Whats the beat way to trap! Have lots around my camera this year, all at night. Have not seen a buck since they showed up, but still lots of does and fawns about 2 hrs after i see the coyotes. Never seen such pretty ones in the past they have been all mainge looking!
I’ve never caught one, but did a lot of trapping at one time & have caught hundreds of foxes. There were no coyotes in the places that I used to trap, but they are there now. IMO, it’s basically the same type of trapping, with foothold traps & dirt hole & flat sets being the typical method of hiding the trap. However, larger traps like a #3 coil spring type is likely what you’ll want. I used a lot of coil spring traps in 1.5, 1.75 & #2 size for foxes, they may be fine for coyotes, but a # 3 is a stronger trap so less chance of the bigger yotes busting up the trap & escaping. I keep in touch with some folks who trap, and things have changed a good bit, since when I was doing it, but much has also remained the same. I modified many of my traps, and seems there are new brands now that come already set up with thicker or laminated jaws & 4 coils instead of just 2. Traps are a lot more expensive now too.
Snares may also be a way to go, if legal, but use snares with relaxing locks & deer stops, in case domestic animals or deer should get into them. You can set them in blind sets, taking advantage of animals habits, and setting them in their travel ways.
When I started I used baits & lures, but about the last 10 or 12 years that I trapped, I used fox urine most. Like any other canine they’ll investigate the scent of another animal. I also used a lot of dirt hole sets, but switched to mostly flat sets. Like any animal they can shy away from things they have negative experiences with, and there was a lot of folks trapping when I was doing it and the majority were use dirt hole sets.
If they’re already traveling thru the area regularly, then no need for bait or lure to attract them.
When I first started, I had read all the books frrm the “experts” & there was a lot of good information, but also a lot of hype & BS. Those folks were also selling trapping lures & supplies, and all of them tried to convince the reader that these animals are all smart & that using their products & methods were the only way to ca
Snares are illegal in SC on dry land sets, you can use them to trap beavers, however.
Thanks salty849. I wasn’t aware of that. I haven’t read up on the trapping regs here yet. I used them for a short while in MD, then they made them illegal. It’s a good method when it is legal if the proper type of snare is used.
My comments only apply if legal, as I wouldn’t advise anyone to break the law.
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Originally posted by boatpoorWhats the beat way to trap! Have lots around my camera this year, all at night. Have not seen a buck since they showed up, but still lots of does and fawns about 2 hrs after i see the coyotes. Never seen such pretty ones in the past they have been all mainge looking!
you willing to pay for the service? I had a guy help me on my beaver issue. Great person and reasonable. Very respectful of your land. May not charge for coyotes??
I can pm you his number if you like. He’s out of the Smokes area. He charged me per beaver and a small milage few. He does it as a side job.
Polly may speak up. Seems he has done quit well with leg traps.
My dad has gotten lucky and caught a couple in a trap using a dead chicken and poured bacon grease all around as a scent mask and attractant. Did it help. ? he thinks so. ? I’ll say this, have a good trap the ones that he caught bent the trap all to heck.
Trapping is fairly easy. You can read up on it in a few hours and know 90% of what the “pros” know. Buy the foot hold traps and tools on ebay. If you need help with sizes, feel free to send me a PM.
There is a season for it and you need a license for it. During the off season, there is a FREE predation permit that you can get from SCDNR in Columbia. Tell them the coyotes are everywhere and you want to get rid of them. DO NOT get someone else in there to trap your place. You’ll be sorry, trust me. The least amount of advertising you can do on trapping your place will keep you out of trouble. The less people that know about it, the better.
Coyotes are smart and elusive, but mind your scent and you’ll trap them. You’ll likely have to get rid of the dumber creatures first. You’ll also have a wealth of other critters that you’ll want to get rid of. Foxes, bobcats, coons, opossums: they all hurt the game that you are going after, turkeys and deer. They should all be removed as much as possible to grow your wildlife and allow them to flourish. You can absolutely see a noticeable difference in as little as a year, at least I started seeing more and more poults than I ever have.
“Another poon dream splintered on the rocks of reality.” --Peepod 07-25-2017
Leg holds, period. I love them, fun to set, more fun trying to trick the wily f u c k ERS. I really hate yotes
And before some wise ass comes in here with the greasy sponge idea…these “deadly” sponges have been found in fight rings, that’s enough scientific evidence proving they DO NOT work. If someone comes up with evidence of a sponge killing a coyote, I would like to see it.
