FrontSight
New member
I just took the education / safety course yesterday, great stuff!
Anyone here do any trapping?
- Thread starter FrontSight
- Start date
Fox, wolves, wolverines and otters out here on the AKPEN. I usually end up calling and hunting the foxes. Wish I was back up in the interior though, marten were too easy and the lynx population has exploded since I left.
Plus trapping from a snowmachine is easier and offers advantages for blind trail sets that I don't have in Aleutian Hell.
Plus trapping from a snowmachine is easier and offers advantages for blind trail sets that I don't have in Aleutian Hell.
troy_mclure
New member
used to long ago, fox, coon, beaver, muskrat, turtle.
I've been doing NWCO work for ten years or so and I'm in the middle of a big beaver trapping project as we speak. I work a lot with raccoons and skunks in and around houses. Fox, coyote and beaver work actually gets me out in the woods some. My favorite is skunk - they're really easy to catch, they don't spray (if you know what you're doing) and people are happy to pay to get rid of them.
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troy_mclure
New member
beaver was my favorite to catch, the tail is sooooo tasty.
FrontSight
New member
lockedcj7, help me out with skunk, please...
How do you keep them from spraying, please? One of my main concerns is I will catch skunk near my home instead of raccoon...
And great to see others on here as well...I can't wait to do it; been wanting to for literally over 20 years...
How do you keep them from spraying, please? One of my main concerns is I will catch skunk near my home instead of raccoon...
And great to see others on here as well...I can't wait to do it; been wanting to for literally over 20 years...
flyinpolack
New member
speak to it in a low voice as you walk toward the cage & put a blanket or towel over the cage, then release him. A couple of firecrackers will make him leave the cage quickly.
I've trapped more skunks than I care to remember, and I've made my share of mistakes in getting rid of them.
The easiest, cleanest, and safest way I've found to get rid of them is to simply drop the cage in water to drown it. If I expect a skunk, I set the trap near a 150 gallon watter trough. When a skunk is caught, simply put a tarp over the trap, and them pick the whole thing up, tarp and all, and drop it in the water.
Retrieve the tarp, and leave the trap under water for about 15 minuts, then remove it with a hook to keep from getting any scent on you.
If you do happen to get scent on your shoes or some such, put a drop or two of Joy dish detergent in a bottle of peroxide, and pour the solution over your shoes. You'll see it foam where the scent is, and the peroxide kills the protiens in the scent.
Or better yet, if you don't want to catch skunks, use marshmallows for bait. 'Coons love 'em, and skunks don't.
Cat food WILL result in skunks being caught. Guaranteed.
Daryl
FrontSight
New member
Thanks guys!
The real trick to dealing with skunks is to put the tarp over the trap BEFORE you set it. You might get away with holding the tarp in front of you as you approach a trapped skunk but I've seen that method fail. There are other good reasons for having the trap covered. Curious neighbors, PETA people and other animals are less likely to notice it.
I cut a slit for the handle and roll up the excess on each end. Approach the trap from the side and slowly peak in. If it is a skunk, I unroll the tarp and drape it over the end. I carefully pick up the trap, set him in my truck and close the lift gate on the camper shell.
You'll know right away if you've caught a raccoon since he'll shred the tarp and try to pull it all inside the cage. My favorite tarp was an OD green number made of heavy canvas and cut just large enough to cover all the sides when it was unrolled. It survived several raccoons but eventually had more holes than fabric. I have since made covers out of old paneling that just fit over the trap and still leave plenty of room for the mechanism to work.
I use peanut butter and marshmallow cream for bait. I don't like using cat food because it tends to catch cats, raccoons and possum. I sometimes still catch possum but I can't remember ever catching a raccoon with peanut butter and marshmallow cream and I've never caught a cat with it.
We've already discussed drowning vs. other methods of euthanasia here and it's probably best if we don't go down that road again. I made my feelings and reasoning pretty clear last time and if anybody is curious about it, they can search.
