huntster Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 haveing been out on some new permission recently iv seen about a dozen squirrels but can not get any were near them within 100yrds haveing a standard rappid7 45yrd is about my limit just wondering if a sqirrel trap would work the same as a call bird or what would draw them in!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
young airgunner Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 so george do tell how you found a bounty to work in the first place haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntster Posted January 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 (edited) Bounty Chocolate Bar Thats what ive always used. One section of bounty will do 3 traps, trust me its the mutts nutts unfortuntely the sqirrels up north are a littil more intelligent than the ones dawn south !!!!! mate Edited January 6, 2008 by huntster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusk2dawn Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Bounty Chocolate Bar Thats what ive always used. One section of bounty will do 3 traps, trust me its the mutts nutts I use Maize and bits of Maize cob that they can carry off, then the bit at the bit at the back of the trap gets them Take a cob and scrape some of the corn off with a knife around the trap to get them feeding instead off picking up the cob and running off with it. Also partial to tinned sweetcorn if no Maize available. D2D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highseas Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 you dont have to bait them at all IMO cover them up with leaves and the like and wait any dark hole and theyl investigate and stoats and weasles will find their way in to it aswell try some baited and some un baited and se what caches best best of look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 I have trapped 100s of squirrels using the following traps. take a 5 gal plastic drum clean all trace of oil ect and if possible allow to weather for a week or two. Cut a small hole in the back and a 10 inch hole in the middle of the front. Place low in a tree between 3 feet and 8 feet. Put 6 inches of wheat in the drum and a fen trap. Run the fen trap chain out through the small hole and secure to the tree to stop a fox running off with the trapped squirrel and taking the fen with it. Leave the fen unset until you see the squirrels have been taking the wheat , then set the trap and revisit as often as possible ( sometimes the squirrels que up to enter and I take 6-10 in a day ) . This way is useful if you can only visit the trap every few days . The squirrels get use to entering the trap when you cant visit it and are not suspicious when the fen is set. The only down side is that some squirrels are caught by only their back legs so take a stout stick with you to kill them. By placing the trap between 3 and 8 feet you should only trap squirrels as it will be out of the reach of pheasants and not high enough to interest hole nesting birds such as owls. The by catch is very small and in 10 years running 5 traps in the nesting season I have only caught one pheasant , 3 rats , 1 jay , quite a few wood mice , but I average over 50 grey squirrels a year ( many more when i started , but I have got the numbers down in the area now ). But do not use this trap if you think red squirrels are about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusk2dawn Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 I have trapped 100s of squirrels using the following traps. take a 5 gal plastic drum clean all trace of oil ect and if possible allow to weather for a week or two. Cut a small hole in the back and a 10 inch hole in the middle of the front. Place low in a tree between 3 feet and 8 feet. Put 6 inches of wheat in the drum and a fen trap. Run the fen trap chain out through the small hole and secure to the tree to stop a fox running off with the trapped squirrel and taking the fen with it. Leave the fen unset until you see the squirrels have been taking the wheat , then set the trap and revisit as often as possible ( sometimes the squirrels que up to enter and I take 6-10 in a day ) . This way is useful if you can only visit the trap every few days . The squirrels get use to entering the trap when you cant visit it and are not suspicious when the fen is set. The only down side is that some squirrels are caught by only their back legs so take a stout stick with you to kill them. By placing the trap between 3 and 8 feet you should only trap squirrels as it will be out of the reach of pheasants and not high enough to interest hole nesting birds such as owls. The by catch is very small and in 10 years running 5 traps in the nesting season I have only caught one pheasant , 3 rats , 1 jay , quite a few wood mice , but I average over 50 grey squirrels a year ( many more when i started , but I have got the numbers down in the area now ). But do not use this trap if you think red squirrels are about. Thats a good idea as it keeps the trap/catch up out of the way of dogs and anyone just walking by, unless they pry. I like the idea of reducing the catching of non prey species as well. On the downside however is the chance of just catching the back legs, is there anyway around that? D2D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Quote " I like the idea of reducing the catching of non prey species as well. On the downside however is the chance of just catching the back legs, is there anyway around that? D2D The trouble is that fen traps were intended to catch rats and they have short legs, so the trap binds over the body. Squirrels have long hind legs and maybe one in 25 squirrels gets caught by the back legs. However my local foxes have soon learnt to find a wounded squirrel and I sometimes find just a leg in the trap the following morning. Still if they are taking squirrels they are not taking game. Seriously as long as the traps are checked twice a day any suffering in kept to a minimum. I feel trapping is better than posion. That kills a lot of wood mice and in turn the poision gets into the food chain as the mice are taken by owls. Of course you can eat the squirrels , but in the spring many will become fly blown before you take them out of the trap. I feed mine to the local common buzzards. I cut them open and lay them out on an open field. (It does not take the buzzards long to find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonty Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Peanut butter on the trigger plate works great. Also, I've found strapping the trap (with bungies) vertically to the tree trunk with the entrance uppermost quite effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Peanut butter on the trigger plate works great. Also, I've found strapping the trap (with bungies) vertically to the tree trunk with the entrance uppermost quite effective. What kind of trap ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonty Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Cage trap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignoel Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 [peanut butter sliced apple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferretboy111 Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 I use a tunnel and a Mk4 fenn trap by my pheasant hoppers to catch squirrels, they just love to run through tunnels, never had much luck with cage traps. However i have recently made a trap using a magnum body grip trap, they are absolutely brilliant. A piece of scaffold board is cut out about 2 foot long and nailed onto a branch cut from a tree. Chicken wire folded over itself filled with hay is then attached to the side of the board to create a tunnel (Legal requirement). The trap is then made static using nails to hold it. Its difficult to explain but on one of the farms i work, i put the trap from a tree to a fence and caught 10 squirrels in the first week. I got the idea from "The gamekeeper diaries, modern predator control dvd." Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.