A while back, Jeff Traynor over at the “Live Free and Trap” blog wrote a thought provoking article on trapping bait. Citing a Wildlife Society study that looked at bait preferences of raccoon and skunk, he expressed some thoughts on bait that have bounced around in my head a great deal as well. How much of a difference does bait make? Are species-specific preferences universal, or do they vary by region? Is there one bait solution for each species, or is the complexity far greater than we think?
These are all great questions, and digging deeper into them can help us become better trappers.
Here are a few points Jeff makes:
- A good bait must generate interest in the target species.
- Bait should provide adequate motivation for furbearers.
- Bait should be species selective.
- Bait should provide enough reward to the animal to justify the risk of entering a set.
Thanks for a great article, Jeff!
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