How to Make Wild Animal Traps

The art of trapping wild animals was a skill perfected by numerous prehistoric and indigenous cultures across the globe. The trapping methods were learned by many western pioneers and resulted in a very lucrative fur trading period during the 1700's and 1800's across North America. Today, these same methods can be successfully implemented to trap wild animals, whether for food or to remove pesky varmints from your property. The easiest traps to make for wild animals are pitfall traps and head snares.

Things You'll Need

• Wire or twine (7 feet or more)
• Shovel

Instructions

Pitfall

1. Locate the animals foraging trail or path of travel. Look for signs of foraging such as broken nut shells, or feces nearby a trail, as well as tracks along a recognizable route.

2. Dig a hole to a depth proportionate to the animals size on foraging trail. Avoid digging pitfalls for large animals such as a deer or elk. The hole would have to be considerably deep and take a long time to dig and cover up. Only use a pitfall for smaller animals such as wild boar, beavers and badgers. Ensure that the hole is twice the height of the animal your trying to trap.

3. Shape the sides of the hole angling toward the top opening like the sides of a triangle. This will ensure that the animal cannot climb out of the pitfall.

4. Cover the trap with available foliage and leaves, then leave a trail of bait up to the pitfall along the foraging trail.

Head Snare

1. Locate the animals foraging trail by looking for obvious signs of foraging, just as with instruction for the pitfall trap. A head-snare is ideal to use for deer or elk.

2. Tie a wire or twine to a hefty tree branch or tree trunk close by the foraging trail. An ideal tree branch should be about 8-feet high and at least 6 inches in diameter to support the deer when it tries to buck and escape the snare.

3. Tie the free end of the wire or twine into a loop and open it up wide enough for the animals head to fit through. Ensure that you suspend the loop along the foraging trail at a height of about 5 feet, and try to conceal the loop by positioning it between bushes along the trail. When the animal's head gets into the snare, it will become startled and try to get out. This will cinch the loop tight around the neck and keep it trapped.

Tips & Warnings

• Extreme caution should be taken in any case while attempting to trap a wild animal, and trapping restrictions may exist for certain types of animals in your area.

References

• MWF: Traps and Snares
• MDC: The Fur Trade

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Fleming Outdoors: Beaver Traps