Cage Traps

Cage trapping must involve people who are experienced with trapping, handling and measuring mammals. It is a good idea to talk to an experienced professional if you are thinking about running a cage trapping survey – they may be able to give you advice on what species you will expect to catch, what disease or health issues you need to think about, how many traps and nights you will need, what licences and permits you need to apply for, and what training or experience is needed.

Cage traps are invasive, meaning you disturb any captured animal and its daily life. It is also more stressful for the animal than methods that don’t involve capturing and handling the animal, like camera monitoring or spotlighting. You should consider whether there is another method that will cause less disturbance and provide you with the information you need.

REMEMBER! Methods like microchipping and taking genetic samples can be highly invasive and when done poorly can result in severe injury or even death to an animal.  Proper training and endorsement by a qualified practitioner is essential.

If you need information that you can only learn from cage trapping, identify ways in which you can minimise the impact on animals, like:

• trap for as few nights as possible to get the data you need (

• avoid trapping during breeding seasons

• avoid trapping in extreme weather (hot or cold)

• check traps very early each day or even at night

• check traps more frequently through the night

• close traps during the day to avoid exposing animals to daytime conditions

• close traps if an animal is caught too many nights in a row

• close traps if a female with dependent young is caught

• handle the animals as little as possible (only collect the data you need)

There are different cage traps available, including collapsible ones that are easier to carry when walking long distances. It is important to use cage traps that have a treadle plate mechanism, and be the right size for the target species:

• Large cage traps (approx. 45 cm x 45 cm x 90 cm) are useful for trapping Feral Cats

• Small cage traps (approx. 20 cm x 20 cm x 55 cm) are useful for trapping most medium-sized native mammals like Quolls, Bandicoots, Possums and Bettongs.

Cage traps should be safe for animals:

• Before setting them up, make sure they are safe by checking that they have nothing inside the trap that might hurt an animal like bait hooks or sharp edges, and that the wire gauge is small enough to prevent animals from getting teeth and/or heads stuck.

• When setting them up make sure that they are not near ant nests and that animals are shaded and protected from weather. This usually means putting the trap next to a tree or other vegetation, covering it with a hessian bag and weighing the trap and hessian bag down with a rock or stick. Some species need extra protection, for example, stubby coolers can be used to protect small mammals when temperatures are low.

The type of bait used is based on the type of mammals you are trying to catch. Universal bait (a ball of peanut butter and oats) is used for most mammal surveys, but a different type of bait can be used if you want to trap a specific species. Remember that fish or meat-based lures can attract more ants and reptile by-catch. Some common lures include:

• Universal bait: Peanut butter and oats, sometimes with or without other ingredients like tuna oil, sardines or honey - used for general mammal surveys, the additional ingredients can increase the risk of ants which are a welfare issue and therefore should only be used in specific circumstances.

• Apple and/or sweet potato: surveys targeting mammals that are mostly herbivorous (eat vegetation) like Wallabies or native rodents

• Meat lures like chicken, tuna, sardines or fish oil: can be used to target carnivores (eat meat) like Quolls but they can increase the risk of ants which is a welfare issue and therefore should only be used in specific circumstances.