Raccoon Bait and Traps
 

I am just starting to get into trapping. Loads of fun.

Damned if I can get a coon in a trap. I am using 220 bucket sets with dead minnows, menhadden oil and venison scraps as bait. Even used a can of tuna in a live trap. NOTHING.

The fool things are walking right past the trap, which is set up againest a creek bank. I have litterally had them step over minnows outside of the trap that I have put out as a welcome mat. They are totally uninterested. I am about to start using 1 1/2 Dukes on them. These bucket sets with bait are just not working.

I have also used some of the dog proof hand traps with dead minnows and menhadden oil. NOTHING.

Whats the deal? Something I am doing wrong? Wrong bait? Are they not as curious/stupid as I thought?

I bait my live trap with a can of sardines in oil (half opened). I pour out a bit of the oil right in front of the trap. It is a rare event when the trap is set and there is no raccoon waiting inside in the morning.
Maybe I just have stupid raccoons.

I cant speak from much experience but we had a coon destroying the attic in our barn. I tried a few things i read about even dog food because they were getting into that. After researching some more i ended up trying a mixture of peanut butter, a bit of vanilla and maple syrup in a dixie cup in the back of my live trap. That worked great i caught it the first night

I have had the best luck with wet cat food: orange or red can fancy feast or purple can meow mix. In live traps, I put about a quarter can or less into a peanut butter jar lid (3" diameter, half inch to 3/4" lip). Drop it into the trap and slide it to the back, lets you avoid rubbing your scent all over reaching into the trap. In trap sets, I put a 'glob' about a quarter the size of a golf ball or a bit less on a gatorade lid to keep the bait up off of the ground in a shallow hole set right off of their trail.

When I place live sets, some of the most productive spots for me have been placing the trap under bridges and culverts where coons have walked down a hard packed path along the sides. Set the trap in the path along the wall so they would have to walk through it, or refuse the bait to walk around it.

Sardines just haven't produced for me.

We used to use a whole raw egg.
When i used foot holds i would bury shallow, a couple pieces of dead smelt near set and wire a whole one to the pan and then cover.

I had box traps out this summer over at our Fairgrounds to try and cut down on the population and had plain old Iams hard dogfood in them and I got a decent number every third or fourth day.

Vermont coons are easy to catch with a live trap baited with a marshmallow. If I have them causing problems around the property...I can get them every time within a day or two. Not sure if it will work in your area but at least in Vt regular sized marshmallows work best.

Sardines work for me... gets opossums and the neighbors cats too...

marshmellows---they can't resist them----

Little update for you guys. Thanks for the replies.

I pulled out my traps with minnows and venison and took two marshmellows and stuck them together with peanut butter. It was awfully warm and muggy last night, and I can't imagine there was too much activity coon wise despite the near dark moon.

I had four different places I had been seeing coon tracks with regularity (the places I had my sets). Last night after placing my marshmellow sandwiches out in the morning, one of them got taken.... there were no tracks around or near any of the other three which means to me they didn't refuse them, they just haven't found them yet. The fact that the one got taken is a big step in the right direction and I am going to put a set there this afternoon with some more bait and see if I can't score this evening with the front coming in.

Thanks for the advice y'all, keep it coming! And I'll keep you posted!