Dug Up canine traps

[trappnman]

been reading about this, and my conclusion is directly opposite the expert conclusions I've read.

So my question is this- what do you feel is the number one reason, that canines dig at traps?

[livefreeordie]

Contaminated traps.

[trappnman]

for purposes of disucssion- lets assume that we are talking about at least a semi experienced guy- one that has caught a few canines, seen a few videos, etc.

I'd go along with contaminated traps as one of the top reasons.

[Bob Jameson]

Thats not easy to state the "number one reason" as there may be different reasons for each animal that causes that particular animal to dig a trap bed area. Some reasons I have found are: Too much soft loose dirt, odor on the trap of sorts, odor on the trap bed cover area, a different odor on the trap bed cover area from that on the surrounding area,a very poorly bed trap, color contrast on the bed, wet spot vs the surrounding ground, thawed spot in the snow to name a few. So I dont see how one could really state definitively the actual reason for any one animal to dig as an accurate assessment of that location.

To narrow it down I would say odor/color contrast over the bed vs the surrounding area and association reaction to prior experiences with that type of presentation may head the list. I believe many dig instinctively due to a natural curosity reaction when an odor is encountered then a soft disturbed dirt area is close at hand I think it becomes a natural order of things for an animal to do.

[tonymalone]

something about the pattern they don't like, i used to have em dig from side or back of hole, changed the way i bed trap, and i might have had 2 dig from side or back this year, ,,,, speed dip that is not cured good enough will make em dig in a heart beat!

[trappnman]

good post Bob-

and I agree....

the #1 answer I hear around, seems to be "improperly bedded traps" as in "wobbly, tippy trap"

and my thought is ..no, can't see it..... sure it happens, but I find myself thinking along Bob Ws thoughtss- push the trap in and go-

[bobwendt]

I see coons and skunk doing almost all the digging. the rare coyote never flips the trap, just exposes the first bit of chain or jaw and goes on. many jump to conclusions, see a flipped trap and obvious coyote tracks or fresh turd that wasn`t there yesterday and jump up and down yelling pull out , pull out ( in best gomor pyle imitation). not really, coon flips out trap and then coyote comes by. reminds me of a turd I found in our field. I studied it well and then called the girls over to tell me what they saw. they all looked, sniffed and crumbled. to my amazement all 3 said , "dad, a possum dumped here and insulted the fox we know lives here so he came and turded right on top of the possums turd" . the avg trapper would have never guessed that is exactly what happened. all 3 girls if I drop them within a mile of a den they can ferret it out in just a few minutes too. too bad there is no demand for type work anymore.

[trappnman]

as an aside- I feel that the majority of coon "digging", is rooting.....

[Freak( Jim V.)]

I personally think the lure smell turns the coons on and gets em digging around in the loose dirt more often than not. Just a reaction to a stimuli .Have very few dug at , but can tell you by switching to a firml;y bedded stepdown , I usually have a coon next night. I too push em in and go with the exceptions of flat sets

[trappnman]

it might turn them on, and in fact am hoping it does- but if you don't have fresh dirt, you don't get digging. I use to think that coon were flipping traps, etc by digigng them out- I no longer believe that to be true the majority of times. I do think the fresh dirt is a stimulus, but I also believe that the first reaction is like a bear, take that nose and root aorund in that fresh dirt.

Stepdowns are the norm on coon, but not as pronounced as for canines. If you spread a thin layer of dirt on coon specific sets, so that the dirt exctends beyond the pattern for a foot or more- all that rooting instinct is goe by the time he hits the trap.

[dabrock]

I think few digs are from coyote, I do get one now and again, but I go along with the coon doing most and this year had several dug up by deer. not certain about smelly trap, I have had them dug up. reset and caught fox or coyote even with traps with some rust, reset and catch the coyote. In short, I'd say I really do'nt know what #1 reason would be.

[tonymalone]

i don't think rust bothers the yotes around here, i dye and wax at first of season and thats it, before the end of year(rite now) my traps have their share of rust, some are plumb rusty, and catch yotes consistenlty.

