Think what kind of a reading you would have gotten 15 years ago. :-)

So I went to a spot of ground in my backyard and it was pretty solid at 44. Movement to the left or right 2-3 feet yielded only small variations.

I tested 4 traps.

The first was a Painted (with direct-to-metal paint) number 3 dogless Bridger with a dog knot stake attached. It registered right at 45. Not much difference.

I then tested a painted #3 Monty round jaw dogless with a drag and long chain. It was 44. The drag actually was closer to 43 but the trap was 44. Later I got curious and put the phone right on top of the trap (about 3" distance) and moved it all around the trap. The levels went from a hight of 46 to a low of 38 on various parts of the trap, with the levers being lower than the jaw/dog area.

I also tested a bare, rusted #3 Victor LS. It tested right about 43, slightly below the previous two painted traps.

I also tested a 1.75 waxed Monty with a stake. This trap jumped to 65, which was way above anything else. Later I discovered that if I moved the trap away from the stake, the readings went down to the mid-50's. Then I zeroed in on the stake. I had recently welded a nut to the top of an old dog knot and it was still raw -- not wax or paint to it and some of the welding flux still present. The top where I had welded was the hot spot. The rest of the stake was normal. I tried burying the stake head and the reading subsided just a tiny bit. I then put an aluminum wire screen pan cover on the trap and the reading decreased a few points. The same with the other traps.

I then put the pan cover on each trap and buried it. Doing so decreased the readings slightly.

Were u within an inch when you tested ur traps Laz? I got a bigger reading on my traps. Even varied based on which part of the trap I was reading.

Going to try it tomorrow...ain’t catching anything anyways, lol. But all my traps are MB550’s. Guess I could get different readings per trap. We’ll see. Then again, guess different soil could also affect the readings. Got plenty of time to play around after work. I can go to my guaranteed spots that produce year after year and compare those to other sets with no catches yet.

Robert would have caught like 2700 coyotes this season instead of 900 and some if he had known about this. Hes gonna be crabby when he finds out...

I believe that in scientific terms this is what is called a “control group or study “. Without a control, data or observations have a much lower value.

I actually took super powerful neodymium magnets, and buried them in front of canine/meat based baits, and in beaver dam breaks and in the dirt/mud in beaver haul-outs, all with trail cams watching. There is no noticeable avoidance of the magnets by beaver when the magnet is under water in front of the dam break, or just under surface of the mud above waterline on haul outs. No beaver has had any noticeable reaction to the magnets, even shoving them into the dam with arm arm-load of mud on two occasions. Beaver could not even seem to tell the magnet was there, ever. Something like 20 visits recorded on video, several different ponds, all sizes of beaver. No avoidance by raccoons that I can tell, nor red fox or coyote. I admit I only have a half dozen or so coyote visits on film over the magnets, but not one even payed any noticeable attention to the magnet, although a few did turn and spot the camera and cut a fast trail for another county...
No video of otter around the magnets but plenty of mink. So far, I can’t see any indication that any animal even knows they are there. Not one, not once.
This says nothing about cage traps though, haven’t done any testing with those at all.
That’s my observation, and based on that I’m not concerned with magnetic fields of footholds. And I’ve just caught too many beaver in conibears to think they have some magnetic property that beaver are afraid of. But hey, it is possible that when steel is magnetized it could make the metal smell more so yotes smell the trap better. Doubting it based on my observations but it’s possible.

Star date:2765- destination: unknown. Spock has detected a magnetic mind-reading device on Krypton, and Sulu thinks we should investigate.
In the mean time, I will be de-magnitizing my Klingon traps, just in case.
Kirk out.