Hello All,

I have a client in the city. They are new home owners and have lived in the house for about two weeks. The backyard when they bought it was an overgrown jungle.

They found a den hole under their sidewalk and plugged it with a rock. The animal dug an other hole to exist the burrow. They then plugged this hole with a rock.

I placed a dual door cage trap in front of the original den hole.

My client has never seen the animal. The neighbors have seen it and they say that it has lived there for years. The neighbors don't know what type of animal it is. They said they know it not a skunk or a raccoon. I am thinking it is a opossum.

Would a positive set work if the animal is not in the den? I have had the set there for two days (without bait) and without any action.


Thanks

Coondog,

My first thought based on your description is it is a groundhog and not an opossum. In cases like this I don't refer to the set as a positive set since you've left an opening for the animal to possibly leave without setting off the trap (especially if you're using a Havahart). This is just one of many reason why I personally don't like standard double door traps.

With that being said, based on how you did the set a groundhog may or may not walk through the trap again to access the hole. I know several guys that seem not to have an issue getting them to do that but in my experience they will shy away from the trap. To increase your odds, put trailing scent in a straight line from the hole to about 2 feet away from the trap opening then put the trap over top of the scent line. If the trap is a Tomahawk, position the trap so that the treadle fires towards the hole instead of away from it. This makes it easer to fire the trap if the animal is walking towards the den. Make sure that you've blocked off any other access to the hole with cardboard or wood (it wouldn't be a bad idea to bend some Trimcoil into a U shape with flanges on the ends to stake it down and put over the hole and trap creating a "sheltered" opening).

I'd also put out some regular cage traps baited with Jameson's groundhog baits, cantaloupe rinds, and/or Granny Smith apples throughout the yard to help resolve the issue as quick as possible.

put up a trail camera you will soon find out what is under there ...

Oh, the neighbor says, "The animal only comes out at night."

Could be a possum or skunk, if it's true that it only comes out at night. It would be nice to have a trail cam. Put that on your Christmas list. lol

I've found that when the den is under a sidewalk, a "universal", "versatile" or "multi purpose" type trap works best. As long as the entrance is on the bottom it will work. I prefer the walk though type to the single door. A good nose cone will accomplish the same thing.

Place the trap perpendicular to the hole and butted up tight to the sidewalk, with a cement block on each side to discourage digging both in or out. That leaves one way in or out and that's through the trap.

You're going to have to be patient though. Whether it's a skunk or possum, they always have a series of dens they use. They may come back in a week or never considering the disturbance. If nothing shows up in a week, fill the den solid and call the job done.

My rule of thumb with everything else is three days and close. Woodchucks, 10 to 14 days. ( I usually get him on the 10th day )

I tend to agree. I was just being thorough. lol