Cage traps are very successful on feral cats, but their disadvantage is that you have to kill the feral cat once you've caught one. The best way of doing this is with a silenced 22LR calibre rifle. A single shot in the head is all that is needed, but do make sure the cat is dead before opening up the cage door, and when firing the fatal shot make sure you are not going to damage the cage.

Obviously, you will need an 'A' firearms licence before you can use a firearm for eliminating predators.

Cage traps are virtually maintenance free and will last for an indefinite period of time.
An adequate area/hole for the disposal of bodies will be needed.

2. The Timms Kill Trap
The New Zealand designed and manufactured 'Timms' kill trap was initially designed to kill possums, but the trap can also be used very successfully on feral cat control, and is very effective when used in conjunction with cage traps.

The powerful execution arm in the 'Timms' trap is set be pulling on the external cocking cord. Great care must be exercised when cocking the trap and in its placement - which must be well away from children and family pets.

The trap has an internal stake to which meat is attached; the meat must be attached before the trap is cocked.

The trap must then be staked to the ground or tied to a fence post or tree.
The 'Timms' trap is a brilliant design and, whilst some people believe they are unsuitable for cats, over 350 feral cats were killed at one New Zealand site using the Timms trap.
The only modification some people recommend to the Timms trap is the enlargment of the width of the entrance hole, by 10mm each side.

SUCCESSFUL TRAPPING METHODS FOR MUSTELIDS

The Fenn Trap

The world's most successful mustelid 'kill' trap is the 'FENN' trap, which is manufactured and designed by the A.Fenn & Company firm in Woucestershire, UK. This is the trap which has been used by ever gamekeeper in the UK and elsewhere, with great success. The Fenn trap was developed as a humane trap after the use of gin traps was banned in the UK.

Considerable amounts of money (around $6 million) have been expended in New Zealand in an attempt to develop an effective mustelid kill trap, and whilst some people may not agree, this has been money poorly spent, and would have been better invested in the Brown Teal recovery programming - using the FENN, CAGE and TIMMS traps. A recent, and potentially brilliant, innovation is to attach a sound recording of chirping young birds (tape or CD recording powered by a long-life battery) position between two Fenn traps, in a Perspex (plastic) tunnel (Steve Collings. Pers comm. 2002).

The Fenn trap, which was specifically designed to kill mustelids, is humane and few predators escape its powerful jaws. In one study area, where nearly five hundred small predators have been trapped, less than 1% were not killed instantly by the Fenn trap.

The Fenn is available in two sizes - the MK 4 and the MK 6 - with the MK 6 being recommended for mustelids, and for small predator control in general, although many users' of the MK 4 claim it as the best all-round size.

The new range of Fenn traps with brass trigger mechanisms are highly sensitive and have even been known to regularly kill mice!

Setting the Fenn Trap

Fenn traps are commercially available from a variety of sources - including Ducks Unlimited and a variety of commercial enterprises - they are very easy and quick to set, but you need to have a very firm grip on the trap as you set it, otherwise you can end up with very sore fingers!

Step 1.
Make sure the safety, trigger and security
chain are flipped out of the way of the
treadle

Step 2
Put one thumb through the loop on the jaw,
and with your other thumb press down on the wire
jaw - fully opening the trap

Step 3
Engage the safety hook, flip over the trigger bar and
Engage the trigger with the notch on the treadle, using
a finger from underneath - use the hand that has the
thumb through the loop.

Once the trap has been set, and leaving the safety catch on, it can be placed in its final position. The safety can then be taken off - using a stick is best, but if you have to do it with your finger make sure you keep your hand well clear of the jaws. Prior to the modern brass trigger Fenn traps the treadle needed to be set with a stick- this is not necessary with the brass trigger models. Don't forget to attach the security chain!

Where to position the Fenn traps

Mustelids cannot resist going into tunnels and the Fenn traps should be set in pairs, and must be set cross-wise in tunnels, which can be wooden or plastic.

