.

I wouldn't say my catch ratios are any higher with the covered traps...I was using thin blankets to cover my cages for skunks and they would pull the blankets through the wire & into the cage and I had a heck of a time getting them back out! I tried to find a thin plastic or corrugated cardboard to cover them but had no luck. I painted my covers to help blend in with a job I was doing in at an apartment complex as I initially thought I had some tampering with my cages. The galvanized sheets were $10 per sheet, 3 sheets would cover 2 cages...so $15 per cage. And I don't have stinky dirty blankets with holes in them laying around.

Depends what I am trapping. Skunks, covered. Groundhogs, not covered. Coons, possums, squirrels, does not make any difference. Just what works for me.

Both for me-depends on the time of year, and also what species I'm after. Sometimes I have to cover because our temps are so high and the sun gets so hot-that no critter would go near a trap, they'd end up burned on the metal, so I do it to provide shade at times, at other times for I want the critter to only see into the entrance of the trap, other times for camo, etc. from non target animals. Skunks-I cover, if possible.

All cage traps I set on the ground are covered. Williams traps are set in overturned garbage cans, Comstock traps are covered with a solid metal cover and all other traps are wrapped in coroplast which is plastic corrugated material. I trap in the suburbs of Chicago with homes on top of homes and I can not have a skunk spray or some child get bit, it's very bad advertising when someone gets on the internet bad mouthing your business as you let a skunk spray next to their house. Also I cover my traps to avoid theft, a lot of metal scrappers around here. I've been nuisance trapping for many years and this is how I run my business and it's worked for us. By the way coroplast can be gotten for free after political elections from there old signs or any printing company. I have mine cut to my specifications for two to four dollars a sheet.

Pretty much all of my cage sets are covered. I've used small blankets, drop clothes, cardboard, coroplast, etc.

I use covers to camouflage the traps and to protect the animals from sun, rain, wind, cold, etc.

Contractor bags will work too.

I use painter's drop cloth canvas. Can get three to five covers for $15 (home depot 4' x 15') and they hold up well. I use Wickencamp or Comstock cages (1 x .5' wire), so pulling the canvas in is rarely an issue. Never with skunks and occasionally with coons (through the door). I don't have theft issues so I leave them white, makes the cages noticeable to the critters, which we know like white objects. If/when a skunk sprays one, just pour a little of the peroxide solution on it and hang it out to air out - doesn't take long. I wouldn't go back to uncovered cages when a skunk is a possibility.

I cover all cages and have done that for years. There are several advantages to the method.

Covers have multiple uses, doing three jobs in one. It's good to cover skunk traps with a solid material for starters. I use light sheet metal nose cones so the don't spray. A solid cover / nose cone will double to connect a double door cage to a den site in a positive set for skunks, chucks, raccoon, badgers etc., any denning creature. If you have a solid cover with bait it helps to prevent bait from getting rained on or have the sun beat down on it. The type of cage wire mesh is a determinate. With 1x1 mesh a cover is a must as animals can reach in for bait or reach out to tear up the lawn. With 1x.5 you don't have those worries. In the beginning I built heavy wooden covers that worked, but they surely were bulky. Hated to carry more than one. The sheet metal, galvanized or aluminum made all the difference, light and compact, taking up no space in the truck.

Don't get me wrong, 50% of all of our squirrel and skunk cages are covered. But if covering all of the cages is such a great idea, wouldn't we all just own some variations of the Plasti-Catch?

No plasti catch traps don't breathe enough and aren't versatile enough. Lots of covering options with hinged covers.

I cover all traps with contractor bags. Only the top and sides held on with duct tape. They rarely pull through, granted I have mainly comstocks.

90% is uncovered for Raccoon skunk grinners and Groundhogs, for squirrels 90% are covered. I duct tape squirrel traps not for the animal but folks don't see the squirrel in the trap and cause problems for me!!!! grey duct tape seems to disappear on a roof where black or white stand out like a sore thumb.