What is the best bait for a smart ‘coon!?

[JayceMusgrove82]

i have used jello and it worked

Uh, the ants will most likely get to that first

 

[JayceMusgrove82]

Which DP traps are you using and how and where are you setting them? That matters. Also, are the traps firing and missing or no activity at all?

View attachment 1620176 View attachment 1620177

This is the trail my resident coons have created and use to travel to and from the barn when stealing dry cat food. If you have coons coming to your coop, you need to find the pathway they are using. It will generally be a trail like this. As for dry cat food, they (along with possums, skunks, foxes, etc) seem to be addicted to it. Cheap barn kitty stuff I get at the local feed store in 40 pound bags.

If I wanted to catch coons.......I'd set up my DP traps smack dab in the middle of that trail...right on the red line........and initially, I'd not arm or set the trap. Just fill it full to the brim with cat food. I'd check and re-fill it daily and perhaps even setup a trail camera to monitor what comes and goes to be certain it was coons cleaning it out. You want to give them time to find the buffet......and how can they miss it when they have to trip over it? And time to overcome any fear of the trap and it's scent. By setting it up in the trail they are using, they will think I'm doing them a favor......saving them a walk the rest of the way up the hill.

After several days, when I was pretty certain they were comfortable cleaning it out, then and only then, I'd arm it. I might setup as many as 5 or 6 of them......far enough apart so caught coons would not get tangled with each other. Done right, you might catch a whole bunch the first night. Shoot em in the head and that's that.

If you are using Dukes, OK. In winter on frozen ground, and most other times too, you will get far better catch rates with the two way trigger traps like a Coon Dagger. Just don't fill it once you set it........just a little in the bottom and not even touching the trigger because it can go off pushing as well as pulling. Likely as not, they may set it off the first handful they grab. When the ground is frozen, Coon Daggers can be set on a small stick stuck in the frozen ground so it won't be frozen in place. Coon Daggers also come with double swivels....helps prevent the chains from twisting.

The downside to a two way trigger trap like a Coon Dagger is it will catch cats and possums too. Anything that can get it's paw down it. But then it's your choice.....kill em or release em.......(cats).

The traps have been tampered, and set off, but those rascals always get out

 

[Howard E]

Which traps and where and how are you setting and staking them? Pictures would help.

 

[frankflonker95]

Uh, the ants will most likely get to that first

what area do you live in?ants diet differ in different places

 

[JayceMusgrove82]

Im

The traps have been tampered, and set off, but those rascals always get out[/QUOTE

The traps have been tampered, and set off, but those rascals always get out

Which traps and where and how are you setting and staking them? Pictures would help.

Which traps and where and how are you setting and staking them? Pictures would help.

The big circle is where the coon is, the smaller one is where I put my trap, and the arrow is where he leaves

 

[Howard E]

If you have already missed them, you have missed your best chance at catching them, as they are now wary of the trap. Leaving them unset for several days and full of bait and letting them get used to cleaning them out again may help.......

 

[JayceMusgrove82]

what area do you live in?ants diet differ in different places

Lol, I live in antville, Arkansas

 

[JayceMusgrove82]

If you have already missed them, you have missed your best chance at catching them, as they are now wary of the trap. Leaving them unset for several days and full of bait and letting them get used to cleaning them out again may help.......

I haven’t set my DP in months, I tend to only catch oppossoms with it but the little circle is where I put my live trap, I will put my DP where the arrow is, because that is where he leaves!

 

[N F C]

We've had good luck using jelly in the coon traps. We can't use anything that our outdoor cats would go for, like cat food. The cats don't care about the jelly, but the raccoons seem to love it.

 

[JayceMusgrove82]

Which traps and where and how are you setting and staking them? Pictures would help.

I know that I’m setting the traps correctly...the question is...am I baiting them, and am I placing them correctly?