Tunnels with two sides and a top should be made from tanalised rough sawn 200mm x 25mm boards and the tunnel should sit directly on the ground. The timber should be held together with galvanised nails. The tunnel should be 200mm wide, 180 mm high and 0.75 of a metre long. You will need to ensure that when the trap goes off it does not hit the sides of the tunnel. A board should be nailed across each end to prevent non-target species entering the tunnel.

Such a structure will last almost indefinitely.

Alternatives to rough sawn timber are marine plywood and commercially available plastic tunnels.

The earth should be dug out in two places so that each trap sits flush with the surrounding earth.

Bait

For consistent success bait is needed in the tunnel and is, of course, essential in the 'Timms' and cage traps.

Bait in the tunnel can be anything a mustelid is likely to eat - eggs, rabbit, all types of domestically used meat, dead rats, dead hedgehogs, dead birds, mice, and all forms of domestic cat & dog food.

The bait, which should be fresh and replaced every two weeks, should be placed in the centre of the two traps, which should be set approximately 25cm apart.
Eggs work very successfully, particularly if one egg is pierced in one end to provide a scent.
In the 'Timms' and cage traps chicken legs, beef, lamb or a sliver of dog sausage work well.

Positioning Of Trapping Stations

A number of trapping stations should be established along fence lines, at approximately 200 metre distances, and along water courses, along bush lines, near culverts, near rabbit warrens, near hay barns, near cattle stops, and as close as possible to the Brown Teal area being protected. Another set of trapping stations should be established further out from the teal area.

If you are protecting your aviary, or captive duck pond, place the trapping stations outside the enclosures. For most enclosures at least three Fenn trapping stations should be established, accompanied by two cage traps.

Camouflaging the tunnel with branches or sods of earth helps disguise the artificial unit.
The chain on each of the Fenn traps should be attached to an external nail. Many Fenn trap have been known to disappear when the chain has not been attached.
To be of real value a mustelid trapping programme should be ongoing throughout the year and for an indefinite period of time.

Each station should be moved to a new position at three monthly intervals.

Trapping Station Maintenance

Being undercover in a tunnel the Fenn traps need very little maintenance; usually nothing more than the trigger plate needing occasional cleaning. An initial coat of fishoilene will provide protection from rust.

Eliminating Rats

Rats are also very susceptible to entering tunnels and being killed by Fenn traps, and rats can be added to the Fenn trap 'target' list. In one small remnant native bush area in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand nearly 250 rats were killed in Fenn traps over a seven year period, and in the same area today it is quite rare to trap a rat. But like all predator programmes they must be ongoing indefinitely if our bird life is to experience long term benefit.
Careful placement of commercially available rat poisons also helps keep rat populations under control, but it is essential to ensure that rats cannot carry the poison bait await from the bait station and also ensure that birds cannot get into the bait station; otherwise birds will eat the bait and, in most cases, die.

Try to avoid trap site contamination

Always use a pair of gloves when handling predator traps and try to ensure that human scent is kept to a minimum - no smoking, no solvents, etc.

Poisoning Rats

There are a variety of commercially available rat poison bait and bait stations, but as already mentioned, great care is needed to ensure that the rats cannot carry the poison away from the bait station. The poison must be 'captive' at the bait station.

Other traps

Another trap which specifically targets rats is the Victor Professional Snap Trap, which are placed in small rate sized tunnels. This trap will also kill weasels and stoats, but for all-round use the Fenn has the edge.

Eels

Commercial eel fishermen will be only too pleased to assist.

Paradise Shelduck & Pukeko

In Brown Teal areas they must be kept under control and this can be easily done by shooting them - during duck shooting season these birds can be shot as a game speices if you have a hunting license, or having obtained the necessary permit.

Hedgehog (Erinaceus europeus)

Fortunately they are easily eliminated by the Fenn trap, although they are at time a nuisance to extract from a Fenn trap, and easily caught in cage trap. Good numbers have also been killed in the Timms trap.