I cut a slit for the handle and roll up the excess on each end. Approach the trap from the side and slowly peak in. If it is a skunk, I unroll the tarp and drape it over the end. I carefully pick up the trap, set him in my truck and close the lift gate on the camper shell.
You'll know right away if you've caught a raccoon since he'll shred the tarp and try to pull it all inside the cage. My favorite tarp was an OD green number made of heavy canvas and cut just large enough to cover all the sides when it was unrolled. It survived several raccoons but eventually had more holes than fabric. I have since made covers out of old paneling that just fit over the trap and still leave plenty of room for the mechanism to work.
I use peanut butter and marshmallow cream for bait. I don't like using cat food because it tends to catch cats, raccoons and possum. I sometimes still catch possum but I can't remember ever catching a raccoon with peanut butter and marshmallow cream and I've never caught a cat with it.
We've already discussed drowning vs. other methods of euthanasia here and it's probably best if we don't go down that road again. I made my feelings and reasoning pretty clear last time and if anybody is curious about it, they can search.
MO. Shootin
New member
When I was a kid my dad took me to run traps and man it was some great fun. We caught bobcats, fox, coyote, racoons, lots of possums.
The only bad thing about it anymore is that you have to worry about catching somebodys dog around here and also the hides are not worth much.
We ran a short trap line just on the weekends for 2 weeks a couple years ago and it was a lot of fun. We caught 2 bobcat and a few coons and possums. We brought along a choke stick and used it to let the possums and coons go. It worked well they just ran off. I would say that with the popularity of trapping and coon hunting not what it used to be around here the coon and possum population has exploded.
Good luck bud.
The only bad thing about it anymore is that you have to worry about catching somebodys dog around here and also the hides are not worth much.
We ran a short trap line just on the weekends for 2 weeks a couple years ago and it was a lot of fun. We caught 2 bobcat and a few coons and possums. We brought along a choke stick and used it to let the possums and coons go. It worked well they just ran off. I would say that with the popularity of trapping and coon hunting not what it used to be around here the coon and possum population has exploded.
Good luck bud.
Very careful shot with 22lr to the noggin....get the carcass out of the trap before it relaxes.
once I thought I could open the trap with a long piece of pipe then shoot it when the skunk got out of range....ended up looking like a scene from the three stooges with a couple of stooges missing.
I have discovered with raccoons if you stand the trap on end to shoot them, they will all climb up the trap then you can shoot just bellow the chin they will die quickly, with no mess. and won't die on the door...racoon carcass jammed in the trap door is no fun.
once I thought I could open the trap with a long piece of pipe then shoot it when the skunk got out of range....ended up looking like a scene from the three stooges with a couple of stooges missing.
I have discovered with raccoons if you stand the trap on end to shoot them, they will all climb up the trap then you can shoot just bellow the chin they will die quickly, with no mess. and won't die on the door...racoon carcass jammed in the trap door is no fun.
Uncle Buck
New member
I run a few traps, mostly for critter control.
Once you get them in the trap, the hard part is figuring out what to do with them. I have found a .22 rifle works best for me. I can place the rifle barrel between the wire on the cage and shoot the critter, while I remain safe.
Please be considerate of others when trapping and killing what you have trapped. A lot of people do not want to see you kill Ricky Raccoon. (They do not care that Ricky has just devastated your chicken flock or ruined your corn.)
Once you get them in the trap, the hard part is figuring out what to do with them. I have found a .22 rifle works best for me. I can place the rifle barrel between the wire on the cage and shoot the critter, while I remain safe.
Please be considerate of others when trapping and killing what you have trapped. A lot of people do not want to see you kill Ricky Raccoon. (They do not care that Ricky has just devastated your chicken flock or ruined your corn.)
sc928porsche
New member
Ive been trapping women for years, seems like all I get are the rejects!
Rifleman1776
New member
I trap some raccoons with a live trap on my property just to keep their numbers down and reduce the damage they do. I always kill them with a .22 before I 'release' to nature. Probably get rid of 20 a year. Often catch possums in the process. I just release as I learned a long time ago, there are so many and they reproduce so fast there is no hope to control the numbers. Pointless to kill.