I just purchased 4 DP traps. Never used one in my life. First I have to give anyone that can set one with just there had a hand up. You are a better man than me. First I am not trying to take any business away from any business. This is for the people that have limited income. If you have used Out-of-site mole traps they come with a setter with every trap. Just take a propane torch and heat the closed end and squeeze together to fit the trap. Then cut off the end to fit appx 1/2 inch. Now you have a very strong DP setter. JMO
I googled DP traps. There is 101 way to place, bait and stake the DP traps. Just would like to know how you do it. 1. do you shorten the chain? Do you put the trap in at a angle or straight up? Do you use earth anchors or stakes. Do you put any food out side the trap or just in the trap? I do ADC work and once in a while I get a trap shy raccoon and I am going to give them a try.
Thanks for any reply

you can use a flat tip screwdriver to set them. Helps a bunch. I set them straight up and down. Rebar stakes. Minimarshmallows, cat food, cheap fruit flavored cereal in the trap. Sometimes 1 or 2 small pieces outside of trap. Good luck.

You can set them with a screw driver in a pinch.

I set them straight up just stuck in the ground to the bottom of the washer on the stabilizer. I use 24" 3/8 rebar nut-top stakes to anchor them and use the stock chains. Don't use them where they can get tangled and stop the traps swiveling. I bait mostly inside the trap but a few nibbles outside to get them interested won't hurt. If you got a good bait it doesn't matter if you overfill the tube or just add enough up to the trigger. Set then dead center of the coons trail where he can't miss it.

I run mine on cable stakes. Set them right in the middle of a trail where they will have to trip over it. Put enough bait inside to cover the trigger, and leave a little on the ground around the trap.

I have great results using the stock chain with an extra inline swivel and a cable stake. I put them in anywhere from straight up to a 45 degree angle as long as they seem solid. When at an angle I turn the trap so that trigger is at a 3-9 o'clock position. Bait inside and a little for eye appeal outside, sweet attractant inside and outside. Caution on using fish oil on the bait, it is great for scent attractant but I have found that the coon do not seem to like the taste as well as a sweet attractant.

Hopefully you bought pull only, to avoid some non-targets. Like cats opossums and skunks.
I hope you bought the straight triggers, so you can add a half inch piece of surgical hose to it.
I bait with a marshmallow under trigger with only about 1/2 inch bait in cup. Then a dab of lure on the outside of lip. Beaware of wet baits. They will Gum up the works in time.
If setting on a trail, I don’t do anything else. Other than angle them about 45°.
If setting blindly,, kind of, I shoot a line of trailing scent
If bait gets stolen, it is probably mice, then you have to set it straight up and put a golf ball on top or Coon cap Or similar device.
Stake it down with the earth anchor away from anything a coon can climb or get ahold of.
THAT is how they pull out.

Traprjohn:
What is the purpose of the surgical hose? Would heat skink work? How long should a earth anchor cable be and size of cable?
I see no one said anything about shorting the chains. Thanks for the post, lot of good tips.

Traprjohn:
What is the purpose of the surgical hose? Would heat skink work? How long should a earth anchor cable be and size of cable?
I see no one said anything about shorting the chains. Thanks for the post, lot of good tips.

Sorry it did not feel like the mouse was posting about the DP.

I just use cable with a loop on each end. Loop one end through the swivel on the end of the chain, then pass the cable around a tree then run the trap through that loop. Never had a coon or anything else pull out. Sometimes they’ll be sitting on a limb about 3ft, but they’ll still be caught.
Put some sheep’s wool below the trigger then drop your bait of choice on top of it.

We have caught a lot of coons (1000+ by now easily) in DPs, never used any tube or anything else on the trigger, never angled them, and only tried a cover (golfballs and small styrofoam cups) a couple times and its a total waste of time IMO you don't want anything to hinder the coon getting into the trap. Never had a pull out (a couple twisted out when the traps swiveling stopped). We also use very sticky sweet bait often and never had an issue with that either so I guess I disagree with traprjohn on their use. lol

Wanna Be:
What is the sheep's wool for below the trigger? I would guess it make it easier for the coon to get its fingers around the trigger than having food down there, just my guess.

Cheap...less bait used, lol.

Styrofoam cups are good when rain forecast to keep dry or somewhat dry

Set it in the middle of the trail. Bait up to the trigger. Put some around the trap. One of my boys puts bait 1/2” too 1” above the trigger but I think that’s to much (dads are idiots)lol. If it’s a push pull you can catch not targets so be careful. I also like trailing scents. They make a big difference in my area. Good luck

You can't argue with their success. lol

I don’t believe I’m that strong but I can set dp by hand. Might be the way you approach the trap. Try this.

Trap is upright. Orient the trap in your hand so that the body or cylinder of the trap is held by the palm of your hand and thumb. Use both sets of fingers from both hands to push back on top of spring lever assembly that holds coons foot in cylinder. Once lever assembly is depressed use a finger from hand to flip trigger bar into trigger notch.

I have more trouble setting 160s by hand than dp. Might be that I have long hands and fingers

i use fish pellets and coon caps with a trailing sent i paint caps and trap brown seemed to help with less rodent troubles

I use carp chunks in trap and a spraying of salmon oil spiked with a bit of shellfish oil around trap. If that don’t work I use carp chunks. If I get a refusal I use carp chunks.

All the anchoring methods others have described work well whether it be cable lanyard, rebar stake, or earth anchor. What to use just depends on the soil and situation. In loose sand or mud you can cable lanyard to anything heavy enough to hold the coon. Then just stick the DP in the ground by its staked end, but don't let it freeze in place where it won't pull free because that will keep the swivels from working.

The tubing on the trigger (I use fuel line) makes it feel soft like food instead of metal. I've caught a lot of coon after they ate all the bait then pulled the trigger.

A marshmellow on the trigger is good, also one in the top will help keep rain out. Canned mackerel worked good for me as a bait. Either fish oil or a sweet mix (I used honey and molasses with a bit of anise) at the top of the trap seems to help. If you have to place the DP away from the travel path you can trail the oil or sweet mix to the trap and pull them in.