Remove the guesswork/opinion and read this…
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/regs/furharvest.html
I’ve heard mixed reviews on having an outside entity come in a trap your property. If I can’t eliminate the possible negative impacts of having an outside entity coming in, then I simply wouldn’t do it. They’re only there for the coyotes but your concern goes far beyond just the coyotes. No one will have you and your property’s best interests in mind quite like you. It’s not rocket science but it does require a little more effort than some are willing to give. It’s simply a matter of how bad you want to get rid of the coyotes.
God bless the “ignore” function.
Thanks for all the info! With all the bad weather today mabe some of them drowned! I have some old foot hold traps in the barn I bought 40 years ago to try to catch muskrats will set some tomorrow.
quote:Make sure the traps aren’t too small or you will make the coyotes trapshy when they pull out.
Originally posted by boatpoorThanks for all the info! With all the bad weather today mabe some of them drowned! I have some old foot hold traps in the barn I bought 40 years ago to try to catch muskrats will set some tomorrow.
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Originally posted by boatpoorThanks for all the info! With all the bad weather today mabe some of them drowned! I have some old foot hold traps in the barn I bought 40 years ago to try to catch muskrats will set some tomorrow.
Read the DNR regs and make sure your traps are legal for SC.
“Another poon dream splintered on the rocks of reality.” --Peepod 07-25-2017
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Originally posted by boatpoorThanks for all the info! With all the bad weather today mabe some of them drowned! I have some old foot hold traps in the barn I bought 40 years ago to try to catch muskrats will set some tomorrow.
Do we have muskrats around here?
Fred, I would think yes, but might depend on where you are. I saw one a couple of weeks ago in the lake (Marion) near my house.
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Originally posted by bigjim5589Fred, I would think yes, but might depend on where you are. I saw one a couple of weeks ago in the lake (Marion) near my house.
Just curious…never seen one. Crazy critters lately. Couple of otters and I must say beavers must be the most damaging animal of all. Little bastards have destroyed many trees the wife and I planted many years ago.
Fred, I’ve spent a good deal of time in marshes back in MD, and there are a lot of Muskrats there. But frankly, they’re not seen a lot unless you spend time in such places. I trapped a lot of them and not only in marshes, but small streams & even flooded areas in a gravel pit where a small river bordered the property. They’ll adapt to many places. There are some big marshes on the Eastern shore side of MD, which is either brackish and some freshwater marshes, and some years there will be Muskrat huts in those marshes by the hundreds. Yet, I don’t ever recall seeing them in salt marshes along the coast. I would guess there are some there, but the saltwater may limit them. I like trapping them, we ate the meat, I always caught a lot of them, some years 200 or more, and they were easy to deal with skinning & stretching the hides. I got some good prices for them back then. One of the places I trapped I caught a good number of all black, and they brought better prices than the brown/reddish ones.
I remember when Beavers were only in a few places there. At some point the state relocated them & reestablished them, and now they’ve become a big problem all over. Yes, they can do a lot of tree damage & cause flooding problems. I caught plenty of them, and they were a lot of work. We ate a lot of beaver meat too.
MD also had an issue with Nutria, which were originally from South America, brought to the US to be farm raised for their fur, and escaped into the wild. In the ares of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, they became such a problem that the state & feds initiated a program to trap them & eradicate them. They destroy marshes with their digging & eat the vegetation to the point of only leaving the mud. I’ve read they have a lot of problems with them in LA too.
I’ve heard folks say that Otters will kill fish just for fun and a family of them can wipe out fish populations in smaller waters. I caught a few Otters over the years when I trapped, but there wasn’t many around in the places that I trapped. I’
I had a muskrat problem years back, they burrowed into the banks and dam all around my pond. I killed 11 one day with my ak and never saw one in the day time again, but caught them in spring traps place in there runs at night finely got rid of them. One tries to move in once in a while but I set a trap and get him before he can bring his family. Last year I had 4 baby otters try to move in, I watched them catch one of my grass carp and pull it out of the water and eat the who thing in less than 5 min. It had to be over 20#. After I turned loose my chow dog they mover on and never returned! Wish I had a video of the experance.
Lake Murray is full of muskrats. If you’re in a cove with one or more docks that they nest under they reproduce quickly.
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