Snaring - my current challenge. Suggestions?

C

coote

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Apr 3, 2006
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I've been working on a technique to snare the Australian Brushtailed Possums we have in my neighborhood. So far my efforts have been directed at the possums which live in my immediate vicinity. I have permission to trap on a couple of farms.

I use braided nylon cord. I mainly set the snares on sloping poles or branches. I feel that I get better results when I set the snares on runs on the ground... but with livestock and possibly some pets around I seldom do this. By setting the snares in a tree and using vegetable-based baits I am less likely to get non-target species... thus maintaining my good relationship with the farmers. I don't use wire snares... they could seem a bit more threatening to farmers (and they probably do damage an animal more)... plus they would be kinked badly after they'd caught one decent problem... thus being an expensive choice.

My pole snares are supported with thin wire which is easily bent aside when a possum gets caught.

I have been setting snares fairly regularly over the last three months or so. I would always get some snares that were "knocked" without catching anything... and I suspect that (smaller?) possums were passing through the snare in the majority of these cases. That didn't seem to matter so much when I was catching maybe four possums every time I checked my line of maybe 12 to 20 sets. But I think the population is substantially thinner now...I figure that I have got about 50 possums in this year's campaign... so I must have had an effect on the relatively small area I am working in.

The second to last time I set a line I caught only 2 possums in about 18 snares. This morning I didn't catch any in 20 sets. But I did have six knocked snares (possibly done by just two possums). So it is more important to me now to get my technique right.

I have experimented with different noose sizes and heights. Too high and possums may go under. Too low and too big and they might walk right though the noose. And if they are too low sometimes they just get flattened, presumably by a big possum who just climbs over them. Smaller nooses are more certain, but once again a big possum is more likely to climb over it.

I have set spring-up traps near sets where I've had knocked pole snares, and I have pleasing results. But it takes a long time to set a decent spring up trap.

Steel traps would undoubtedly catch these tricky possums, but they are heavy to carry (I walk maybe 5 kilometres some days) and they may harm other animals or native ground-dwelling birds. At present I am in my experimental stage. One day I hope to get access to some country where there is a good possum population and where I could set maybe 50 or 100 snares in a day to get a truly economical return. Currently I do sell some fur, but the income works out maybe at around $1 an hour. In a decent area I might be able to make over NZ$200 from fur in a day.

Anyway... I thought that this might be interesting to some folks who like the idea of trapping. And I am kinda hoping that somebody with some experience might have some suggestions that I haven't thought of that may help me to reduce my knock rate. Dont feel that you have to reply, but if you have any ideas at all I would love to read them.

Best wishes.... Coote.
 
I can't help with snares unfortunately. They're illegal in my area so I don't know anyone with any real experience with them. Is it possible to see some pictures of your sets? I'd really like to see how you go about it (2 out of 18 doesn't sound half bad). How large are these possums you're after?
 
I will try to show you some pictures that give an idea of how I set the snares, but that might have to be tomorrow or the next day. Meanwhile here is a picture of a possum. An adult might weigh 7 to 10 pounds I suppose.
snaredpossum.jpg

Snaring is fairly simple once you become familiar with the animal and its habits.

2 out of 18 snares is ok if you just want a feed of meat, but if you are trying to turn your effort into money it isn't that marvellous.

If I had set 18 of my simple cord snares on the ground in an area that hadn't been trapped for a while I would hope to get maybe six or more possums. If a professional trapper set 18 leghold traps in a good area he might get 12 or 14 possums. If somebody prebaited an area with unpoisoned bait, then put out 18 poison stations it might be possible to get thirty possums. But snares are a "nicer" option all round from my point of view.
 
Coote your possums are cuter than ours . L:O:L

How about setting up two snares so if they avoid or walk over one they walk into the other ?

What about setting up an obstacle which forces the Poor Sam to walk into the snare the way you want . Something like set the snare under an overhang so they can,t easily walk over it .

Maybe set two snares a pace apart . If they are too small for the first bigger one they will get caught in the second smaller one .

These set-ups may take more time originally . With the skill you have I doubt if it will take you long to get used to it .

B:T:W: Didn,t you mention a primitive skills/archery site ? Could you post the link for me . That sounds interesting .
 
Doc that is a good site but not the one I was talking about .

This one had primitive in the title . There is a guy I asm trying to find who posts there .
 
SnareIdeas.jpg

Here is a diagram to help give an idea of how I might set a snare.

