Use Of Urine At A Dirt Hole Set

In Charles Dobbins book "The Dirt Hole and Its Variations" pages 17 and 18 he discusses using urine at a Dirt Hole.

He states "The fox does not urinate on the place it buried food. It will urinate on the empty hole after it has removed the food."

He goes on to say "Thinking back to the time I used urine rather liberally at my dirt holes, I can recall many instances where there was a track at the edge of the dirt hole pattern, but the fox did not work the hole, even though there was bait or lure in the hole."

What do others think about Charles Dobbins view on the use of urine?

It doesn't really matter some will say use it some will say dont. I use it when I feel I need another sent to try and pull one in. I have a buddy who sprays the whole set down with a mist of urine and he caught over 100 fox and a few coyotes one year doing it this way and all his sets were dirtholes.

I always was told that it also mask human odor and fooled the fox/ yote into some sense of security. But whatever you are confident in ....

I only use commercial urine in my gland lure, to thin it down so I can pour it out of a pop bottle

I don't place urine In or close to the hole. I'll place it on a object about 18" from the hole.

You mean like an outside blocking? I did that a lot this year.

If you are going to do that why not just go out a little further and put a trap at the urine post?

Sometimes a dirt hole Is a better choice then a scent post. I feel that placing urine at a spot other then the set gives the critter something else to think about then the set It's self. I think It feels more at ease as it makes the next few steps to the actual set.
I like to plant a tuft of grass as a place to place my urine. I will also at times place my lure away from the set. Fresh dirt at the set at times Is all you need once you get the critter wandering around the set.
I think change ups are very important In canine trapping.

I do very well with step down dirt holes in remake for coyotes and there is urine all over that area.

Very interesting Beav. Thank you!

I always sprinkle a bit of urine just behind the hole on my dirt-hole sets. After a couple of catches there is urine everywhere in the catch circle. It seems to make the set that much more attractive to red fox.

I squirt the hole, the backing, doesn't matter.

I put Coyote urine all over my sets. Backing over the trap pattern everywhere around. I hammer the coyotes in dirtholes this way...

This. (although I do hit the backing mostly) if the animal tries to pee in the same spot it will get caught.

Giving them something besides the bait/hole/lure to think about is telling them "go on get out of here" it sends the message "I don't want you messin up my sets"
That same pee post could make the set a double if it has trap under it, but with no trap it is wasted time and pee.

And your a critter whisper. LOL

In the 1980's urine was utilized as a fear remover. It was applied with a spray bottle liberally all over the set in dirt holes and flat sets. It worked. It was used as a target in post sets and that worked too.
What you have to consider is regional differences in animals too. The time you say something will not work, is the time it starts catching fur. i remember Ray Milligan saying he relieved himself daily on the line in one spot and a coyote began using that place too, and he caught the coyote.
Early in the year I prefer to use urine over the set. After it begins freezing, I prefer not to add the extra moisture. Both ways work.

It is like the fad of the walleye experts telling everyone that they had to use light line as heavy line did not work as well. In my experience I caught more fish on 15 pound test line than my partners on fire wire 6 pound test using the same lure set up. All the light line did was sell expensive lures being broken off and I could not afford that. Mr. Dobbins is an accomplished trapper who everyone respects, but you have to assess time and place too. Fur under heavy pressure, will begin to shy away from sets with a great deal of urine on them, as they begin to associate urine with danger, and not a fear remover. I do not know the date of Mr. Dobbins book, but it may be a reason for his experience.
I know there were trappers in Oregon using store purchased traps and bolts for stakes who were catching coyotes when something like that in my location would produce digging. Trapping is something that works until it doesn't work. Trapping is something that once we find something that works, everything we do affects that bias in how we approach our future sets.

Let's see some catch totals. Pictures? Theories?

Trappers sure seem to overthink the simple things.

Pretty much. Guess some don;t understand coyotes gorging themselves and puking it back up and urination and all that.

How many baits or solutions have urine in them and go right down the hole? Essentially, there is urine at the hole even if you don't apply it yourself.

I lost count of how many coyotes i caught in the last 8 checks but i put a chunk of firewood on the lid of the SMALL chest freezer im putting them in to hold it closed yesterday evening. Lot and lots of guys catching lots more but I’m not a bit ashamed of my catch either. Every set had urine at it except one. That coyote got shot when i spotted him and he stopped running to have a look.

I havnt trapped enough fox to say about using urine to catch them but urine problems with coyotes and cats are the result of poor urine.

No one can compete with Kansas for coyotes. I know several trappers who take several 100 coyotes In a month or so and they all tell me that they are the easiest coyotes In the country and the biggest populations.

It's all about what you have confidence In and If It works for you that's the bottom line.
Around here we don't have a over abundance of coyotes and the ones we do have are pressed pretty hard. Little change ups seem to put more hides on the boards.

Just a empty hole with no bait lure or urine In among your other type sets will take coyotes that seem to shy away from those other type sets. Placing lure urine and bait all In a hole Isn't the most natural thing In nature. Not saying It doesn't work because It does but sometimes there are better alternatives.

Im not in KS

I think how fox and coyotes react to urine can vary. They are not the same between the ears.

: )

I had a coyote come in and get a face full of peat moss this morning, good thing I had a trap at the scent post 5 feet away. That being said, she did go for the dirthole first.....I cant believe she didn't just take off after getting missed. She was red, rubbed, with a touch of mange.

I know several,several 300 plus coyote guys using urine. Not from Ks, It always comes down to ks coyotes must be dumb,lol.I'm not going to sit here and argue or defend certain things.Bait solution,let's see urine,fish oil,goodies. Did I say urine? You know you dump into your bait and shove down a hole but won;t squirt urine,lol. Rediculous. I read about all of these thoughts day after day by the same ones catching a handful of fur and spending hundreds if not thousands on every thing under the sun trapping related. Did I say 250+ in two years in an 8 mile square? Yeah they must be dumb,lol.

I never said they were dumb just lots of them. And that's what makes the difference.

I use urine sometimes and sometimes not ,