{{Short description, Device used to capture and kill animals Timms_trap_01

A Timms trap is a device used to capture and kill

common brushtail possum The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Ancient Greek, Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae ...

s. Their use is commonplace in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where the possum is an introduced pest. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where the possum is a protected native species,''Possum FAQ'', Australian Government Web Site
/ref> the trap uses a spring-loaded metal mouth to break the neck of the animal, resulting in a rapid and humane death. It requires

bait Bait may refer to: General * Bait (luring substance), bait as a luring substance ** Fishing bait, bait used for fishing Film * ''Bait'' (1950 film), a British crime film by Frank Richardson * ''Bait'' (1954 film), an American noir film by Hugo ...

ing with fresh

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

in order to attract a pest, which inserts its head through the hole at the front, springing the trap. A Timms trap, as a form of kill trap, is inexpensive, and simple to use, and provides an effective means of

pest control Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest (organism), pest; such as any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the da ...

for gardens and similar-sized areas. The use of fruit as bait reduces the likelihood that a pet, such as a

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

, will be caught.

References

External links

''Timms traps for possum control'', Auckland Regional Council
(

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

)
''Possums'', New Zealand Government Web Site
Mammal pest control Pest trapping