Help With Trapping A Fox

[subwoofer 13]

After finding myself with a fox problem too, I've been reading this thread with interest.

 

Don't cover the trap, put it up against the fence line but let him see it, it will just look like more wire and he won't be as wary. Covering them is a mistake in my opinion. Try different baits, I haven't found the fox yet who could resist left over roast beef from Sunday lunch.

 

Regarding bait, I considered all sorts, including going off to one of my permissions to get a rabbit, but in the end I remembered my (now deceased) dog's favourite smelly food was a tripe mix. It turns out foxes like it too.

 

 

Don't set the trap to go off prop the door open for a week and keep baiting it then after a week set the trap fox will think he's getting a free meal again till the door shuts behind him

The above didn't make sense to me.

What difference would that make, if he is going to get the bait from the he might as well leave it set, no point letting thefox keep going in

So I went with this line of thinking instead.

 

Last night I got everything ready for the first time with the trap set to go off. First thing this morning when going to check the trap, this is what I found:

 

 

Subsequently despatched with a York Guns Stealth moderated .410

 

 

Make a bigger trap. Most fox cage traps are rubbish. They are designed for human convenience with little thought to the fact that any fox with a brain cell is going to be a tad wary of such an unnatural and confining device. Foxes round pheasant or chicken pens or used to clambering about town bins and urban gardens might not be so phased but a wily old country boy may well wonder why he's suddenly being offered an easy meal in a wire coffin.

The idea of covering the floor with soil is good. Again we make em with wire floors coz it suits us yet it must feel so weird to any fox .

 

I bought the largest trap I could find. This is one heavy mother of a trap at around 20KG empty.

 

This view gives an idea of scale.

[Terrier Sam 297]

Well done mate! Good news that! There's nothing worse than a fox that's taking hens or whatever and not being able to catch him! I'll have to try that stuff and see what happens.

 

I did also try lamping. Been out a few times around there but the bugger won't come in so that's that out the window too!

 

Next step: smelly dog food :-)

[neil cooney 10,416]

Good pics Subwoofer,

is all the scrapping beside the trap from the fox or yourself ?

I regularly have them try to dig under a trap, including larsens, rather than go in the door.

[subwoofer 13]

Next step: smelly dog food :-)

 

Certainly did the job for me.

 

Good pics Subwoofer,

is all the scrapping beside the trap from the fox or yourself ?

I regularly have them try to dig under a trap, including larsens, rather than go in the door.

 

The scraping is from the fox. I had been monitoring the trap, but the fox will have been in there for a few hours. The uniform line of the extent of the scraping is the fox's reach from inside the trap rather than trying to get into it by digging.

 

I know there is at least one more, so it will be reset and re-baited tonight.

 

When I set it up last night, at least three different cats had a good look at what I was doing, so I half expected to be releasing one of them this morning.

[subwoofer 13]

And this morning, after last night's reset and re-baiting:



When I opened the curtains this morning, there was a companion fox standing next to the trap. It trotted off as soon as it saw movement, so there is still at least this one left to go. I'm wondering if it will now be trap shy, so I'm closing down the operation for a few days to let things settle.

[StephenWalsh 73]

I've had 4 on consecutive nights, keep going!

[MR TEA POT 1,287]

Nice going subwoofer(nice user name as well,was you a boy racer too back in the day)?lovely conditioned foxes they are,been feeding well?

[Keeper eley 367]

Good going! Bet that trap put a dent in the wallet!

[subwoofer 13]

I've had 4 on consecutive nights, keep going!

 

Unfortunately I have an unpredictable morning tomorrow, and if I reset the trap, it might then mean having to leave the fox in it for almost 24 hours. Normally the absolute longest would be 6 hours before I could deal with the trapped animal, so I'm not feeling comfortable about setting it tonight.

 

Do you think the fact that the other fox that stayed with its trapped sibling means it will now be shy of the trap, or is it only if a trapped fox is released that it becomes trap shy?

 

 

Nice going subwoofer(nice user name as well,was you a boy racer too back in the day)lovely conditioned foxes they are,been feeding well

 

Very healthy indeed.

 

(Well not a racer, so much as an ICE hifi guy)

 

 

Good going! Bet that trap put a dent in the wallet!

 

Not too bad, I got it for £. Super heavy duty, and worth every penny.

Edited September 24, 2014 by subwoofer

[StephenWalsh 73]

You can never tell if the next one will be trap shy, as for if you let it go...? Why would you? What I would say it a bit like buses, there are sometimes a lot along just after each other. Anyhow, if you aren't going to be about then fair enough don't set the trap. If you do and it turns up empty, just move it to another location.

[subwoofer 13]

You can never tell if the next one will be trap shy, as for if you let it go...? Why would you? What I would say it a bit like buses, there are sometimes a lot along just after each other. Anyhow, if you aren't going to be about then fair enough don't set the trap. If you do and it turns up empty, just move it to another location.

 

Ah, I would not let it go, that is definitely NOT the point of this exercise. It is only that I have heard if a fox has every been trapped and released (which apparently some people do), you won't ever get it back into one. With one fox watching the other get caught I thought it might cotton on.

 

I'm tempted to keep the momentum going by locking the trap door open and baiting the trap tonight anyway, so it gets the idea it can come back for more. Then when I can deal with a trapped animal, I set the door to release.

Edited September 24, 2014 by subwoofer

[subwoofer 13]

Plans changed, so I did set it again last night. This morning there was no fox, but the fox had tried to dig under the trap at the end where the bait was positioned. Hopefully this means it is still interested, and might come back again tonight for another go.

[leey 26]

Where did you get the trap from feller looks a nice big one that

[subwoofer 13]

Where did you get the trap from feller looks a nice big one that

I got it on ebay:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300805577505

 

I made an £ offer and it was accepted, so you might want to try your luck.

 

As an update to my trapping situation, it looks like the third fox has bugged out as I've not seen any signs of it since the second fox was in the trap, so on a positive note, removing the first two now appears to have resolved the problem.

Edited October 1, 2014 by subwoofer

[Heyford moles Pest Control 16]

Hi just wondering, if a fox has been despatched in a trap does it leave any odours in the trap that would deter future foxes from entering the trap?