I thought I would share this info for you who plan to set steel traps to capture foxes, coyotes, or whatever, that are bothering your birds and can't be taken by cage/box traps or by shooting.
First off you need to know what size to get for what type animal and if you want padded jaw or regular jaw type. Padded or unpadded is up to you, it is more of a peace of mind thing, but in truth if you get your cat or dog in a regular jaw trap, you will see no more damage, which is so minimal anyway and consists of bruising and swelling.
trap sizes and types:
coyote- #3 or #4 longspring, # 2, #3, #4 coilspring, #3 victor softcatch (padded jaw), #3 Montana
coyotes can be strong and fight a trap hard, therefore a modified trap or specialty trap such as the MB 650 or Sterling is recomended, otherwise the above listed can be modified with some welding work
fox- 1.5 coilspring, 1.75 coilspring, #2 coilspring, # 1.5 victor softcatch
Fox are not as strong as coyotes, so no special modifications are needed. Do not use the #2 coilspring for grey fox, as it is a larger size and grey fox fight traps hard and can injure themselves bad in a #2.
Raccoons- 1.5 coilspring, #1 coilspring, #11 longspring, 1.5 victor softcatch, #1 victor softcatch, dog proof specialty traps such as lil griz geterz or coon cuffs
raccoons are like the fox, however you only want to use smaller traps for raccoons as they will chew their numbed toes off under the jaws of the larger traps and could pull out
bobcats- #2 coilspring, #3 or 4 coilspring, #3, #4 longspring, #3 victor softcatch
Not as strong as coyotes and can be held as with foxes, but have big paws.
When you buy new traps they are coated in a grease. You need to remove this. I wash them well with dish soap and scrub as I wash. Some boil in lye, which I have never done and can be dangerous if not done right. Others have simply placed new traps in the dishwasher, however I do not know if the trap grease is petrolium based or if it is animal or plant derived. It could cause trouble with septic systems.
After removing the grease, adjust the traps. The pan is the part an animal steps on to fire the trap on their paw. There is a screw that adjusts how much pressure is needed to fire the trap. You need to adjust this so the pressure is not too light and not too heavy. You will want it a little heavy for coyotes though, and very light for raccoons and between this for foxes. Foxes- to take 1-2 pounds of pressure to fire the trap, raccoons 1 pound or less, coyotes 3-4 pounds except small coyotes such as Texas ones, same as fox.
The dog is the metal peice that fits into the notch on the pan that holds the trap in the set position until an animal steps on the pan. The dog must fit into the notch properly and allow the trap to fire quickly. The pan notch can be filed to make the notch much smaller, this allows a crisper firing of the trap. Also the pan must be level with the set jaws, not sticking up or too low. If the pan is setting too high when set, bend the base that the dog is attached to, inward.
After making these adjustments, set the traps outside to get a light rust coating. Once rusted you can dye in walnut hulls or logwood crystals. Logwood can be purchased from a trap supplier and has directions on the bag. Walnut hulls- just collect a bunch of them and put in a big pot of water. Put your light rust coated traps in the pot with either the logwood or walnut hulls and simmer for 30-45 mins. Once they have taken the dye you can remove the traps and hang them up to dry. After dry you can either use as is or wax them as well. Waxing helps keep the dye on and resists further rusting if the traps are set in the ground a while to try to catch an animal. Do not wax dogproof raccoon traps. Waxing involves clean white parrafin wax melted down and kept below the boiling point, and the traps are immersed in it until the traps have taken the wax on as a thin coat, and no more white shows on the traps in the wax dip, from the wax. Remove the trap and hang to cool, when cooled, remove the wax on the tip of the dog and the trap pan notch.
You can also buy one of the speed dip products sold in the trap supply catalogs for raccoon traps that will be set in water, or the dogproof traps. I recommend using coleman fuel or mineral spirits to mix with the dip. I do not recommend speed dip for fox or coyote , as they will smell it and either avoid the sets you make, or dig the traps up.
Staking traps-
coyotes or in areas where a coyote may be caught- always double stake or use a large grapple with long chain or heavy drag ( both of which require some tracking of a caught animal and also require suitable brush for said animal to tangle in), or a cable stake such as sold in the supply catalogs. Make sure all staking connections are strong. Do not just wire the end of the trap chain to something.
foxes- a single 24" rebar stake with a welded nut or washer top is all you need,driven through the swivel end on the trap chain, unless there are some coyotes in your area, then see above
raccoons, same as fox, however in water I use the trappers tie wire sold in the catalogs, 11 ga or 14 ga ( use 11 always if you have big coons such as in New England or the lakes). I will wire the trap chain end to a drag such as a cement block.
