[Backroads]

So apparently Im no good at catching fox. I have a spot at a ladys house who has a TON of chickens and other yard birds which have been getting picked off by the dozens by fox. Walking around the property which is open yard surrounded by mature woods, there are tons of deer trails, plenty open underbrush so its not real tight anywhere.

I put out a couple sets, 2 sets using hay (straw) from the bedding that basically covers her yard, covered in feathers and poop from all these birds.

Using some bait I got from a local supplier as well as some sprits of fox urine. And for the week now I am still at zero catches, zero sign of anything even coming near my sets. What else should I be doing? After this snow Ill at least be able to look for more tracks etc and find out where they are running a little better.

 

[Adam]

My guess is that because of the availability of food, they're not going to do much investigating. Find they trails they're using to enter the yard in the snow and set ON the trails.

 

[buckmasters243]

Question, are they still going after the chickens?Find the spot where they are crawling under a fence and set there.Set on sign

 

[Backroads]

They are still after chickens, problem is their just free range and all over the place so 1 I gotta watch where I set so I dont catch a chicken, and 2 theres no fence line or anything stopping them from entering the yard.

My one set is right on a trail, and another is right near a small pile of rocks that somewhat serves as an overlook down the hill to where the chickens are. Sounds ideal as I type it out!

If it wasnt such a long ride in the AM to check them I wouldnt be so hard up to bag one!

 

[buckmasters243]

Look around for a den it shouldn't be too far if they are eating alot of chickens.They are shaped like key holes.

 

[charman03]

Scrap the hay and use a dirthole. Pan tensions should keep the chickens out. IMO there's much better sets then the hay set everyone seems to be using these days

 

[Lugnut]

We just had 3" of new snow. By tomorrow, next day at the latest you should see exactly were the fox are entering her yard. Set dirt-holes on the tracks and sharpen your skinning knife.

 

[Kip Feroce]

Cable the trails if you have been certified for it. When setting a farm that has chicken eaters, prefer to set away from carnage area, they can become pretty sharp or shy near the hot spot. Same inside the fence at the Beagle clubs, they can be caught but, outside works better for me. Fox become hypersensitive inside the fence and can seem uncatchable.

 

[Backroads]

Thanks for all the tips guys. Did some scouting in the snow today and there are tracks criss crossing the whole property. Found a spot on a property line fence where one crossed under, put a blind set there on the trail. Made a dirthole up along the top ridge of the property on another trail as well as a hay set 20 or so yards from that. Also found where they were taking the prey and made a set there as well, that one is closest to the coop but still concealed in the woods. Anxious for morning as I feel i did a much better job with the sets this time around.

Now for dispatch? I dont really wanna make a bloody mess w head shots. PMs?

 

[matthewbow]

are you'r traps clean

 

[Springer Rage]

I'm no expert but I'd try dirt holes with gland lure. Bait might not be of much interest to them with all that fresh meat around.

 

[Backroads]

Traps are clean, i boiled and dyed them around october snd theyve been hanging outside untouched since october. I even kept them out of the trapbasket to make sure they didnt get any coon scent or lure scent on them.

If I stike out this week I will probably try redoing them to make sure theyre fresh and clean again.

 

[wardog]

Not trying to be a smart @22, but I find that clean traps are highly over rated. I always start with clean waxed traps, but by the end of the year my traps are dirty, bloody, rusty and some are very smelly. Never seems to matter, they still catch critters.

 

[Backroads]

Well empty sets again this morning. Lets hope for the best for tomorrow morning!

 

[Backroads]

Finally connected with something! A darn grinner in my dirt hole set! Reset and at least now its got a little stink to the catch circle.

 

[Lugnut]

What are the fox doing? The tracks in the snow should be telling a story by now.

Oh, and congrats on the grinner...

 

[Backroads]

well we went the day after the snow and there are tracks criss crossing the property. We found a good spot where they crossed under the fence and have a blind set there. Nothing yet. Crossing the top of the property is a small hill, some wooded areas behind that, have the dirt hole there as well as a hay set dirt hole along a dead tree. And a third down in the woods where there were tracks below the coop. Most of the snow is gone or too bare to really see fresh tracks now. I KNOW where they are coming from, and apparently my traps are working

Just a waiting game I suppose. I might try a few more dirt holes along the top edge woodline tomorrow morning just so I have more than 4 empty traps to check haha!!!

 

[charman03]

Nice job on the opossum

 

[Backroads]

Thanks! The one day my buddy didnt ride along i connect with something. Hes been out setting with me quite a bunch but everytime he stays home, i catch. Maybe hes my bad luck!

On a side note what do you guys use to apply glad lure so it doesnt disperse into the ground?

 

[charman03]

A little sheep wool in the bottom of the hole should work pretty good.