For weeks now, we have been working on getting our traps ready for the trapping season. We are using Tomahawk 102 and 103 traps. We have made adjustments to the height of the pan, pan tension, and reduced movement in the trap door when closed to increase our trap success, better target our focal species, skunks and weasels, and reduce injury to captured animals.
The day has finally come to start setting out traps! Right now, we are pre-baiting them to get the animals comfortable with going in and out of the traps. This means that the traps are wired open. We set traps to look like natural burrows, so we cover them with burlap and things in the surrounding area like bark and moss. Here's one of the traps I set out yesterday:
One of the key things is making it dark inside the trap. Right now, these traps are baited with dead mouse, like we've been doing with the camera traps. Dinner is served! After about a week, I'll re-bait the trap with a new mouse and remove the wire so the traps will be fully functional. Can't wait to see what we catch!