Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
This morning we’re going to be trapping a groundhog
using this double-ended cage trap.
A very important factor when you’re trapping groundhogs
is to be sure you’re starting with a nice, clean trap.
So if you’ve previously caught a skunk or a raccoon,
you want to make sure that you hose the trap off really nicely
with soap and water to remove all the scent
that might make the groundhog more wary.
When you’re trapping groundhogs
you want to make sure you’re trapping them at their den.
You want to avoid the holes that have spider webs,
leaf litter, a lot of sticks laying in them because
that lets you know the groundhog is not using it frequently.
But the one here is being used on a regular basis --
nice, freshly turned soil, so we know the groundhog
is going in and out of here several times a day.
Groundhogs are attracted to a wide variety of fruits.
In this case we’re going to be using a nice, fresh, red apple,
but you might also be successful using cantaloupe, watermelon,
pears, any nice, colorful fruit
is going to be attractive to groundhogs.
You just want to be sure you’ve cut it up into manageable pieces
like we’ve done here with this apple
so that you can lay pieces from the hole to your trap.
You don’t want to butt the trap up right next to the hole
because the point is not to force the groundhog
to have to go through the trap.
The point is to come a few feet away and lure him into the trap
using the bait that we prepared.
And what I’ve done here is I have made a trail of bait
going from the hole into the trap.
About every six inches or foot or so
I’ve got another piece of apple until you get up into the trap
and in the very center of the trap I have the rest of my apple.
When you’re placing the bait in the trap
you want to be careful that
you don’t get any pieces of bait underneath the trap pan.
The trap pan is that piece
that needs to move down to set the trap off.
So you’ll want to make sure that
you don’t have any pieces underneath there
that won’t allow that trap pan to move down.
Groundhogs are mostly active during the day
so you want to be sure you check your trap several times
throughout the day, especially in the morning.
And this should be enough to catch a groundhog for you.