Preparing for Trapping Season

Preparing for Trapping Season

By Troy Hoepker

When October rolls around and that cool fall air begins to hit it always instills the insatiable desire to hunt and trap. With only a few hunting seasons open in Iowa, one of the best ways to try and scratch the itch is beginning the preparations for the upcoming trapping season. Getting things in a state of readiness is essential for a successful and much more enjoyable experience running the lines in the upcoming month or two.

Check Your Equipment
One of the first things I do is take an inventory of my equipment and examine every trap, chain and swivel for signs of wear or defects that may need repair or attention. From there I make a supply order every year to replace baits and lures, wax or dye and order any extra traps, stakes, tags or equipment I might need to make sure it’s at my door in time to begin the season. This is a good time to replace trapping tags and to clean my used traps. Any new foothold traps might receive the slightest coat of rust and if I intend to use snares for the season, I’ll add any deer stops, swivels or locks that are needed. I’ll also make sure I have enough stakes for the amount of traps I’d like to set for the season. It’s also a good time to collect a few buckets of dry dirt for the season in advance.

Boil and Dye Your Traps
Next, I’ll dye my foothold traps. Over time rust can pit and weaken your traps and dye will help protect the steel. Dye also darkens the trap to blend into your set in hopes to help avoid detection. First make sure and clean your used traps to get all the dirt and some of the heavy rust off of them. Use a power washer or let them soak for a bit and then hose them down while brushing. You can also throw them in the dishwasher; just don’t let the wife catch you!

I add a logwood dye to my pot of water, bring to a boil and dip my old rusted traps into the pot and let them sit in the mixture for 15-25 minutes. Once the dye has adhered to the steel it’ll turn the trap a dark color. For brand new traps you need to dip them first into a pot of boiling hot soapy water to remove all the grease and oils protecting the new trap.

After that is done, I always wash them with clean water to remove the smell of any soap. Then a fine layer of rust is needed on them before dyeing them. You can let nature take its course, or you may speed the rusting process up by spraying them down with a mixture of vinegar and water. Once a fine layer of rust has formed, the dye now has something to bond to and you can dye the new traps just as you did the used ones from previous year.

Wax and Dry Your Traps
After the dyeing process, let the traps thoroughly dry and heat your wax. The wax acts as a protective layer between the outside elements and your dye and steel. Once your wax is melted, decrease the temperature enough so that the wax stays in a liquid state and dip your traps into the wax. Leaving them completely submerged in the wax for a few minutes should be plenty. When you pull them out they should have a nice thin layer of wax coating all surfaces.. Hang them to dry out and you are all done. Keep in mind that hot wax can be volatile and so it’s important to keep the lid of the pot close by in case it ignites or boils over. Your traps are now ready to set and I usually keep them in a scent free plastic container with a lid until they are ready for use.

If you don’t want to purchase enough wax to submerge entire traps into, you can also introduce a couple of bricks of wax into you’re logwood dye mix during the dyeing process and after your dipped traps are dyed and pulled out, the wax layer on top of the water will collect on the traps as they are pulled out of the mixture. This will give them a fine coating of protection but is not as thick or protective as it would be when they are submerged in an entire pot of liquid pure wax.

Get Organized
Now you’ve inspected equipment, made your snares, replaced all needed parts and dyed and waxed your traps. Your steel is all ready to go. Then I’ll usually make sure my trapping tote is ready. Organization is key to maintaining a trapline, especially if you’re dealing with multiple types of traps to catch multiple species. I usually have a raccoon tote, and a coyote tote because that is what I target. A water trapper may have yet another tote or bucket containing those supplies. I’ll organize my lures and baits in different compartments and make sure everything is in the tote that I’ll need to make a set. This includes pan covers, a trapping trowel/hammer, a sifter, a small dirt hole spade or auger bit for my cordless drill, wool for my dirt holes, rubber gloves, a knee pad, a trap setter, swivels and any other things you might need.

Scout It Out
By the time I’ve done these things to prepare, hopefully it’s getting closer to the first day of trapping season. A week or two before, I’ll begin to look for locations to set traps. Hopefully by mid-October we’ve had a killing frost. Once a good frost or two have hit, the runs that the critters use really begin to emerge and are easier to see with your eye. Those well established runs that see a lot of foot traffic are always good spots to set. Coyotes and fox use them as well as raccoon. Water trappers will be looking for new beaver dams and inspecting the areas of the dams where water is escaping or making their own escape areas. Recent chew markings on trees are great signs to set on as well as fresh slides into the water. They’ll also be looking for muskrat signs along ponds and marshes.

I may also set out a few trail cameras just to get an idea of the traffic in an area. The cameras aren’t really needed as sign of heavy traffic is pretty easy to identify without them, but it is kind of fun to see the pictures. I tend to use the cameras more for coyotes or fox and never for beaver or raccoon. When looking for good sign, I’m looking for places where animals mark their territory, food sources that they travel to and from as well as points of natural interest. Those points of natural interest can include tips of waterways or terraces, tile line dump sites, culverts, end of line posts or gateway posts, field crossings, water slides, hay patches, field edges, etc. I always love to trap coyotes around cattle pastures and row crop field edges. I also stay on the lookout for new locations to introduce a flat set, such as a two-track area, water crossing or a cattle trail. Each year things change so it’s important to get eyes on all your spots prior to the season starting.

Reaching out to landowners that let you trap is done during this preseason time. When finding new spots to trap, you may have to knock on a few doors as well and now is the time for that. Make sure to ask what types of trapping are okay with the landowners. Not everyone wants snares around especially if they have pets that roam. Make sure you’re asking those questions.

Review Rules and Regulations
Also, each year there are sometimes changes made in the DNR’s regulations of how trappers can take animals. It is wise to review the regulations prior to the season. A great example of this is the current news about the legal take of raccoons year-round that happened in Iowa this year. Things are always changing so avoid the ticket and know the laws. I usually trap for the enjoyment of it whether the price is up or down but if fur prices will effect the timing of when you trap, then you’ll want to be aware of the current fur market reports and projections for the upcoming month or two beginning November 1st. It may influence your decision on when you’ll set your traps. Prime pelts always fetch the higher dollars and most Iowa species won’t be fully prime at the beginning of our trapping season.

Now you are all ready to set traps on opening day! It’s actually a pretty good feeling to have all this work done before the season starts. All of your hard work really gives you extra incentive to get out there and trap hard once the season opens. Good trapping and good luck this year!