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Trapping Skunks Part 1

Trapping skunks (Mephitis mephitis) cage or box traps is one of the easiest tasks a beginning trapper can accomplish as skunks are not known for being trap shy and are readily attracted to fatty baits. Of course, the challenge with skunks is not the trapping but the handling of the trap.

Cage-trapped skunk. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.
Cage-trapped skunk. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.

Before You Begin Trapping Skunks

  • Check the wildlife laws in your area. Typically, state divisions of wildlife (where someone would purchase a hunting license) will be the governing authority on the trapping of skunks. You need to have the following questions answered:
    • Is it legal to cage or box trap skunks? Colloquially this is known as live trapping. I don’t use the term live trap because it is not accurate because footholds are live traps.
    • Is it legal to cage trap skunks at this time of year?
    • How can the skunks be disposed of?
      • Can it be killed? If so, what are the legal or recommended methods? You may be required to kill the skunk if it appears sick or injured.
      • Can it be relocated (transport and release of skunk within its home-range (often a mile or two). What locations constitute a legal release site?
      • Can it be translocated (transport and release of skunk outside its home-range (10 miles or more). What locations constitute a legal release site?
  • Gather skunks trapping equipment. At minimum you should have:
    • Protective gloves
    • Fried chicken scraps (note house cats are attracted to this bait)
    • 1/4-inch hardware cloth two-inches wider on all sides (except the trap entry) than the trap’s footprint (the part that sets on the ground. This screening is to protect the turf/soil beneath and around the trap from being dug up by the trapped skunk. If you use professional style traps with 1/2-inch by 1-inch mesh, this material can be skipped.
    • Cage traps that are at least 7- x 7- x 24-inches in size (single door).
    • Trap covers large enough to cover half the length of the trap on three sides and the rear. This cover gives the skunk a place to hide and you a blind spot to approach the trap without fear of being sprayed. Covers can be made of durable cloth (e.g. old bathroom towel, hardened cardboard, or even plywood.
    • A large trap cover capable of covering the entire trap length and sides. This cover will be used to keep the trapped skunk in the dark before you pick up the trap to move it.
  • Time
    • You must have enough time each day to check the trap, preferably in the morning. Never set a trap unless you can check it. Checking means, every day, including holidays, when the weather is bad, when you don’t feel like it, etc.
    • Ideally, close the door during daylight hours. This way you won’t catch animals during the day. But you will need to return at dusk to reset the trap so it is available to catch a nocturnal skunk.

Bottom Line

Trapping skunks requires preparation in both your attitude and in equipment. But careful preparation will assist you when you do have the skunk in possession but that will have to wait till the next blog.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

 

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Cleaning Cage Traps

Do you clean your cage traps? Have you ever considered cleaning your cage traps? It may sound like a silly idea. After all, isn’t cleaning your cage traps like cleaning the tires of your vehicle or the bottom of your shoes? A useless endeavor that will simply add more time to your already busy schedule? Those are certainly some important points, but I want you to give you a few reasons to support the idea that cleaning cage traps is a good idea at least in some situations.

Let’s begin by considering the problem. Animals are dirty. Raccoons, for example, regularly defecate inside cage traps they are captured in. It’s almost like they are doing this as an act of defiance. They aren’t the only animals that can poo inside the cage. Animals also urinate as well. Both urine and scat carry infectious organisms that can adhere to the cage wire, potentially waiting for you to touch. You may counter, but I always wear protective gloves! Great. I am glad to hear that because many wildlife control operators (WCOs) don’t.

  • Using a weed burner to clean a cage trap. Photo: Charles Parker of Parker's Wildlife Control, New Orleans.
    Using a weed burner to clean a cage trap. Photo: Charles Parker of Parker’s Wildlife Control, New Orleans.

I’m not talking about cleaning cage traps for your safety, though that is a reasonable reason. I am referring to cleaning cage traps for two other reasons, namely customer safety and trapping efficiency.

I suggest that cage traps should be cleaned if you rent out traps. The last thing you want to have happen is a renter using a trap that gets an infection from mishandling your equipment. So you clean your traps between renters.

The second reason you should clean your trap is when you are having trouble catching an animal. Sometimes animals avoid smells of other animals, such as a squirrel avoiding the odor of a raccoon, or a female raccoon avoiding the odor of a male raccoon. If your trap isn’t catching the way it used to, perhaps it’s because the odors on the trap are scaring the new animals away.

How do you clean your cage traps? I suggest using a weed burner. Find a safe area like concrete slabs, particularly those in well-ventilated areas. Just wave the flame over the mesh several times. Don’t need to make the mesh glow. Just enough heat/flame to kill the little nasties. Those of you in drought areas, need to be careful that grass and leaves in the trap don’t cause a fire elsewhere when carried by the wind.