[PAskinner]

Flipped traps by canines-rare, but the scratching thing is pretty common it seems with gray fox. Curiosity?
I'm more concerned with packing a trap tight for dryland coon than for fox. Coon stand up on their back feet and put their whole weight on the trap bed and have sensitive paws...

[trappnman]

interesting tidbit- after 1 coon at a set- you don't have to even begin to bed the trap as well as originally.

[bobwendt]

I never noticed, but I`ll try to keep track on that this jan. I know coon flips cost me a lot of lost opportunitys and time spent re-setting the flips. in coon/coyote combo areas the novice will mistake all those many many coon flips on a large line, that occur daily ,as coyote flips, coyote pull outs etc. especially if a coyote clearly visits later, as often happens. seems there was one in disguise as a trapping god dissing me on tman on this very subject some mionths ago. a "vieographer" was the word used. apparently he and a jealous bafoon that knows he is a fake and an alke and maybe afraid I`ll out him got togather for a bob bash. the alke couldn`t resist posting the disparaging post on tman all while trying to play the consumate gentleman. kinda blew his cover himself I`d say. we discuss why traps are flipped here for mutual gain of knowledge here and they worship each other and decide what to name the dog or wear to the prom.

[Zagman]

How do you put in new sets without fresh dirt?

Even if you blend it, the fresh dirt odor is there, no?

To me, fresh dirt is just not about look or feel, its about smell.

Smell is the main reason I don't dig beds in trails for coyote blind sets......I dont want any distraction as they saunter down the trail.

What blows my mind about fox and digging and poly fill.....often no matter how hard you try, once you cover the trap, some white polyfil filaments stick out from under the pan and up through your dirt covering.

Not wanting to rebed and cover that, I always figure "NO BIG DEAL" and down the road.

Why an animal would want to dig at something that looks like feathers or fur is obvious.....why they dig at it with some yummy smellin' goo 5 inches from their nose is perplexing......

Most of my digging at sets is, in my mind, fox or coon. Coyotes are more apt to visit, feet planted for a second, then on down the road.

Like this.....



Picture is decieving, but the hole is actually drilled into a 8 inch high bank......

A lot of my subtle guides go out the door once the snow hits.....

Zagman

[bobwendt]

trail sets semi blind ( lure 10 feet either way down the trail) I pound the bed in with my hammer, disturb no dirt and then cover with been chaff, whatever is there. I look for that special place on the trail that I can naturally narrow and has grass or othe material for a natural cover instead of dirt. I imagine similar to how the bare trap cat guys set and places they pick. sounds like zag does similar. zag, put up that watered 2 track situaton you posted a couple years back. that is one of my classic type smarty coyote blind sets ,and tire flattening free.

[trappnman]

how do you put in sets without fresh dirt? take the old dirt thats matted down at the set.

Often on coon, I only halfarse cover it on remakes.

often no matter how hard you try, once you cover the trap, some white polyfil filaments stick out from under the pan and up through your dirt covering.

Easy fix. Use about 50% less polyfil than you must be using. I don't even have any sticking out beyond the pan, let alone above it.

[Zagman]

I asked about new sets.....on the fresh dirt.

On the polyfill......if its not sticking out beyond the edge of the pan, how does it work? In other words, since you pack inside the jaws with the 1.75, if the fill is not all the way outside to the pan edge, aren't you packing dirt under your pan?

[Bob Jameson]

Funny thing about the bed pounding been doing that for quite some time with trail sets also and when I suspect the problem is from fresh dirt I put in a close by set with a bed indentation set up to reduce the dug out odor. Works well most of the time. Excavation can be a blessing for fox but can be a curse at times for coyotes.I have had problems over the years at different times with polyfill and dont use it any longer. The less add ons to a set the better off one seems to be. I went back to using and saving larger leaves that I compress to act as pan covers, wax paper or weed block pre cut pieces. Problems like digging due to foreign materials basically stopped. Still get the coon flips on occasion but packing with the top of your hammer will reduce the soft apron and eliminate alot of that.