AboutMongo Expertise I can answer most basic questions concerning predator trapping and some water trapping. Questions about lures, baits, sets, traps, trap treatment, modification, sizes, equipment, usage, etc. I have been certified by the Okla. Dept. of Wildlife Conservation, First Okla. Trapper`s Assoc., and the Okla. State Univ. Extension Service as a trapping instructor, and in years past have given classes to people wishing to learn the sport...I also have a number of years experience in predator calling and can provide some basic answers to these questions as well.
Experience
Past/Present clients As far as teaching what I know to others. I take this to be what you mean here... I have helped my son, and son in law, as well as a number of others in this area, to get started in trapping and predator calling... I have had personal instruction from professional government ADC specialists, and I have 30 years experience running my own traplines, and over a half century of experience in the outdoors...... I have a friend who is a troop leader with the Boy Scouts. In the past I have done several demonstrations on trapping and predator calling for the boys, and on a number of occasions have helped the troop to set up and run a trapline during the winter, with proceeds going to the troop.
Question QUESTION: hi i live in S.C. and me and my dad just biult a box trap to try to catch the rabbits that are eating my moms gardin i have seen some rabbit hear so i know that we have some i tryed using spinach what can i do to get them
ANSWER: Hello William,
Actually William, I was primarily a trapper of furbearers, and while I have trapped an occasional rabbit, I can not claim to be an expert by any means... But, I will give you a few suggestions that may help........
Something that you might want to keep in mind is that rabbits are more difficult to trap in the warmer months when their natural food (or in this case a handy garden), is fairly abundant... They can be trapped in the warmer months, but they are generally easier to trap in the winter.
First you might check to make sure that the trap is working correctly, and that the rabbits are not entering, and the trap is just not "firing" (closing). Make sure that the trap is working correctly, smoothly, and it "sets off" easily, not taking much for it to fire... If the trap is working correctly, and firing easily, you might try washing it good with clean water (just water NO soap) and then wearing gloves when you handle it so that you don't leave any human scent on it. Perhaps it has an odor that repels the rabbits. And a trap like this also generally works better if it is allowed to set out away from humans and other animals for 2 or 3 weeks to give any human smell time to "weather" away... If you haven't been "camouflaging" the trap with brush, weeds, or long-grass you might try that...making it look like a cozy little hiding place the rabbit may want to check out.
With baits, be sure to keep the bait fresh by replacing it every couple of days... For baits you might try such things as carrots, apples, lettuce, clover, corn on the cob, and I have even heard of people using vanilla extract on a cotton ball inside the trap.
If it were me, and trapping them wasn't working out, then I would suggest setting out where you can watch the garden in the evenings or early in the mornings, or even at night with a flashlight, and using a rimfire .22 rifle, or an air rifle, and shooting the rabbits... Of course you will need to set quietly and not talk or move around, and just watch... Now, if you are living in town this may not be a good idea. However, in many places a person can still shoot an air rifle, which is much quieter than the rimfire .22.
I am sorry that I can be of no more help than this William, but I wish you luck with it.
Mongo
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QUESTION: thanks that helps i moved my trap to a new location where it is thick with i would say about 1 foot high bay bushes and i am going to try apples and carrots in the trap at the same time and our garden is 50 feet wide and about 50 yards long it big i have not realy been seeing them in it but arond it but i know they are here. do you think that moving it and changing the bait will help i was using spinagh
Answer Hello again William,
Well, I wouldn't think spinach would be the best bait for this. It might work, but I believe that those I told you of would probably be better...but then, you never really know until you try. And don't forget to change it regularly and keep it fresh.... But, if you are not having any luck where you have the trap at now, then it sure can't hurt to try moving it somewhere else. You also may want to try camouflaging the trap like I described too.
