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A popular way of trapping raccoons refined over the last 15 years or so makes use of a five gallon plastic bucket placed on its side with a body grip trap in the opening.
Bait is placed inside at the back of the bucket, and a raccoon’s curious nature leads it to investigate the bucket and desire the bait enough to attempt to crawl through the trap to get to it. This is an effective and efficient method of catching ’coons.
Last winter, a small dog was caught in such a trap at Kanapolis Lake and died before the dog’s owner could release the trap. It was an unfortunate accident; neither the trapper nor the dog and its owner were in the wrong.
Even though the incident happened in an area not usually frequented by dogs, it was probably a poor decision to place a trap like that on public land. Though the trapper did nothing legally wrong, the dog’s owner saw to it that the press highlighted the event to the point where the sport, past time and livelihood of trapping was temporarily smudged in much the same way as when one negative action overshadows a multitude of positive ones.
This incident spawned numerous inventive ways aimed at preventing such accidents in the future, and several were presented at the recent 2009 Kansas Furharvesters Rendezvous.
One way presented was to use a large plastic bucket as described above, but to hang the bucket several inches off the ground, open end down. Fasten the bait in the upper end of the bucket and fasten the trap in the opening as you would when using it on its side.
Again, the raccoon’s curious nature will lead it to investigate, and its ability to weasel its way into tight spots seemingly much smaller than its body will get the critter to stick its head up and into the trap. Dogs might still be drawn to the smell of the bait but probably won’t go to the effort of contorting their body to crawl under and into the bucket.
These days there are also several designs of ingenious little traps known as “dog-proof” traps that employ the raccoon’s propensity to reach for and fondle food with its paws. These traps make use of a narrow, deep compartment that is usually buried in the mud along a creek bank.
A popular way of trapping raccoons refined over the last 15 years or so makes use of a five gallon plastic bucket placed on its side with a body grip trap in the opening.
Bait is placed inside at the back of the bucket, and a raccoon’s curious nature leads it to investigate the bucket and desire the bait enough to attempt to crawl through the trap to get to it. This is an effective and efficient method of catching ’coons.Last winter, a small dog was caught in such a trap at Kanapolis Lake and died before the dog’s owner could release the trap. It was an unfortunate accident; neither the trapper nor the dog and its owner were in the wrong.Even though the incident happened in an area not usually frequented by dogs, it was probably a poor decision to place a trap like that on public land. Though the trapper did nothing legally wrong, the dog’s owner saw to it that the press highlighted the event to the point where the sport, past time and livelihood of trapping was temporarily smudged in much the same way as when one negative action overshadows a multitude of positive ones. This incident spawned numerous inventive ways aimed at preventing such accidents in the future, and several were presented at the recent 2009 Kansas Furharvesters Rendezvous.One way presented was to use a large plastic bucket as described above, but to hang the bucket several inches off the ground, open end down. Fasten the bait in the upper end of the bucket and fasten the trap in the opening as you would when using it on its side.Again, the raccoon’s curious nature will lead it to investigate, and its ability to weasel its way into tight spots seemingly much smaller than its body will get the critter to stick its head up and into the trap. Dogs might still be drawn to the smell of the bait but probably won’t go to the effort of contorting their body to crawl under and into the bucket.These days there are also several designs of ingenious little traps known as “dog-proof” traps that employ the raccoon’s propensity to reach for and fondle food with its paws. These traps make use of a narrow, deep compartment that is usually buried in the mud along a creek bank.Bait is placed down into this compartment on a trigger that releases a restraining device of some design to grab the coon by the paw as it reaches for the bait. Again, they work well because dogs rarely reach for anything with their paws. A few other devices were demonstrated, all with the intent of keeping pets out of these traps.During an average Kansas trapping season, nearly 100,000 raccoons, 30,000 coyotes and over 6,000 beavers are harvested by trappers, and still these furbearers flourish here in our state, giving proof positive that trapping helps keep populations of these animals healthy.Unfortunately trapping is over-scrutinized by the public, so it is our responsibility as Kansas trappers to keep our image clean. This trapping season lets all use our best judgment when deciding what traps to use and where to place them. … Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!Steve Gilliland is a syndicated outdoors columnist, and can be contacted by e-mail at stevegilliland@idkcom.net.
