I believe I have found the answer to scent-free canine sets: Scent Killer. This is only my 3rd year trapping, and up until the last couple weeks, I' d never caught a canine. I thought my problem was probably the amount of human scent that I was leaving at the sets. I have seen fox tracks approach, circle downwind at 10 feet, and leave. I was trying to be careful with my scent, without being obsessive, but it was difficult. And still no canines.
One day I was trying to figure out how on earth to have a scent free set, when it hit me. Scent Killer! The stuff I use for deer hunting. I took a bottle out the next day. After making my sets, I would spray the entire trap bed, and the area I was standing on down with Scent Killer. Right off, I caught a lot of skunks. I wanted to get rid of the skunks that were ruining my good fox sets. I made a dirt hole in a sorta-good location for the sole purpose of catching those pesky skunks. I was totally careless with my scent. As I was finishing the set, I decided to spray it down with Scent Killer, just in case a fox happened by. Two days later, I had a fox. A few days after that, a coyote (that managed to jack the stake and get away- he was in a #1 coilspring with a 15 inch stake. It didn' t stand a chance).
Anyway, the stuff worked. Has anybody else ever tried this? I' d be interested in hearing what y' all think.
-Spike Buck
