I'm cutting rebar to make stakes. Any advantages with going longer than 18-24".

Coyotes & Fox are my goal.

Depends on your soil conditions. I have rebar stakes anywhere from 12" to 36". I commonly use 24" the most though.

I'm not overly endowed with experience yet but some advice that's worked for me is always crisis cross your stakes. That or use an earth anchor. The anchors are amazing in soft ground. Criss crossed stakes help tremendous in keeping that critter in one place.

What size rebar and are you double staking or going with a single stake? What type of ground? Sandy, clay, rocky, farm soil. etc...? All play into how long the stakes need to be....

Make a variety as stated above. You will use every length you make. I used the 24s most frequently, too....but also use longer and shorter. I have some 5 footers I used for beaver at times. They all get used. Rebar is cheap...and will outlast everyone on this board.

I scrapped my earth anchors. Only place I'd use them again is in pure sand.

Make a bend at the end of those 36” ones B.W. style and you can probably get away with a single stake.

24" of crossed rebar will hold everything I need. Trapping mostly clay.

Brian

1/2", or 3/8"...makes a difference. Last couple years I used 18"-1/2" rebar, cross staked.

This year I tried 3/8" rebar, 20" long...cross staked, and it held everything. No problem. Both sandy, and heavier soil...but no clay. I really like Chestnut stakes/links for cross staking.

What's the difference if it's 3/8" or 1/2" rebar? Nothing is bending either.

1/2 inch has more surface area to create friction with the ground making them hold better.

Cross stake and you should be able to get away with 2 16" stakes.
I gave up on re bar last year and went to all 1/2" smooth cold roll. I will never go back to re bar.

Had a bunch of 3/8 bend badly when pulling stakes. Frozen ground and rebar sucks.

Do you try and pull straight out or twist them first ? I twist mine a half turn with vise grips first and they come out quite easy , clay soil . 3/8 x 18"

i have a bar from pulling railroad spikes that works great.just wish i was strong enough to carry it more than 8 ft.

I decided to go back to rebar this year. Cross staked all canine traps and even though the ground was saturated, they held everything. Despite the weight on walk-ins, I think I’ll stick with rebar.