Ouch's 2016 trapping season

[ouchfoss]

Finally got some traps out a few weeks ago. Been kind of busy with stuff in life as well as spending all my spare time building cages so I havent had much of a chance until lately. Learned a few new things about trapping in the last week though. Cougars cannot fit inside a bobcat trap and skunks really do smell bad!
Had a cougar get into the first trap I set on the first night and managed to get all the bait out and push the cage several feet into the bushes. I was actually thinking about putting a trail cam by that cage for the heck of it and didnt have any batteries handy so I decided not to. Oh well.
Seems like this is the year of skunk from what I've seen in the woods so far this year not to mention all the civets getting caught and posted on Hunt-Wa. I put out 4 cages on my first day and had skunks messing with two of the cages. I wanted to try a bucket drown set modeled after the popcan 5 gallon bucket trick that works so well on catching mice. I just replaced the popcan with a piece of pvc capped at both ends and a piece of 1/4" rod run thru the whole thing. Then a smaller bucket wired over the top and an entry way cut into one side with a wooden ramp up to the pvc. A metal hook was installed in the back of the upper part of the bucket to hold a chunk of beaver meat really well. Then you drill a small hole about  2 inches below the pvc pipe and fill the bucket with water. The small hole keeps the water at the proper heighth no matter how much rain water gets in.
Seemed like a really simple way to take care of skunks and have them already dead when you go to get them. I put the bucket out the first night and had a skunk the next morning! Problem is, he sprayed bad!! I have a few ideas to improve on it to make them not spray. I will try that in the next few days.
I had one bobcat set just down the road from my house in a spot that seems to have cats every year and after it being there for the last 10 days, I figured I would just move it somewhere new, but still in the same area. I put it about 1/8 mile away yesterday and this morning there was a cat in it! Female a little less than 20 lbs.
Not a bad start for the season. I should have a lot more cat cages built and finished by the end of the week so I can hopefully do a somewhat long line and try and get some fur stacked up. And I am for sure going to have to get something figured out with skunks.

[redi]

Congrats on your success. Glad to see you got some traps out.

[Machias]

Nice job!!!

[huntingfool7]

I like the variation on the bucket trap.  We've been using those for years keeping the mice thinned out at the old farmstead.  Nice bobcat!

[JakeLand]

  good job Jess! Good looking cat !!!!

[Blsum]

Congrats. I like the bucket idea. Wonder why it sprayed though. Curious to know your thoughts on why it sprayed. As well as how to keep them from spraying.

[huntingfool7]

Congrats. I like the bucket idea. Wonder why it sprayed though. Curious to know your thoughts on why it sprayed. As well as how to keep them from spraying.

The last skunk that we shot while duck hunting rolled into the lake.  That bugger didn't spray but in a short time the "essence" leaked into the water creating an oil slick.  Pretty well stunk up the place.  Maybe the water helps wick it to the surface.

[Special T]

Toss some dawn dish soap in the water. It will break the surface tension of the water and make the oily stink breakup.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

[ouchfoss]

Congrats. I like the bucket idea. Wonder why it sprayed though. Curious to know your thoughts on why it sprayed. As well as how to keep them from spraying.

My guess would be the fact the skunk doesnt die right away in the bucket. He just swims until he gets tired and then drowns. I've heard of people taking a trap with the skunk still in it (covered with a blanket or something else) and setting it in water. I believe thats a good way to keep it from spraying but I dont deal with skunks enough to know for sure. My plan is to make a setup with a pvc pipe inside that the skunk crawls into and then trigger it to fall into the water filled bucket while he's stuck inside the pvc pipe. Then he's totally submerged and cant swim. And then maybe he wont spray.  Worth a try.

[ouchfoss]

Toss some dawn dish soap in the water. It will break the surface tension of the water and make the oily stink breakup.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

That's a good idea. I'll try that on the next bucket trap.

[billythekidrock]

Congrats. I like the bucket idea. Wonder why it sprayed though. Curious to know your thoughts on why it sprayed. As well as how to keep them from spraying.

My guess would be the fact the skunk doesnt die right away in the bucket. He just swims until he gets tired and then drowns. I've heard of people taking a trap with the skunk still in it (covered with a blanket or something else) and setting it in water. I believe thats a good way to keep it from spraying but I dont deal with skunks enough to know for sure. My plan is to make a setup with a pvc pipe inside that the skunk crawls into and then trigger it to fall into the water filled bucket while he's stuck inside the pvc pipe. Then he's totally submerged and cant swim. And then maybe he wont spray.  Worth a try.

They will still spray.

[Kit Carson]

Nice Cat Jesse! 

[ouchfoss]

Congrats. I like the bucket idea. Wonder why it sprayed though. Curious to know your thoughts on why it sprayed. As well as how to keep them from spraying.

My guess would be the fact the skunk doesnt die right away in the bucket. He just swims until he gets tired and then drowns. I've heard of people taking a trap with the skunk still in it (covered with a blanket or something else) and setting it in water. I believe thats a good way to keep it from spraying but I dont deal with skunks enough to know for sure. My plan is to make a setup with a pvc pipe inside that the skunk crawls into and then trigger it to fall into the water filled bucket while he's stuck inside the pvc pipe. Then he's totally submerged and cant swim. And then maybe he wont spray.  Worth a try.

They will still spray.

OK. That's nice to know. I will gear towards building a CO2 trap like Bruce's.
I bought a huge portable CO2 tank over the summer at a garage sale for $25 and it was full too! I was going to try using it to gas cats that way their skull is in perfect shape. Id rather not shoot them in the lungs either.

[bugs n bones]

Congrats. I like the bucket idea. Wonder why it sprayed though. Curious to know your thoughts on why it sprayed. As well as how to keep them from spraying.

My guess would be the fact the skunk doesnt die right away in the bucket. He just swims until he gets tired and then drowns. I've heard of people taking a trap with the skunk still in it (covered with a blanket or something else) and setting it in water. I believe thats a good way to keep it from spraying but I dont deal with skunks enough to know for sure. My plan is to make a setup with a pvc pipe inside that the skunk crawls into and then trigger it to fall into the water filled bucket while he's stuck inside the pvc pipe. Then he's totally submerged and cant swim. And then maybe he wont spray.  Worth a try.

They will still spray.

OK. That's nice to know. I will gear towards building a CO2 trap like Bruce's.
I bought a huge portable CO2 tank over the summer at a garage sale for $25 and it was full too! I was going to try using it to gas cats that way their skull is in perfect shape. Id rather not shoot them in the lungs either.

get yourself a choke pole, it's way cleaner without the blood

[ouchfoss]

Congrats. I like the bucket idea. Wonder why it sprayed though. Curious to know your thoughts on why it sprayed. As well as how to keep them from spraying.

My guess would be the fact the skunk doesnt die right away in the bucket. He just swims until he gets tired and then drowns. I've heard of people taking a trap with the skunk still in it (covered with a blanket or something else) and setting it in water. I believe thats a good way to keep it from spraying but I dont deal with skunks enough to know for sure. My plan is to make a setup with a pvc pipe inside that the skunk crawls into and then trigger it to fall into the water filled bucket while he's stuck inside the pvc pipe. Then he's totally submerged and cant swim. And then maybe he wont spray.  Worth a try.

They will still spray.

OK. That's nice to know. I will gear towards building a CO2 trap like Bruce's.
I bought a huge portable CO2 tank over the summer at a garage sale for $25 and it was full too! I was going to try using it to gas cats that way their skull is in perfect shape. Id rather not shoot them in the lungs either.

get yourself a choke pole, it's way cleaner without the blood

I never even thought of that.