I just began trapping this year and Ive been trying to catch a racoon but so far ive only caught a skunk and a cat. Ive been placing my bait in a hole and setting the trap in front of it covered with grass. When ever i check my traps the bait is all gone but the traps havent been triggered. Im using #1.5 and #2 coil spring traps.
Any other suggestions on how to catch racoons or how you catch them masked bandits.
I check my traps every other afternoon.
One of my #2 traps is set off everytime but there isnt anything caught. What could it be?

Thanks for your help.

I wouldn't doubt that it is a coon setting that trap off every time. They're tricky little varmints. I've had a lot of luck with box traps baited with cat food. They have to get all of the way in to get the food and when they are all the way in, the door shuts and they're trapped. It takes a lot of patience. I'd suggest just trying something a little different each time untill you come across something that works. Good luck!

One thing that might help is placing the trap off to the right or left about 2-3 inches or even placing 2 traps at the set helps. I just lately have had some troubles with coons and dirt holes. I am going back to the method of a large hole with a #220 conibear in front. That is a sure killer. Good luck.

Without passion.....Why bother?

Make a cubby set out of a five gallon bucket. Cut notches in the bucket so that you can place a set 220 conibear inside the bucket it should go back in 6-8". Place bait at the back of the bucket. It works great for raccoon but make sure there are no dogs around as this will kill whatever gets into it. I have two other sure things for racoons, one is a blind trail set, the other is a pvc pipe set. Thake your #2 and find the coon trails where they come in and out of the woods they are very easy to identify,in a place where two come together bed your #2 using cover hulls, and then sifting dirt and chaff from the area to make it look natural, you shouldn't be albe to tell where it was. Pvc pipe sets are dynamite on raccoons especially around cites, bed your 1.5 using cover hulls and bedded solid so it doesn't move, pound the pvc pipe in at a 45-50 degree angle about 3" behind the bedded trap, place a cotton ball with a food bait scent on it in the pvc pipe, I like the 2" pvc pipe for this and pound it in unitl 5-7" is above ground, I usually carry a few of these 2" pipes cut to 15" long. I normally use a #11 sleepy creek trap for pvc pipe sets but the 1.5 will work just fine, that coon will work the pipe trying to get at the bait until he steps in the trap. You can use this set just under water like in 1-3" of water to keep house cats away from it or right at the wate edge too. Its a great set. If you have any questions feel free to email me at [email protected] if I can help you out in any way I would be glad to.

I'm not a trapper per se like some of the guys who have posted here, but I have trapped many raccoons to train coonhounds with. I don't know anything about connibears (sp.?) and #2's and such, but I have caught a lot of coons in live traps. I have a large metal wire trap that has a little trip lever in the back of it. Believe it or not, I've caught coons on lots of different bait, but chips ahoy chocolate chip cookies work really well for me! Anything you would normally throw away in your trash will get them though. I've used left over tuna salad, bologna, sweet feed grain that you feed to horses, canned salmon, lota of different things. Also, I don't know where you are located, but in my neck of the woods, coons a real nuisance around dumpsters and trash cans. Most of the state parks around my area will let you trap coons in them to help get rid of them. Maybe you could ask around and see if the little buggers are making a nuisance of themselves somewhere like that.

GH

I love animals.......they're delicious!

Grasshopper-
I used to do a lot of damage control trapping around large barns where farm equipement was stored. One place had a couple of combines that they raccoons were getting into and denning in in the winter. The lady of the farm had about 20 barn cats and if I used any fishy bait or meat bait I would have traps full of cats the next day instead of coon so I switched to oreo cookies. They worked so well that I started using oreo cookies in all my live traps. I also noticed that they liked the oreo cookies better than cheaper hydrox.

LOL Josh!

I used the canned salmon for awhile and I kept having something ,coon I think, getting the bait. I reset it a couple of times and then I decided to just leave it empty with the shiny lid of the can still in there. Got a kitten in that trap the next morning,lol. I guess he was scratchin around thinking, where's the salmon?

I never thought of oreos but it makes sense. I don't blame them either. I hate the hydrox ones.


GH

I love animals.......they're delicious!