Urine and gland lures

[Coote 5]

I've never used any form of animal lure and I know relatively little about them.

 

Some animals would obviously be attracted to a good lure made from urine or glands, but would some desirable animals be repelled by the odor?

 

If the lure was made from the urine or body parts of a dominant female, is it reasonable to think that this lure might attract males but also might frighten other females away? (And vice versa if the lure were made from male urine etc?)

 

What preservatives are needed (if any) in making these lures?

 

Thanks in advance.... Coote.

[Yokel Matt 918]

I understand its a very smelly job... the kitchen certainly ain't the place if you know what i mean. :sick:

 

I think you're quite right on it being desireable for some and a put off for others if you're talking about trophy quarry ie. Dominant bucks... antler rattling or a roaring tin will do the same sort of thing without the risk of spilling it in the car and having to have the window open for a year.

 

For predator species like mink its more universally attractive :kiss: .

[NightRunner 0]

What animal are you after?? are you looking to make bait or lure.

[Coote 5]

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

What animals am I after? Well the main thing I want is to understand about how lures work generally. But I will be applying this knowledge to what I want to trap down here.

 

My main quarry is the Australian Brushtailed Opossum, which is generally a vegetarian but I think it has been known to eat meat and birds' eggs. But I also am interested in trapping other species like stoats, feral cats, rats, feral pigs and maybe goats. And if I ever get the opportunity, I wouldn't mind having a go at catching foxes if I travel to Australia.

 

Do I want a bait or a lure? I guess what I am looking for is something with a concentrated odour that is easy to carry. So I suppose that is a lure by definition. I have had to walk around my traps mostly, and the less I carry the better. So if I can develop a good lure that I can put in some old toothpaste tubes or plastic squeeze bottles I should have something that is good for what I do.

 

Our possums have some glands under their tail that is filled with a sticky, smelly fluid that I reckon would be the basis of a terrific lure for other possums.... but I can't be sure that it would appeal to all other possums. I'm thinking that if a possum uses this stuff to mark its territory, then maybe it would only attract a mate and perhaps warn off others of the same sex. Dunno till I try it I suppose.

 

I would be extremely reluctant to purchase any ready-made lure. I'd rather experiment with making it myself.

[NightRunner 0]

Are you foot trapping???

[Coote 5]

Are you foot trapping???

 

I occasionally may use a foot trap.

 

My most common way of trapping possums is to set snares on propped poles or sloping branches. I use a lure to attract the animals to the trees where the snares are set.

 

I also might use the occasional baited cubby... and this may become more common when I trap in areas where there is a lack of suitable trees in which to set pole snares.

 

Although I haven't trapped a lot of hogs, I do use bait in a big swing-door cage trap.... or I may place bait/lure somewhere near a snare on a trail.

 

In my attempts to catch stoats, I use a steel clap-trap (almost like a big rat trap) under a wooden tunnel with a bait like an egg or a bit of rabbit. I'd like to have a good lure for these little nuisances.

 

Thanks... Coote.

[Yokel Matt 918]

I used live catch cage traps for when trying to get rabbits in Taz (land owner wouldn't let me snare) and all i caught was sodding Possums... All it was baited with was carrot shavings. with a few scattered around near the trap. I'd also say a spotlight and .22LR is very effective for cleaning them up out the trees at night if you have the space but appreciate that this ain't quite so practical in a built up area

[Mitch 0]

Im trying to get my hands on a good Fox Gland Lure, for Red Fox. Anyone can help me out?

[NightRunner 0]

If you want just fox, a fresh dug hole with some tainted meat will work wonders.

[NightRunner 0]

I did not write this Bob Jameson Did.

 

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First you need to decide whether you want a paste type lure in the end or a liquid type for squirt bottle type applications. Or you can make a batch of each if you so desire. Developing a lure in a more fluid state can give you a greater volume amount. The more age you have on glands the greater the product extension possibilities are as the end result in formulation options.

 

The more fresh the gland age is the more tissue mass will still be present but yet it will potentially give you more body to your product as an end result and a distinctly more fresh gland odor.

 

There are lots of ways to go here in developing a gland lure depending on the volume and viscosity you wish when you have a finished product.

 

An option is using a lure base to mix with your gland formula.A couple of lure bases can be developed and added to bulk up the volume of your glands if you so desire without affecting quality or odor to any great degree.

 

One such base can be ground, aged cat meat to liquid ( If you wish a stronger odored gland lure ). Or you can grind and age/puree to your desired state of paste consistency. Another base is aged down ground/pureed cat intestines,cat stomach fat and skunk oil mixed together.

 

Again the consistency of the final gland product is dependent on the degree of age on the base material. Pure meat or aged gland breakdown medium is very paste like in texture. Glands and urine mixes will be more fluid in nature after aging has been complete.

 

Both these aged bases will give you a very nice paste like consistency. Then you add some preservative such as benzoate, zinc valerate or borax to hold the aged base odor where you want it. A few drops of canton musk(10-15 drops) or (5-10 drops) tonquin can be added as a fixative to a small batch of lure of a quart or less. The canton musk is very sweet and blends in nicely.

 

An 1/2 to 1 ounce of valerian liquid will add a nice change to a gland lure if desired.

 

Mix the bases with 75% volume of a good cat urine and 25% aged cat glands that are pureed if a liquid lure is desired. Use the heavy paste gland straight if you desire a paste type lure.

