Last Friday I discovered that someone had been munching on my lemons in the backyard here at Struan Farm. Also on the fruit of my new tangelo tree!
Given the recent "mast" year in the native bush, I had to figure out if rats or possums (or both) were doing this. We've been setting rat traps around the property on a pre-emptive basis given reports of major rodent infestations this season due to the wealth of food. We'd been setting traps to reduce rat numbers generally to help protect and encourage our native birds. Waikato Regional Council has undertaken possum control in our area every few years, employing contractors to install bait/poison stations on properties (not the more controversial 1080 drops). This programme has made a major difference in reducing possum numbers, we just don't see them all that often. That being said they are migratory, and they sometimes do wander through. When we see them flattened on the road nearby we know it's time to set out the traps.
Upon finding that someone was messing with my lemons I had nephew Mike set out several possum traps baited with fresh apple near the trees and in the adjacent bush. That first night I heard a loud "thunk" from the backyard, the sound of the trap going off. (And no, I didn't run outside in the middle of the night to check it out...) The next morning I found the trap sprung but no dead animal, just a few tufts of hair. And more lemons nibbled! At that point I started to think that maybe rats were the problem, so moved a rat trap closer to the lemon trees too.
Later that day I wandered into the bush to check the situation there, and found a dead pregnant female possum in one of the traps. I won't share that photo with you since it might upset or offend some people. Please keep in mind these introduced animals are destructive pests who decimate our native birds and bush. Also that she was killed humanely.
I suspect it was most likely this possum eating my lemons. But we'll keep at the trapping. If there's one there will most likely be more....and if they're pregnant now we need to get them.
I've also learned that if the peels are chewed but the pulp left this is the sign of a possum at work. Here's what was left hanging on the tree:
Learning new things all the time here at Struan Farm!
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