One landholder has relied on the appetite of foxes to catch them in his chicken coop, which has a hidden fox trap.
Brunswick landholder Mike Jack has caught four foxes in just a few months using his invention made from a trap sourced from Peel-Harvey Biosecurity Group (PHBG).
The trap, positioned directly beneath where the chickens roost, exploits foxes’ natural behaviour without the need for bait.
“They sneak around the pen and lo and behold—there’s a nice hole in the side,” Mr Jack said.
“They can’t help themselves.”
Mr Jack built the coop himself and made it fox-proof, preventing animals from digging under it or breaking into the coop.
He also fitted the coop with an automatic door so the chooks could put themselves to bed each night.
Mr Jack said he came up with the idea by relying on foxes preying on chickens.
“It’s logical,” he said.
“I was thinking about how I wanted to bait the trap, but most people use a dead chook or something like that.
“I didn’t want anything stinking up the place.”
Mr Jack customised the coop to suit the trap by cutting a hole in the hen house just big enough for the trap and placed the bulk of the trap inside the house, with the mouth of the trap jutting out from the wall.
Each evening, he lifts the trap’s door and sets the catch before heading inside.
PHBG said the hidden trap in the coop has proven to be a practical and humane solution, with no negative effects on the hens or egg-laying.
PHBG offers a free lending library of pest control equipment to help local landholders tackle a range of invasive species including foxes, rabbits, feral pigs and weeds.
