Trapping help

David Stifle

David Stifle

Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
10,188
Hi Folks,

I'm trying to trap a nuisance groundhog with no success at all, The trap (a wire cge havatrap with a pressure plate release) is baited with apples and carrots and set close to his borrow. He's just noty falling for it. Any tips? Does he smell human smell on the trap? Do I need to camouflage it? Should I use different bait? And I thought this would be easy, hahah.
 
I'd try Turnip, but what the heck do I know; I use lead poisoning at velocity.;)
 
Set up a row or two of sticks or boards set into the ground as a guide fence. If it is going along and finds a row of close set sticks leading to a cage trap with apple or cantalope bait you should eventually get it to go inside. You can also lay cut grass over the cage to make it darker leaving the back end for light to show it to be a tunnel. It may also help if you rub some apple or cantalope on some twigs leading toward the trap.
 
I've had good luck baiting with cantaloupes or apple with vanilla extract. Put a few small bits outside the trap to give them a taste and then the big parts in the back. And make sure your traps big enough, ground hogs can get pretty fat.
 
Thanks for the tips, guys. As it turned out, I went up on the roof of my garage and waited for him. Fifteen minutes after I went on the roof he came out and I popped him with a 22. I'm amazed at how canny these little guys are, but I guess when your a prey animal instincts are highly honed. I am going to put your suggestions in my bag so next time I have better luck trapping them. I'm had raccoons and possums get under a portion of my house, and that's bad enough, but groundhogs are really prodigious diggers, and worry the hell out of me. That's what happens when you have an entire house with a nice foundation, with the exception of one, add on room built 40 years ago. I went to the farm center and bough a bag of stuff that supposed to repeal small animals. Such is the life in the cou try.
 
I've never trapped groundhogs. One thing I have found is that the oddest baits sometimes work. Pinning down the trap can help when you use grains or smaller baits (we had good luck with dog food on raccoons)
 
Glad the problem was resolved so easily. I had visions of Bill Murray and Caddy Shack. ;)
 
David Stifle said:
Thanks for the tips, guys. As it turned out, I went up on the roof of my garage and waited for him. Fifteen minutes after I went on the roof he came out and I popped him with a 22. I'm amazed at how canny these little guys are, but I guess when your a prey animal instincts are highly honed. I am going to put your suggestions in my bag so next time I have better luck trapping them. I'm had raccoons and possums get under a portion of my house, and that's bad enough, but groundhogs are really prodigious diggers, and worry the hell out of me. That's what happens when you have an entire house with a nice foundation, with the exception of one, add on room built 40 years ago. I went to the farm center and bough a bag of stuff that supposed to repeal small animals. Such is the life in the cou try.
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Glad you got him so quick! I'm kinda late to the party, but when dealing with problematic whistle pigs, I just set a conibear 220 laying flat over his hole. When he pokes his little head up, pop. Done.
 
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