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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 along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. 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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Suspend Baits and Lures

Suspend Baits and Lures

Bait stick to hang paste bait in a cage trap. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.
Bait stick to hang paste bait in a cage trap.

Experienced wildlife control operators (WCO) familiar with cage and box trapping know that suspending bait, as opposed to throwing it on the trap floor, offers several advantages. First, suspending bait allows the bait molecules 360 degree access to the surrounding air increasing the chances that animals will smell it. Second, suspended bait is less vulnerable to ants that can carry it away. Finally, the attractiveness of the bait can be enhanced by the visual curiosity of a suspended object.

The development of paste baits allowed cage/box trappers to hang the bait off the ground and take advantage of the benefits of suspended baits. Note, hanging bait stick was related to me by Robert Erickson.

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 books are the Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd edition and The Practical Guide to the Control of Feral Cats. 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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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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Bait Sponges

This article originally appeared in Wildlife Control Technology Magazine.

Bait Sponges

As a full time animal damage controller, I am engaged in a never ending quest to find items or techniques that make my job easier or more professional.

The Y Stick

I had been fairly happy with using “y” sticks as holders for bait in my cage traps. They were cheap (free) and worked really well. But my honey moon was soon over when I started having some problems. Some times I would have to spend too much time searching for bait sticks. It seemed that some residents kept their property cleared of broken branches and trimmed their trees. It just didn’t look good raiding some bush for a usable “y” branch.  Sure I would stock up on them when I had the chance but they would sometimes break as from the jostling they got in the back of my truck. Traps moving in and out, bait containers being tossed inside would be too much for the dry sticks to handle. I needed another option.

The other problem with the “y” stick was that the two ends protruded above the cage. You might not consider that a big problem. It isn’t when the weather is warm and dry. But I live in New England. I often want to protect my bait and trigger area from snow and rain. The “y’ stick prevented me from laying stones or boards above this area. Doing so would only break the sticks or roll the angle of the stick into a bad angle making it too easy for an animal to misfire it. I needed another option.

The Bait Sponge

One day I received the bait sponge in the mail. I recognized them immediately. In hospitals, we call them Toothettes. They are small sponges attached to the end of lollipop type stick. They are about five inches long (including the sponge). The sponge is about an inch long and an inch wide. It has ridges formed into the sponge because they are actually used as tooth brushes or as mouth moisteners/refreshers. This one was modified however. The trap dealer had added a metal wire to the end of the stick so that it could be hung from the cage. I thought this was great. The answer to my problem had been found. Here is how you can make some sponge bait sticks on your own.

First contact the maker Sage Products Inc. by calling 815-455-4700 or by writing 815 Tek Drive  Cyrstal Lake, IL 60014. Ask them for hospital Toothettes. You want the plain variety. You can purchase the flavored kind if you want your bait stick to smell like mint/peppermint. You also don’t want sterile ones. Why pay extra for something you don’t need? Chances are you won’t be purchasing enough Toothettes for them to sell to you directly. Instead they will put you in touch with a regional distributor.

Once they arrive in the mail, get some thin wire and attach it to the end of the stick. Some just take a wire paper clip, cut it so that you have two ‘U’ shaped wires and then insert one end into the top of the paper stick. I don’t like this method because I don’t trust it to hold. But that is just a personal bias and is not based on experience. My method is to use some electric fence wire, cut it a small piece then wrap around the stick and then bend the tail into a “u”. Whichever method you use. I am sure it will work well for you.

I have found that they work great as paste bait holders. They are strong enough to scrape peanut butter out of a container provided the peanut butter hasn’t hardened. I have even reused them. I do have a couple of cautionary notes. First, unlike the ‘y’ stick, Toothettes aren’t natural. So if the animal chews them up and some do, you may have to pick up the remains. It is not a lot of trash, usually just the wire/stick which has been separated from the sponge but you don’t want to leave them on the property. I have not found this to be a big problem but it is a negative to be aware of. The second, problem is cost. “y “ sticks are free. On the other hand you have to consider the client. Using a bait sponge may make you appear more professional. Using a “y” stick could have the client saying that “hey, I could have done that”.  Third, I haven’t found the sponges to be very effective in holding liquid baits. It seems that they don’t have enough sponge power to hold enough to overcome evaporation.

I think that Toothettes make an excellent addition to the box trapper’s arsenal. Try them out for yourself and see if you agree.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACP, MNI

Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC

e-mail wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com Ó 1997, 2012 Stephen M. Vantassel

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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5 Tips for Effective Box or Cage Trapping

Leghold trap.
Image via Wikipedia

5 Tips for Effective Box or Cage Trapping

Many people, including some professional pest/wildlife controllers, think that live trapping wildlife is easy. Cage and box trapping (mistakenly referred to as live trapping when footholds and cable restraints are also live trapping) consists of using wire-based enclosures (cage traps) or solid wall enclosures (box traps) to capture wildlife. While it is true that the use of these devices is simpler than using footholds, the use of box/cage traps still requires attention to detail.

Here are five tips to make your use of cage/box traps more effective in resolving wildlife complaints for your clients.

Tip #1. Select the smallest size trap for the target animal.

Cage traps come in a variety of sizes and styles. It is best to choose the smallest size trap necessary for the animal you are planning to catch. For single door traps, choose 10x12x32; skunk 7x7x24 inches and squirrel 5x5x18 inches. These dimensions can be modified for different manufacturers but they provide a good guide. Small traps are less expensive and more of them will fit in your truck but the most important advantage is that they reduce non-target captures. Why set a skunk-sized trap when trapping for squirrels? Using a larger trap,  increases the risk of catching a skunk or opossum or something else that isn’t the target animal your client has hired you to control.

Tip #2. Use the right bait

Failure to use enough traps means that you are not taking advantage of the time-benefits provided by traps. Traps work even when you are not around. I recommend setting at least 3 per job, more if you can. This allows you 3 trap nights for every 24 hour period where placing only one trap gives you only 1 trap night per 24 hour period. Think of it as more hooks in the water.

Tip #4  Choose the right location(s)

As they say in real estate, property is all about location, location, location. The same concept applies to trapping. Don’t make the animal move to your trap, move the trap to the path of the animal. Never make the bait do what moving the trap will do for you. Now of course, there are situations where the best location isn’t prudent, perhaps because children, pets, or the nosy public will interfere with your work. In those situations, you should still look for where the animal is likely to travel and find a more secluded spot. If that isn’t possible, then use a trailing lure available at professional trapping suppliers.

Tip #5 Follow the right setting procedure

Avoid sloppy setting procedures. Even though cage/box traps are more forgiving than footholds, you still need to stabilize them to keep them from wobbling when the animal enters. Wobbly traps can spook animals and sometimes cause the trap to spring prematurely allowing the animal to back out.

In addition, you must ensure the cage/box trap is humanely set. Contrary to popular mythology, cage/box traps can be quite cruel. Trapped animals can bake in the summer sun, or freeze in a driving ice-storm. So think about where you put your traps. Will they be shielded from the sun/rain. Chances are no. But simply covering 50% of the trap’s length with a sturdy cloth cover provides the animal with shelter from wind, rain, and sun. It also protects the bait from prying claws, forcing the animal to enter through the entrance to get the bait.

There is much more to effective box/cage trapping but these 5 tips will help remove a number of key mistakes made by wildlife control professionals.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACP

Stephen provides consulting services to the public, wildlife control professionals, and others on issues related to wildlife damage management. He is available for conferences, workshops, and private training.

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