Using the Cage:
First let me define the difference between a Fur Trapper and a professional Predator Control Trapper. There is a big difference between the 2 terms. The Fur Trapper will come into the area and take a few animals, leave animals so that there is a healthy population to trap the following year, then pull out and move onto the next location. The Predator Control Trapper will come into an area, target a specific nuisance animal, usually an animal that has been trapped before and is educated; once the problem is solved they will move onto the next problem location; again targeting a specific animal...the Predator Control Trapper is a professional at thinking outside the box and taking the problem target. When I run my trap line, I'm a Fur Trapper.
There are not many predators that can be effectively trapped with a cage trap, but coons can be taken in quantity with this method of take. If you choose to live trap the coon...do not relocate them. Take care of the problem on your property, don't make it someone else's problem.
My first advice on equipment...Don't use the Havhart traps, they are not sturdy and are cheaply constructed. If you catch a big boar coon in a havhart trap, the animal will most likely force its way out. If that happens, then you won't be able to return the trap to its original structural integrity. Every coon after that big boar coon will escape from the trap...and all you're doing is educating coons to avoid live traps. If you have a person come out and trap, you tell a lot about a trapper by the gear that they use in the field. If your hired trapper starts to unload their gear and you start seeing havhart traps, or traps of that style, thank them for their time, send them on their way and get a real trapper.
Here is the cage trap that you want to use for trapping coon:
This trap has a welded wire frame and uses heavy duty wire ring washers to hold the trap closed. There is not a coon alive that will get out of the trap once they are in it. If you have made a non-target catch and you have an animal that you need to release, simply use your foot or a long sitck to roll the trap over onto its roof and the heavy duty washers will slide down the wire rod, the trap door will flop open and your unwanted catch will be able to scamper away.
Marshmallows work and have eye appeal, I'll use them if I need to draw an animal to the trap. But I want that coon to be drooling and wanting to get in my trap. I make up my own bait for use in the live trap when I'm out to get coon. Start with a clean 5 gallon bucket. Fill the bucket 3/4 full with dry dog food. For the next step I wait till my wife is GONE shopping and won't be back soon, so that I can get it done and clean up my mess before she gets back home. Take a can of sardines and blend the contents up in the blender with about 3 cups of cheap cooking oil, mix this slurry into the 5 gallon bucket with the dry dog food and stir well. There is not a coon on earth that will pass by this offering.
Best results Will be obtained if you can set the cage traps along the animal's route of the travel. When you set the trap make sure that it sets firm and level on the ground. If need be, used a shovel to create a level location. The fresh digging will further serve as an attractant. When the trap is in its bed there should be no wobble. Drive a stake on either side of the trap to keep the animal from rolling the trap over and to keep the trap from moving. If the coon is able to roll the trap they will simply force their way out of the trap. A big boar coon is an amazingly powerful animal. If you are not sure what type of animal is getting your poultry, then smooth the ground in front of the trap door, maybe even add some soft dry earth so that you will be able to get a look at the tracks that this predator is making.
After you have located a place for the trap(s) and they are properly set, camouflage the traps so that 2 legged types don't walk away with your valuable equipment. Well made cage traps are not cheap traps. Now that the trap is set, wire the door of the trap open for a few nights and bait it with your bait mix. You'll know when they have found the trap(s), all the bait will be gone every morning and the ground under the bait location in front of the treadle will be dug up, through the trap wires on the cage bottom.
If they are really active they will crawl all over hte trap and you may even have to re-camouflage the trap. Coons and Skunks really like this bait. After a few nights and the coon have made your traps a regular stop on their travel routes, remove the wire holding the door open and set the trap(s) and start catching the critters. During trapping season, I may just wire the traps during the week and set them on the weekends when I have more time to process the fur.
You do not want to just go out in the field with a cage trap, plop it down, and expect to start catching animals; yet this is exactly what I see people do time and time again. Wild animals are not stupid, they are incredibly aware of their surroundings and will notice that this thing along their travel route is new. They will be very cautious when they first encounter the cage trap, it's only natural. The reality is that any coon that sets off the trap and gets away is now an educated coon; making them much more difficult to trap...catch them the first time. Don't give them a second chance to evaluate your trap; and never relocate a trapped coon. If there are lots of coon in the area; after a few nights the numbers will start to thin out, and your catch rate will drop off. The remaining coon will now be getting cautious and may even start to avoid your cage trap(s)...no problem....wire the traps open again for a few nights, bait 'em, check & re-bait as needed each morning; then when they start hitting the sets regularly again, unwire the trap, set it and start the whole process over again.
Beyond the Cage Trap are the "Conibear", the foothold trap, and the snare. Master all these items and there is no predator that you can't stop from threatening your home flock.
Enjoy.