If you haven’t cleaned your cage traps before, perhaps give it a try. You may find that you like the results. Keep in mind, that flaming will reduce the lifespan of your cage traps. But if you are careful, the life reduction won’t be noticeable.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel) along with several books (https://wildlifecontrolconsultant.com/store-2/). Listen to his podcast at PestGeek Podcast (https://pestgeekpodcast.com/). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Quebec’s Best Trapping Practices

Quebec’s Best Trapping Practices

Raccoon (Procyon lotor). Français : Raton lave...
Raccoon (Procyon lotor). Français : Raton laveur (Appellé Racoon en Guadeloupe) (Procyon lotor). Author: Darkone, 5. August 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Best Trapping Practices are guidelines for setting and using traps to reduce the amount of suffering sustained by animals. The guidelines are developed after careful research. I recently learned of the BTP developed in Quebec Canada by the Trap Research and Development Committee of the Fur Institute of Canada.

The information covers, killing traps, restraining devices (footholds and footsnares) and cage traps. Readers may be surprised as I was regarding the tips for use of specialty traps for raccoons. I did not know that the Lil’ Grizz Get’rz should be positioned at a 60 degree angle to the ground. The instructions are superbly illustrated and laid out for easy understanding. Some readers may complain that they are too brief.

Negatives

Unfortunately, the document doesn’t cover many species. It only details techniques for muskrats, otter, beaver, weasel, marten, fisher, raccoon, lynx, and canids. It is also a bit thin on proper use of cage traps. It should have discussed the use of covers, particularly in light of the cold temperatures had in Canada.

Bottom Line

Nevertheless, the pages covering basic principles for kill traps and footholds are essential reading for any trapper interested in humane trapping.

The guidelines can be found at http://www.mrn.gouv.qc.ca/english/publications/wildlife/trapping/trapping-practices.pdf.

About the Author

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator who helps individuals, businesses, and agencies resolve wildlife damage issues through training, writing, expert witness, and research. His latest book is the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition. He can be contacted at wildlifecontrolconsultant at gmail dot com.

If you would like your publication, video, or product reviewed, please contact the author at the e-mail above.

Copyright

All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

 

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Baiting Box/Cage Traps with the Y Stick

Baiting Box/Cage Traps with the Y Stick

This isn’t about the kind of baits you should use to trap  problem animals. Rather it’s about a method to place and manipulate the bait to  make it more effective. Y stick baiting technique Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel

Box and Cage Trapping Not as Easy as You Think

Box and cage traps are completely different to animals than traditional trapping tools. Here we have this unnatural metal or plastic contraption that we are trying to lure the animal into. He will sense its foreignness. The metal will feel harsh under his feet and his  body may feel cramped by the small opening. All these factors add to the animal’s reluctance to enter the trap. So if we are going to get the animal into the trap we must make sure it has a good reason to enter.

Choosing the right bait or lure is of course very important to enticing an animal into the trap. However, if the bait isn’t situated properly in the trap, the animal won’t be able to sense it and know its there.

Animals hunt primarily using three senses, hearing, smell and sight. Typically WCOs do not utilize hearing in their trapping so we won’t discuss techniques for this sense, but I should note that this is changing.

The “Y” Stick Baiting Technique

Usually trappers exploit the animal’s sense of smell to capture the animal. The key is to bait the trap so that the food or lure molecules have the opportunity to disperse into the air. The method I like to use most often was taught to me by Rob Erickson. He advises trappers to get a ‘Y” stick and with the stem of the “Y” scoop out some of your bait. Then insert the stem into the bait area of the trap so that the bifurcated stems grab into the trap mesh thereby allowing the stem to dangle. With this method the bait has a very high exposure to the air around it. Other advantages lie in the techniques ability to reduce the loss of bait to hungry ants. By keeping the bait off the ground it is more difficult for the ants to find it. Finally, this technique allows the bait to remain active even if it rains. The small surface area makes it difficult for rain to wash it away and when it does then the bait can fall to ground where it may still be effective.

Downside of the Y Stick Baiting Technique

The downside to this method is that it works only with paste baits. If your bait or lure is especially liquid this baiting technique would not be recommended because it won’t cling to the stick properly. In addition, since the y portion extends above the trap, it may be affected by the trap cover. So if you use this method, be sure to check that the stick is still hanging properly after you cover the trap. Failure to consider this may allow the animal to grab the bait without having to get close enough to depress the treadle. Remember, animals are just as lazy as we are. If they can grab something by reaching for it rather than moving towards it they will. So be sure you hang the bait stick/wire towards the back half of the bait area.

Stephen M. Vantassel is a certified wildlife control operator and is available for consultation, speaking, and writing on wildlife damage management related topics.

About Stephen M. Vantassel

Stephen M. Vantassel, MNI, CNI, CWCP, ACP, ACE Stephen M. Vantassel's Bio Stephen M. Vantassel is the Vertebrate Pest Specialist for the Montana Department of Agriculture (2015-present). Formerly, Stephen M. Vantassel was the Program Coordinator of Distance Education-Wildlife Damage Management for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources from 2004-2014. Stephen filled … Learn More

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