Trapping Techniques Part 3

Where to place the trap?

Place the trap in places that appear to be a good hiding spot but also where an animal won’t feel boxed in, and don’t trap in places that are out in the open. Animals that are scared like the security of moving along edges of things. Primo places would be along fence lines, near sheds, or under decks. When the animal evaluates if something is good to approach, it will try to determine safety from far away. It will want to know that it can approach with some degree of camouflage and yet see enough open space so it won’t feel cornered. 

If there is a hole that might appear to be a good target, face the trap inwards towards the hole. Under decks, place the trap along a wall edge or something that faces towards the inside. If you’re using many traps, place each one out of sight of the other trap. Sometimes simply seeing a fellow trapped animal may cause an animal to think twice about entering a trap. 

Scared animals tend to stay away from houses, but in very bad weather, the distance an animals strays may be closer to home. You can place a trap close to a house as long as the animal has access to its perceived safety in the wild. There is one case of someone who was able to trap his cat under a picnic table on his neighbor’s porch. 

If you trap on the same property many times, try to create a safe area that would attract a scared animal to stick around. That means leaving containers of water in several protected areas, placing canned food out in the daytime (not in traps) in protected areas (then at night remove this food and put fresh food in the traps). Walk around the property barefoot and plan activities like weeding or yard work that would leave your scent in the area.