First let me define the difference between a Fur Trapper and a professional Predator Control Trapper. There is a big difference between the 2 terms. The Fur Trapper will come into the area and take a few animals, leave animals so that there is a healthy population to trap the following year, then pull out and move onto the next location. The Predator Control Trapper will come into an area, target a specific nuisance animal, usually an animal that has been trapped before and is educated; once the problem is solved they will move onto the next problem location; again targeting a specific animal...the Predator Control Trapper is a professional at thinking outside the box and taking the problem target. When I run my trap line, I'm a Fur Trapper.
There are not many predators that can be effectively trapped with a cage trap, but coons can be taken in quantity with this method of take. If you choose to live trap the coon...do not relocate them. Take care of the problem on your property, don't make it someone else's problem.
My first advice on equipment...Don't use the Havhart traps, they are not sturdy and are cheaply constructed. If you catch a big boar coon in a havhart trap, the animal will most likely force its way out. If that happens, then you won't be able to return the trap to its original structural integrity. Every coon after that big boar coon will escape from the trap...and all you're doing is educating coons to avoid live traps. If you have a person come out and trap, you tell a lot about a trapper by the gear that they use in the field. If your hired trapper starts to unload their gear and you start seeing havhart traps, or traps of that style, thank them for their time, send them on their way and get a real trapper.
Here is the cage trap that you want to use for trapping coon:
This trap has a welded wire frame and uses heavy duty wire ring washers to hold the trap closed. There is not a coon alive that will get out of the trap once they are in it. If you have made a non-target catch and you have an animal that you need to release, simply use your foot or a long sitck to roll the trap over onto its roof and the heavy duty washers will slide down the wire rod, the trap door will flop open and your unwanted catch will be able to scamper away.
Marshmallows work and have eye appeal, I'll use them if I need to draw an animal to the trap. But I want that coon to be drooling and wanting to get in my trap. I make up my own bait for use in the live trap when I'm out to get coon. Start with a clean 5 gallon bucket. Fill the bucket 3/4 full with dry dog food. For the next step I wait till my wife is GONE shopping and won't be back soon, so that I can get it done and clean up my mess before she gets back home. Take a can of sardines and blend the contents up in the blender with about 3 cups of cheap cooking oil, mix this slurry into the 5 gallon bucket with the dry dog food and stir well. There is not a coon on earth that will pass by this offering.
Best results Will be obtained if you can set the cage traps along the animal's route of the travel. When you set the trap make sure that it sets firm and level on the ground. If need be, used a shovel to create a level location. The fresh digging will further serve as an attractant. When the trap is in its bed there should be no wobble. Drive a stake on either side of the trap to keep the animal from rolling the trap over and to keep the trap from moving. If the coon is able to roll the trap they will simply force their way out of the trap. A big boar coon is an amazingly powerful animal. If you are not sure what type of animal is getting your poultry, then smooth the ground in front of the trap door, maybe even add some soft dry earth so that you will be able to get a look at the tracks that this predator is making.
After you have located a place for the trap(s) and they are properly set, camouflage the traps so that 2 legged types don't walk away with your valuable equipment. Well made cage traps are not cheap traps. Now that the trap is set, wire the door of the trap open for a few nights and bait it with your bait mix. You'll know when they have found the trap(s), all the bait will be gone every morning and the ground under the bait location in front of the treadle will be dug up, through the trap wires on the cage bottom.
If they are really active they will crawl all over hte trap and you may even have to re-camouflage the trap. Coons and Skunks really like this bait. After a few nights and the coon have made your traps a regular stop on their travel routes, remove the wire holding the door open and set the trap(s) and start catching the critters. During trapping season, I may just wire the traps during the week and set them on the weekends when I have more time to process the fur.
You do not want to just go out in the field with a cage trap, plop it down, and expect to start catching animals; yet this is exactly what I see people do time and time again. Wild animals are not stupid, they are incredibly aware of their surroundings and will notice that this thing along their travel route is new. They will be very cautious when they first encounter the cage trap, it's only natural. The reality is that any coon that sets off the trap and gets away is now an educated coon; making them much more difficult to trap...catch them the first time. Don't give them a second chance to evaluate your trap; and never relocate a trapped coon. If there are lots of coon in the area; after a few nights the numbers will start to thin out, and your catch rate will drop off. The remaining coon will now be getting cautious and may even start to avoid your cage trap(s)...no problem....wire the traps open again for a few nights, bait 'em, check & re-bait as needed each morning; then when they start hitting the sets regularly again, unwire the trap, set it and start the whole process over again.
Beyond the Cage Trap are the "Conibear", the foothold trap, and the snare. Master all these items and there is no predator that you can't stop from threatening your home flock.
Enjoy.
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This makes 6 coons, 1 possum.