 

You can make a mix 50/50 glands and urine if you wish as suggested also. However, you can still get a bang up smellling cat gland lure with 25-30% gland volume to 75% urine ratio when added to an aged prepared base.

 

Your yield will be much greater in volume in the end and you can really pile it on at a set with great residual potential if you wish in high dryout areas or extreme cold temps.

 

A few drops of pure skunk quill can be added to boost the mix. Just dont over apply unless you really wish to boost it for use in colder conditions. Skunk when added in smaller quantities will blend nicely in a few months and just add more strength to the gland lure.

 

Glycerine or glycol can be added to volumize to a greater fluid volume and will give greater antifreezeing qualities to your finished product.Mineral oil can be used as a fluid additive also but it becomes viscous in nature when exposed to colder temps and thickens considerably. It is still shakeable in liquid form at below freezing temps and it has very good residual holding properities.

 

Make sure the final product and all ingredients are aged/mixed and stirred frequently during the aging process. Keep the lid loosened as some gas will develop while aging and needs to escape during this process. Keep the flies out by screening or venting your mix.

 

Straight glands and urine can be used as well but I prefer to extend my glands by blending with a base and boosting the potential volume of the glands. A good cat urine will bring out the true cat gland essence in a base and actually make it more enticing.

 

BJ

 

Here's his site www.jamesonsultrablend.com

[Coote 5]

Yep LocalYokel, many possums have been taken using a spotlight and a .22 with a scope. I've shot a few myself in the past. Nowadays I'm a bit nervous about shooting at night unless I am absolutely certain that there is nothing around that could be harmed by a stray bullet. Folks do a lot of spotlighting, and I shudder to think about how casual they are about shooting into the dark where they cant see outside the range of the light...or worse still, shooting possums out of trees. I'm inclined to think that a .22 bullet falling out of the sky after going its full range is not likely to be hugely dangerous, but it is something that is difficult to test. I also have the feeling that a richocheting .22 isn't going to do too much harm over a couple of hundred yards away after it has dispersed some of its energy on the initial impact. But the warning on the packet says 'dangerous within one and a half miles' so I guess this is a good safe guideline to operate by.

 

Nightrunner... thanks very much for posting Bob Jameson's info on lures. People may be using this sort of lure somewhere in my country, but I certainly have not yet met anybody who does. So knowledge like this is hard to obtain locally. I now have some good ideas to start experimenting with. I've tried to find a source for sodium benzoate, but so far nobody has been able to help...I might have to use one of the alternatives that Bob mentioned. However I do have some glycerine.

 

I appreciate all the good information I get from this forum.

 

Speaking of .22s, I used an old Browning semi-auto .22 to bag a nice wee bonus when I was out checking my traps this morning. The ammo was Winchester subsonic. The silencer is made by Parker Hale.

[Yokel Matt 918]

Thats a quality little piggy you got there bud . Bet that was a nice bonus!

 

I know exactly what you mean about shooting Possums out of trees and the safety issues . Wouldn't shoot anything out a tree in the UK because of this reason but we were properly 'beyond the black stump' in the boondocks so judged it as ok. I was amazed how many you could get out of one tree to be honest... lined up like tin cans on a wall :moil: . You can see why the buggers do so much damage (it was more interesting than nailing sheets of tin to the base if trees to stop them climbing up anyway!).. they don't half go 'THUMP' when they hit the ground!

 

Good luck with the smelly stuff bud

[Coote 5]

I haven't seen any trees here with a sheet metal sleeve fixed around them to stop the possums climbing, but we do have a lot of sheet metal sleeves around our power poles. Darn possums will climb a pole and possibly touch two wires... and electrocute themselves. Nobody cares too much about the possums, but often they cause a power cut when it happens.

 

Brought home another wee hog this morning. I shot it just before dark last night. It ran off after I shot it, but I knew it was a good shot and it shouldn't go far. This morning I found it maybe 20 yards away in a patch of gorse. I got dead gorse spikes all over me. I cut it up and froze it this morning. About 17 hours would have passed between the time I shot it, and when I finally stuck it in the freezer. I fried up some chunks of its steak along with the heart and the kidneys this morning.... and dang it was delicious - and tender. It was accompanied by a heap of sliced home-grown tomatoes drizzled with french dressing. This year I've had my best crop of tomatoes ever. I grew 'moneymaker' plants from seed and they have done very well indeed.

x

 

Catch you later.... Coote.

Edited March 22, 2007 by Coote

[woodga 170]

you want a few more tomatoes on there mate a nice meal indeed

[NightRunner 0]

100 clean butts, 1 liver, 10 gall bladders, covered in urine all summer and then grind and strain and add in glycerin....or you can add urine to the base and keep stretching it. THis is one helluva lure right here and thousands upon thousands of fox have been taken on that recipe.

 

If the weather holds this weekend I am taking a ride out to a friends place. He will be putting out the largest fox catch ever in one season. Stay tuned the pictures will be unreal.

 

As stated and I am not trying to plug Rich, he ships all over the world and something like 10 gallons a month to AU of his bait. You'll pay a little to get it over there but it one top rate bait, also urine. I will say he is one great guy to deal with also and is a long line trapper. His bait and lure are top rate.

 

You can also get his bait solution that will save on the shipping, You need your own base horse is good if you can get it.

 

www.rktraplineproducts.com

Edited March 23, 2007 by NightRunner