Backyard trap line!

[goosejerky]

Hey!
Anyone catching any critters these days in thr old back yard? I recently purchased a small game two door live trap and am attempting to catch squirrels and or magpies to no avail... Any tips? I'm using peanuts as bait inside the trap. The trap is brand new and pretty shiny.. could this be why they shy away from it? I have a friend that supposedly catches hoards of squires but I haven't been able to get one...
Ps. Can't wait to start trapping yotes again!

[philintheblank]

in my experience with trapping city squirrels is that they are pretty curious of new things. that being said, the closer you put it to the main fence or tree they use for travel, the more you will trap. I wire I rat trap to the fence they were using to get up to my house, got 6 in a few weeks plus a few magpies.

[Red Bullets]

Cover the trap up more to make it look like a natural hole or cubby for the ground critters. Then critters are more curious.

Magpies would require more baiting... around and in the trap. Camo the trap too. It might take the magpies a week or two to warm up to the idea. For bait try dry dog food kibbles. Squirrels will probably like kibbles too.

[KegRiver]

phil has some good advice.

The new trap will work fine on squirrels.
I doubt very much that anyone could catch anything other then the dumbest of magpies with such a trap. I'd forget about them, or get a pellet gun.

PS, add a little peanut butter to those peanuts. You'll catch more.


LOL red you beat me by one full second. Do you really catch Magpies in them things? Out here in the country we'd have a better chance trying to use them to catch fish in our fields.

[Redneck 7]

I know this winter I'll be trapping squirrels in my back yard, hopefully yotes on some neighbouring farms.

Good luck, I can see a mag pie going in there but it will take time and lots of bait. Also use candy bar wrappers (etc, like flashy garbage to get there attention). Chunky peanut butter will be the best for squirrels.

[goosejerky]

Thanks for that info phil! I hammered two squirrels today on my fence using the rat trap and peanut butter method. Those rat traps hit really hard!
I'm going to continue attempt to live trap them in the cage and see how that goes.
Will these rat traps (Victor brand- basically a large mouse trap) have enough power to kill a magpie?

[philintheblank]

Originally Posted by goosejerky

Will these rat traps (Victor brand- basically a large mouse trap) have enough power to kill a magpie?

New ones will