Bobcats- often coyotes live in the same area, so stake as for coyotes, or use the grapple or drag system if you have the brush and extra time to track.
First off you need to know what size to get for what type animal and if you want padded jaw or regular jaw type. Padded or unpadded is up to you, it is more of a peace of mind thing, but in truth if you get your cat or dog in a regular jaw trap, you will see no more damage, which is so minimal anyway and consists of bruising and swelling.
trap sizes and types:
coyote- #3 or #4 longspring, # 2, #3, #4 coilspring, #3 victor softcatch (padded jaw), #3 Montana
coyotes can be strong and fight a trap hard, therefore a modified trap or specialty trap such as the MB 650 or Sterling is recomended, otherwise the above listed can be modified with some welding work
fox- 1.5 coilspring, 1.75 coilspring, #2 coilspring, # 1.5 victor softcatch
Fox are not as strong as coyotes, so no special modifications are needed. Do not use the #2 coilspring for grey fox, as it is a larger size and grey fox fight traps hard and can injure themselves bad in a #2.
Raccoons- 1.5 coilspring, #1 coilspring, #11 longspring, 1.5 victor softcatch, #1 victor softcatch, dog proof specialty traps such as lil griz geterz or coon cuffs
raccoons are like the fox, however you only want to use smaller traps for raccoons as they will chew their numbed toes off under the jaws of the larger traps and could pull out
bobcats- #2 coilspring, #3 or 4 coilspring, #3, #4 longspring, #3 victor softcatch
Not as strong as coyotes and can be held as with foxes, but have big paws.
When you buy new traps they are coated in a grease. You need to remove this. I wash them well with dish soap and scrub as I wash. Some boil in lye, which I have never done and can be dangerous if not done right. Others have simply placed new traps in the dishwasher, however I do not know if the trap grease is petrolium based or if it is animal or plant derived. It could cause trouble with septic systems.
After removing the grease, adjust the traps. The pan is the part an animal steps on to fire the trap on their paw. There is a screw that adjusts how much pressure is needed to fire the trap. You need to adjust this so the pressure is not too light and not too heavy. You will want it a little heavy for coyotes though, and very light for raccoons and between this for foxes. Foxes- to take 1-2 pounds of pressure to fire the trap, raccoons 1 pound or less, coyotes 3-4 pounds except small coyotes such as Texas ones, same as fox.
The dog is the metal peice that fits into the notch on the pan that holds the trap in the set position until an animal steps on the pan. The dog must fit into the notch properly and allow the trap to fire quickly. The pan notch can be filed to make the notch much smaller, this allows a crisper firing of the trap. Also the pan must be level with the set jaws, not sticking up or too low. If the pan is setting too high when set, bend the base that the dog is attached to, inward.
After making these adjustments, set the traps outside to get a light rust coating. Once rusted you can dye in walnut hulls or logwood crystals. Logwood can be purchased from a trap supplier and has directions on the bag. Walnut hulls- just collect a bunch of them and put in a big pot of water. Put your light rust coated traps in the pot with either the logwood or walnut hulls and simmer for 30-45 mins. Once they have taken the dye you can remove the traps and hang them up to dry. After dry you can either use as is or wax them as well. Waxing helps keep the dye on and resists further rusting if the traps are set in the ground a while to try to catch an animal. Do not wax dogproof raccoon traps. Waxing involves clean white parrafin wax melted down and kept below the boiling point, and the traps are immersed in it until the traps have taken the wax on as a thin coat, and no more white shows on the traps in the wax dip, from the wax. Remove the trap and hang to cool, when cooled, remove the wax on the tip of the dog and the trap pan notch.
You can also buy one of the speed dip products sold in the trap supply catalogs for raccoon traps that will be set in water, or the dogproof traps. I recommend using coleman fuel or mineral spirits to mix with the dip. I do not recommend speed dip for fox or coyote , as they will smell it and either avoid the sets you make, or dig the traps up.
Staking traps-
coyotes or in areas where a coyote may be caught- always double stake or use a large grapple with long chain or heavy drag ( both of which require some tracking of a caught animal and also require suitable brush for said animal to tangle in), or a cable stake such as sold in the supply catalogs. Make sure all staking connections are strong. Do not just wire the end of the trap chain to something.
foxes- a single 24" rebar stake with a welded nut or washer top is all you need,driven through the swivel end on the trap chain, unless there are some coyotes in your area, then see above
raccoons, same as fox, however in water I use the trappers tie wire sold in the catalogs, 11 ga or 14 ga ( use 11 always if you have big coons such as in New England or the lakes). I will wire the trap chain end to a drag such as a cement block.
Bobcats- often coyotes live in the same area, so stake as for coyotes, or use the grapple or drag system if you have the brush and extra time to track.
