FOX saga; NEW PICS p.2, WAS:Help with leg-hold traps

[ninjapoodles]

We've had enormous success at trapping raccoons and 'possum in HavAHart traps, but now that we've confirmed a fox after our chickens, and it's killed MOST of them in one night, we need to get serious about learning how to use our leg-hold traps. Setting them is no problem, but how do you bait them most effectively, to ensure that the animal steps into the trap?

 

[USMCSGT]

I would go with a snare trap. A fox can tell when the ground has been messed with and you need to bury the trap. If you surf the net, you can find the best way to get him. Has it dug in under your fence? You can always put the trap in the pen, where it is coming in. But I would get more than 1 trap. Good luck!

 

[ninjapoodles]

Thanks--I was wondering about that. The fox has never gotten into the pen, but I forgot to shut it up ONE night, and that was all it took.

 

[Bamaman]

It would take to long to explain here, so heres a link. There are some good pics and explainations of how to make a set. Its really not all that hard to learn just takes some time to perfect your techniques.
Good luck!

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/9/page/1

 

[Just-Like-Hatching]

Growing up in the Texas panhandle we had thousands of coyotes. To make a set for a coyote you must first make sure that your traps are rusted. Either using an acid if the traps are new and need to be rusted quick. Acid will rust them over night. Then boil your trap clean and scent free. Then use a natural dye to dye your traps black or dark brown. then melt wax in a pot big enough to hold your traps and place your traps into the wax and let them come to the same temp as the wax. After they have gotten to the same temp slowly pull the traps out of the wax leaving a thin wax coating on them sealing in the scent of the metal. Depending on the type of trap you are using you may need to put a nail between the jaws of the trap to allow the wax to coat the in edge of the trp jaws as well as the rest of the trap. From this point on only handle the trap with rubber gloves. now your trap is ready to use. Make sure you have stakes for traps that have a swivel in the chain to allow the trap to trun with the coyote once it is trapped. If not the trap chain will twist up and allow the coyote to either pull up the stake of allow it's leg to turn within the jaws of the trap eventually cutting the foot off.

Now dig a round 1.5 inch hole at a 45 degree angle into the ground where you have chosen to set the tap. Once that hole is dug, come back from the hole on the side you can see to the bottom from about one hand width, the to your right one hand width. That is where you want the center of your trap to go. Now dig out a shallow hole just about 3/8 inch deeper than your trap hight. Now place the set trap in that shallow hole and place a piece of cheese cloth that has been boiled scent free, over the paddle of the trap so that when you sift your dirt back over the trap, no dirt gets under that paddle.

Place some rotten meat in the bottom of the first hole you dug an place a handfull of grass over the meat in the hole. Then do not approach the set until you have the coyote.

I have trapped litterally a thousand or more coyotes and they are the smartest critters out there and can smell the smallest speck of rust and human scent. I always wore rubber gloves and boots, along with a painters mask.

Lots of work, but if you really want to catch them that is the right way.

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[nautical_bouy]

I agree with the precautions listed above when trappig animals in the wild,,, however your fox is used to your scent,,,

I've had great luck catching around the house predators by wiring a chicken neck or leg to a tree and setting 2 or 3 #1.75 twin coils in soft dirt and sifting a light coat of soil or peat moss over them.

The animal will be busy tugging and trying to take the bait and normally gets in a trap or two.

I would make sure you have stong traps in good condition # 1.75 or #2 coil springs,,, the fox will be dumb for one shot and if you are using grandpa's worn out #1 1/2 long spring traps,, he will pull out with a new education.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Thanks to the suggestion of someone on this board, Alex called the state Game & Fish commission today, to find out what the "legal" procedure is for dealing with a fox who's become a problem to your livestock. He's a conscientious hunter, so he really wants to keep his hands clean with the Game & Fish.

Anyway, here's the scoop so far. They are sending out G&F representative to our place, to observe our setup and look at the pictures we've gotten on our gamecams of the fox. I wish we'd had the presence of mind to photograph the dead chickens when it happened, but we didn't. There *is* one in the fridge, that we were saving to use as bait, so we can show him that if he wants. I think we have a pretty good "case" here, since our entire property is fenced in 6' chain-link, and there is additional fencing for the livestock.

So if the G&F official says everything checks out (and we have no reason to believe he won't), he'll give us a license to shoot or trap fox on our property. In the meantime, we'll just keep making sure that the electric fence is firing on all cylinders.

Just an aside: I'm curious about all the precautions as regards to human scent, when the animal is coming into our yard, where we all live...I mean, for it to get to the chicken yard, it has to show a HUGE disregard for human scent, because the area of the slaughter was right between the chook yard and our workshop--we walk all OVER that area, and touch EVERYTHING. It would also have had to ignore the scent of metal, since the entire chicken yard is covered in metal fencing, and it went inside. Just curious about all that.

 

[nautical_bouy]

Read my post,,, it's used to you, your not trapping an animal 30 miles from no where, it's in YOUR yard, your scent is everywhere and devoiding a trap of your scent very well may make it leary because it doesn't smell like everything else around.

If you get new traps i would boil them to remove maching oil and odd odors,,, however I'd boil with dirt, branches, and chicken feathers from your place to,,,,, make it smell like your place.

Trapping is an art of making the trap enticing and part of the environment.
You can bait with chicken parts and boil a trap in water with a dirty sock from everyone in the house, that will make it "fit in" there.

It's not that difficult. make it smell like every thing else there, put out some food, and fool an animal with an IQ of 10 that has so far killed your stock.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Thanks, I'll be back for more advice once we get the OK from Game & Fish, I'm sure!

 

[Just-Like-Hatching]

If it smells like something is there even if it smells like everything around it it still knows something is there. If it has no smell, it never knows anything is there until it is to late. I set a trap to make them step where I want. Not to try and get lucky that they will step in a trap. Just my way of doing it though.