262 FUR FACTS 



When and Where to Set Traps 

 Probably the most important thing is to know where to set a 

 trap. This the trapper learns only by practical experience, and he 

 must study the signs and know the tracks, habits, and whereabouts 

 of the different furbearers. The smart trapper and the one that 

 looks ahead and desires to maintain a constant supply of furs on 

 hand, will never bother the dens of the furbearers or the homes of 

 the muskrat. Destroy the den and drive the animals away and you 

 will kill the goose that lays the golden egg. In order to get the 

 valuable pelts it is of course necessary to trap the animal, but this 

 should be done in a humane manner, and at such a time that you 

 will only take the surplus, and that you will in no way disturb the 

 home. You can thus be assured of a constant supply of furs. 



A good place to set your traps is to find where the animal feeds, 

 where it visits the creeks and ponds; and where it hunts for bugs. 

 This can be done by looking for signs along the piles of driftwood, 

 over old logs, and other favorable places. It will not take an amateur 

 long to become familiar with the furbearers of his locality. You can 

 look for mink along the streams and in the swamps. You can look 

 for muskrat in the ponds and lakes; skunks around old barns and 

 outhouses and in dens on the side hills, and the opossum and coon, 

 in the thick woods, especially where the Paw Paws and Persimmons 

 and other delicacies that the coon and opossum like, are found. 



Remember that one of the most important things is to leave the 

 surroundings as natural as possible after you have set your traps, and 

 wear gloves, so as not to touch the trap with the hands, as the animals 

 have a very keen sense of smell and can detect the human odor very 

 quickly. As soon as it detects the human odor it will leave and not 

 come near your trap, so that it is advisable to bear this in mind at 

 all times. Use the Wonder Trap Setter in setting steel traps with 

 a long steel spring. This setter enables you to set the spring without 

 touching it with the hands, allowing you to set the trigger just as 

 fine as you want it with your knife blade. See that there is nothmg 

 under the pan of the trap which will prevent it from springing when 

 the animal steps on the pan, and cover it over lightly with moss and 

 leaves as described in another chapter. 



If you are setting your trap in front of a den, do not set it too far 

 back, but rather well out in front and then great care must be taken 

 that you leave the entrance of the den as natural as possible. 



Some trappers that are trapping for beaver and otter set the pan 

 of the trap very stiff and place a small twig under the pan of the trap 