Snares can be made from virtually any sort of fibre, cordage or wire. It just has to be durable enough and strong enough to hold the animal you are trying to catch. In the old days horse hair might have been used for small birds and mammals. Nowadays hi-tech wire cable or synthetic cordage might be used. There may be special legal requirements regarding snare setting and materials, but beside that there is no one right way to make or set a snare.

The right diameter and height for a snare set on the ground is governed by the size of the animal and the way it holds its head when it moves. Sometimes the head might be higher than other times….as when a rabbit hops along a trail…or there may be a difference when an animal is running, or simply sauntering along sniffing the trail.

The smaller the snare, generally speaking, the more positive the catch. However it has to be big enough to suit the circumstances. Too big a snare may allow the animal to climb completely or partially through it.

By anchoring the snare higher on a tree, you may reduce the amount of “pull” an animal can apply to it. Snares can also be anchored to a heavy object (drag) which allows some movement and this may help to absorb shock on the snare cord and the animal.

I have read that the breaking strain of a snare should be maybe five times the weight of the animal. Knots generally weaken cordage, so keep this in mind.

Some folks advocate using a special locking knot or mechanism on the eye which forms the snare. This may offer some advantages, but I prefer not to use one. My philosophy is that if the snare breaks, a non-locking eye will help ensure that the snare can fall off so the animal won’t be hindered by it. I am not aware of ever having lost a body-snared animal because it has worked loose from the snare. Also if you want to release a non-target animal, it is a lot simpler if there isn’t a locking device to cope with. With my cord snares I can just cut the cord close to the animal and it drops away.

I have shown a basic spring up snare trigger mechanism. I actually have used a variation of this where I have loop of string tied to a root or a peg rather than using the anchor hoop. The loop of string doesn’t hold itself open like the stick hoop, and just using a single bait stick with the string loop creates a very unstable trigger, so I generally would have the bait stick at an angle, propping the trigger stick against a stake or a tree. But the conventional hoop was simpler to draw… and anybody can up up with useful variations to suit their situation.

Rather than have a bent over tree to power the spring up snare, I prefer the weighted lever. A bent over tree can lose some of its spring when set for a long time, whereas the weighted lever will supply full power until something goes rotten. A nice springy tree can provide a nice quick springy action, whereas the weighted cord system can be a bit sluggish… the friction caused by the rope dragging over the supporting branch being the main problem. You can use a pulley or some sort of a plastic eye for the rope to pass through rather than just having the rope slung over a branch (as shown in the middle of the bottom of the picture). The weighted lever can be quite springy and quick to release, particularly if you use a light enough stick with a bit of spring in it.

From cartoons and comic books we get the idea that a spring up snare should quickly propel the animal into the air. This is not generally necessary. A snare that will do this would require some strong cordage and anchor points, and it would be relatively dangerous to set with all its stored energy.

In some cases it may be appropriate to lift the catch above the reach of predators. But steel traps and conventional snares don’t do this and people still use them.

All that is needed is for the noose to be quickly pulled tight on the animal. I like to have the snare pulled taut enough to keep a very light pull on the animal so it can still sit comfortably as possible on the ground. If there is a lot of slack in the system, and if the animal has the time and inclination, it may figure out that the cord can be chewed through and set about doing it. But if the cord is pulling upwards ever so gently, it will be hard for the animal to get at it to put it in its mouth.

Snaring is something that is unpleasant for animals, but it doesn’t have to be brutally harsh. I have found that some animals seem to be comparatively relaxed when I check the snare. I prefer to not to leave snares set if an animal has to spend a night exposed to harsh rain.

Good idea to try two different snares together Kevin. I have tried that a bit, but I haven't done enough of it yet. One day I caught a possum in both the snares I set on one pole.

The trouble with pole snares is that they are hard to disguise. On the ground they are in a place where the animal is probably going to walk anyway and there will often be quite a bit of shrubbery around to disguise it. I could try to disguise a pole snare with a bit of greenery (and I have done this) but it takes a lot of time to fiddle about doing this. And it can provide something extra for the animal to tangle itself in and maybe even strangle itself. I prefer the animal to be alive and happy when I get to it. But all this is a good challenge to have.

Kevin... were you thinking about the Primitive Ways site perhaps? Here's the link:http://www.primitiveways.com/
 
Bloody possums all over suburban australia, although they manage to get between houses using the powerlines so rarely see them on the ground. tried snaring out at my property and have succesfully caught several hares.
 
Tell us about your hare snares Meekrat. What did you use for cordage? Did you set them on runs in the open or did you set them over openings on shrubbery or fences? I know that you have rabbits in Aussie, but I didn't know that you had hares.
 
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