{{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 Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Austr ...

s. Their use is commonplace in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where the possum is an introduced pest. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, 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 baiting with fresh

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

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; any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range ...

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'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

, 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 in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

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