All, I am a beginning trapper! Looking to trap raccoons this year. I do not have a fur shed but would like to still put up fur. I am wondering if I can use my basement ( which has a dehumidifier and a steady temperature) but I am worried about any smell. I plan on skinning and fleshing outside, and simply drying the fur inside. Any ideas or info helps! Thank you! -Steven

That set up will be good. I've done the same in the past.

That's exactly what I do and the only smells I ever noticed was from a mink that I punctured the scent sacks while skinning. I haven't trapped the last two years because of back problems but I am back at it this year. I kept my dehumidifier set at 50% and temp. at 65 degrees. I also washed the skins before bringing into the basement. Good luck

With coon you should be fine. Some other fur bearer like fox, coyote, and even beaver there is some odor.

I use my garage for skinning, fleshing and boarding, They dry in the basement with fan and dehumidifier, no problems. And my son's Toyota iA still fits in the garage with room to spare.







BTW, I store Gusto in the basement, placed it in a ziplok bag in a mason jar with cat litter. You'd never no it was there.

nice looking fur

No matter what anyone says you will have a smell In your house when drying fur. It's just that we get use to It and don't notice It.

My Wife and Daughters agree 100% with Beav.

Basement is fine.
There will be little smell if the animals are fresh,you only dry about 1/2 dozen at a time,flesh the skins clean,and clean up your work area,get rid of the carcasses as soon as your done skinning, and disinfect tools and equipment after each session.
The worst thing about fur processing in a basement is hauling bigger carcasses up and down stairs if you dont have a ground entrance.
If you handle big numbers of large animals in a short time a fur shed or garage is the way to go.

This is true but on a scale from my wife and daughters coon has least of all. Mostly smells like wet dog unless late in season and the can smell of urine a bit. My wife would rather have coyote drying in the garage than beaver. Each person reacts different. I was able to put up a small drying she'd this year but I will still be skinning in the garage. Happy wife, happy life....

I rarely skin anything in the basement but do all my fleshing and drying there. Beaver, IMO, are the worst for odor. Otter are a close second. Smelly skunk get a good bath and airing out before going in the basement. I keep a fan running to keep air moving and do not even notice the odor in the rest of the house even with my air handler in the basement.

Yeah - tell the no smell part to my wife after I have some beavers or coyotes in the shed!! She will give you the "stink eye"...

Something you can help with the smells is using baking soda if you or the wife still think the smell is too much or is getting into the house. Put some into shallow bowls and put them around your furs where they are drying. No it will not completely take the smell out of them as you are not applying it to the fur but it will help with the intensity, just like putting it in your fridge / pantry for smells

Skin a few mink in the basement and the Mrs. Will help ya build a shed!

I skun and put up all my fur in the basement for 3 years . The wife didn't like the smell of the coyotes or the drying fur but she delt with it and only complaint was when i got lazy and messy. But yes it will smell no matter what. I used to clean my beam nightly with bleach water and wipe down everything to try to reduce smells but it didn't help much.

Isn’t skinning and fleshing outside going to be a bit problematic in the winter? I assume Vermont gets cold weather....

I prefer scraping outside in winter.
Skinning frozen animals may pose a problem though.