Another source of contamination for sure! Asa

contamination yes, but a problem, no.

Too many people trap in too many places with only one pair of gloves for it to be a problem with canines.

maybe in michigan but not in nearly every other state.

I only wear one pair of gloves for setting and luring but am careful not to smear lure on the gloves. If I think the gloves may have got contaminated in anyway I go away from the set area and scrub them down briskly with weeds, grass, evergreen boughs, sand, mud, snow, water, leaves or whatever is available and at hand. However, I can see where glove contamination causing set digging could be a problem with novice trappers and those using sloppy juicy baits and runny lures. Asa

i also use one pair of gloves, i used to wear two, thinking it would be a problem, but i tried it and no change in my catch. when i got instructions from slim a few years back and i saw that he used only one pair, i thought wow there can't hardly be a problem if someone is taking out every predator on a ranch or plantation with no problems to speak of.

some folks are taught a certain way to trap and believe that is the only way to trap.....try something different to test it for yourself. if it doesn't work or you feel it is hurting you, then switch back. but don't tell others that don't know any better that it has to be that way or no way.

onecat you seem to be sure of yourself like most westerners or people taught by them, hope you can back it up.

asa i saw your post after i posted, i will do that as well if i get a glob of lure on my gloves, i will rub my hands together with some dirt or something. but you know as well as i do, that the smell is still there and a canine could surely smell that.

i think with novice trappers they need to do things in the way they feel comfortable and can grow confidence in their abilities.

j lord, yes I am very confident in my abilities. I have been backing it up for years, even in your state.

I have been telling people the exact same thing you posted but I will admit, I come across as a 'jack' sometimes and I will be more blunt. That is just the way I am.

I/ve had issues with one pair of gloves. I prefer to dump the gloves and lure bare handed (just works for me). Most every digger situation that I recall having was a product of contaminated gloves..then contaminated traps. Even bare handed you can smell the lure on your hands many times after you have left the site and gotten back into your truck (give em a sniff next time)...even though you haven't spilled any (its airborne as soon as you open the cap). Just the system I have the least amount of issues with. Whatever works for you.

J Lord wrote...asa i saw your post after i posted, i will do that as well if i get a glob of lure on my gloves, i will rub my hands together with some dirt or something. but you know as well as i do, that the smell is still there and a canine could surely smell that

They may be able to still smell it but it is likely so faint that why would one dig for it when a big gob of the same odor is a few inches away. As I have already mentioned, I'm not an expert on diggers and never contemplated the reasons too deeply when I have had only a minute number of diggers over the years. I think common sense combined with experience as to what one can get away with or not comes into play here. Common sense tells me not to get excessive odor of any sort on my gloves. Asa

That's a good point, Asa: If one did get lure odor on their gloves, then the trap, there is a LOT more of that same odor in front of them...combined with the visual of the hole, etc. Likely not enough "diggers" in the big picture to worry about. Just one for me, irritates me, however.

Don't worry onecat, most all of the western folks come across blunt and seem to be a "jack---" most of time. There are exception though few and far between. LOL.

When talking about diggers. Could it be to much lure in the hole or bait. When the scent is heavy wouldn't it like drift out of the hole and ovber the trap bed giving the animal the idea that the smell he is after starts under the trap? Could the trap be to close to the hole for this to happen also? How about the dry or moist ground pulling the lure or bait into the ground under the trap. Pourous soils like sand or maybe a root system that didn't get dug out completely that would act like a channel.Jus a thought.

Jlord, I have watched your video and there does not seem to be anything fancy about your style of trapping and you do real well. As far as dripping lure on my trap,I lure from the backside so I know that isn't the issue here. As I was out working on getting stuff ready to roll tonight, I received an order with a gallon of fox urine and everything in that box smells of fox urine. Now, when we are talking contamination,are we talking human odor or is this fox urine smell going to cause an issue with all of my gear? How in the world does one be so careful about keeping everything so clean?I mean I can boil all traps,dip and store in a tote.Then I can treat my cable stakes and store seperate.I can do all of these things but when opening day hits and I am running and gunning,I have my pack with my poly fill in a zip lock bag,lure in a seperate pouch,tools in a seperate pouch,etc. As soon as I open the bag for poly fill and is exposed to air,then odor from the lure gets on it. I feel like a kid. What is a good procedure that you guys follow as far as storage,transporting,handling,etc. that I can use to eliminate any problems?

tbn, its not that big of an issue. alot of trappers make it harder than it has to be. Common sense will take care of "contamination" problems .

Digging is not that big of an issue, once again, some trappers use it as an excuse as to why they are not putting the cuffs on coyotes. Several QUALITY lures advertise their product to have a digging and scratching response. Pedersen's" Trench Maker", O'Gormans "Big Horns Medicine", and "Revenge" just to name a few.I don't hit a coyote or fox line without some OG's or Slim's lures in my bag. There are 2 guys that KNOW coyotes.

I understand, but when a person wades through all of the responses and has to try to process it, it can be overwhelming. Some sound like it is like preparing for surgery and others say they use bare hands while others do something completely different.I know the coyotes that I have taken, it wasn't that difficult. To me, to use a canine lure that causes rolling and digging, that would be working against the canine trapper,that is what I don't understand.Yes, to get a canine to the hole or set and keep them there long enough to want what is in the hole is a bonus but the rolling around over your trap is where I am confused.

tbn, you are right, my style isn't special at all. i do ok, i like a mixed bag when trapping, so i don't exclusivley go after yotes. the key is location, lure and lure placement. i like to think i mimic charles dobbins and slim pedersen, i learned alot from them. slim personally and charles through his writings.




yep i mentioned the same thing on page one, the faint smell that gets on the trap that is under ground normally shouldn't create a digging response..

Then why do people stress so highly "clean traps"? I am not disagreeing with you or Asa at all, just trying to sort things out to come to my own conclusion.

if starting out, use your head and try to do more of the little things better (not right just better), like bedding, scent control (by making your set fast and moving on), try using uncontaminated traps if you want, but after a few years you will be able to see what really doesn't matter that much and what does will then stand out like a sore thumb.

solid bedding clean traps and trap placment i belive are the most important things in preadator trapin when im runin low on k-9 traps in jan i just pressure wash dirty traps and maybe put them threw a bakin soda bath and the dogs keep comein

a begal can smell a rabbit track from the night before and nose its old. ive had coon hounds that could wind a coon in top of a cherry tree at 40 mph with the right wind. ive had yotes and foxes dig at old sets 4 months latter if he wants to smell a trap bad enuff hes gonna dont give him a reason to want it bed the trap trap right and end his hole diggin ways

Not starting out, been trapping since 1983 but I haven't trapped coyotes heavily as I have coons,cats and beaver. I just want to be consistant.I am never happy and always want to improve.Usually when I am coyote trapping is in December thru February and have to deal with freeze thaw conditions and ice and snow.Makes it tough. I don't have near the bedding problems earlier in the year.