In my ideal setting, any strips or heavy cover for the birds to hang out in IS protected inside an electric fence, and preferably with a wide margin of 30 to 50 feet between the fence and cover. Some distance away. The closer a predator can sneak up on a bird, the better the predators chances are. At a distance, predator is still in sneak mode and will probably be moving stealthy and slowly.....focused on the birds and ignoring the fence as it attempts to slip through or slip under it. A bit of bacon to sniff may not hurt either. That pretty well sends them packing. But if the birds are right there.....they may be making their dash for cash when they bust through the fence and it may miss them.
Without a fence, the strips and cover may be worse than none as it gives cover to the predator at point blank snatch and grab distance. A fox is exceptionally good at this.
So if you don't intend to install a fence, keep trapping!
BTW, if you have a kid interested in trapping, no harm in setting traps and harvesting the furs for the sake of that alone. I don't, as I'm not interested in messing with it......but if others are, no harm in that at all.
I would caution, however, that once you start skinning your catch and saving the hides, technically, that is fur trapping and in most areas, you better have a permit for that and follow the rules and seasons. Most state DNR's take a dim view on illegal trapping. Fines are pretty stiff. Throwing a few dead coons over the fence for the buzzards to clean up is one thing. Throwing a bunch of skinned dead coons over the fence and keeping their hides in the shed on stretch boards is another.
Without a fence, the strips and cover may be worse than none as it gives cover to the predator at point blank snatch and grab distance. A fox is exceptionally good at this.
So if you don't intend to install a fence, keep trapping!
BTW, if you have a kid interested in trapping, no harm in setting traps and harvesting the furs for the sake of that alone. I don't, as I'm not interested in messing with it......but if others are, no harm in that at all.
I would caution, however, that once you start skinning your catch and saving the hides, technically, that is fur trapping and in most areas, you better have a permit for that and follow the rules and seasons. Most state DNR's take a dim view on illegal trapping. Fines are pretty stiff. Throwing a few dead coons over the fence for the buzzards to clean up is one thing. Throwing a bunch of skinned dead coons over the fence and keeping their hides in the shed on stretch boards is another.
