What do y’all use to make your dirthole? I’ve used a bunch for several years but I Need to make one wider. I don’t like augers because slings dirt less controlled than I’d like.

X2, I’ve beat the crap out of mine and it’s still going strong. It doesn’t dig a real big hole though.

Dirt hole punch

I just pound a stake in the dirt and move it in a circle till the hole is the size I want.

I use a three inch augar in place of the seven inch ice augar. I un screw the ice augar and welder a bolt onto the end of the three inch augar and that screws right into the augar handle. These swedish ice augar go for a couple dollars at auctions, I even use one seven inch augar for post holes. They make a nice hole even in clay soil. They cut thru roots but not rocks. I have used mine for at least ten years, I have to sharpen the three inch now and them.

I went to using a my cordless drill this year and I love It. I don't have a problem with It slinging dirt all around. And then I move It back and drill out my trap bed. With that loose dirt I can scoop It out and drive my stakes and bed the trap. And I'm spending less time on my knees which Is a real plus for this old man.

Do those drills work in gumbo?

I cut down a small shovel to the width of my trap for stepdown sets, which I use probably 75% of the time. Use a cordless drill for the hole. Once it freezes, I use a chisel on rotary hammer drill.

I use a broken piece of shovel handle. Pound it in, acts as a punch. Hole edges are compacted. Lightweight & durable. Cut to fit in my bag, no batteries required.

Same here only once the ground freezes I switch to flat sets.

I was playing around with one of those weasel garden claws this summer and was surprised how easy it was to make a 4" wide hole 18" deep with one. Sure got me to thinking. My kids were convinced the holes were some animals borrow

X2 I already carry an earth anchor driver I just use it for my dirt holes

I finally decided to try an auger this year on an 18V cordless drill and my back has been thanking me ever since. I trap out of the box of my pickup truck though so weight is not an issue.

I got several new things to try this year, this is how my trials have gone so far.
I’m with you on the auger, so far it makes a bigger mess than I like. But my ground has been pretty soggy so far. It may work out better on dryer dirt.
I tried a dirt hole punch and bent it on about the third dirt hole. I was liking it up until then.
I got an old style trowel, but most of my dirt here is clay/rock and not the best way so far.
So, I’m back to the ground hog hammer tool for now.
Maybe I need to give the auger more of a chance.

I use a heavy duty dirthole trowel for a few years now and it works great. I put a link down below where I got it.

https://www.trapperartssupply.com/products/heavy-duty-dirt-hole-trowel

I have used 3/8" rebar to make a small hole, wiggled the stake round and round to make a bigger hole. Used my super stake driver. I have made augers that look like a king size brace anywhere from 1.5" to 3" and 4" sizes. I used a small trapping shovel and up to a tile spade. Tried the battery operated drill using 3" augers. They all work.... and they all caught fur.

If the ground is not frozen rock solid here my dirthole trowel or my narrow tile spade make decent holes. I have a sledge with section of leaf spring welded on top and hardened weld tip ground to an edge for digging beds and trenches.
When ground is frozen rock solid I have a railroad pick in the truck for chipping out beds and trenches. A super stake driver makes small holes for me in frozen ground two holes pounded in one for bait one for lure or pee work. I collect buckets of badger and woodchuck dirt from their hole piles and dump a bucket of dirt next to bedded trap with an empty bucket covering the bedded trap. A gloved pair of hands to pack the dirt pile and a hole can be pushed into the pile on trap side, bait in that hole.
This works good around here when dirtholes get covered with snow the dirt mound still sticks up above snow and it melts off fast in sun.
Lots of eye appeal in a bucket mound of dirt. It really sticks out in a bean or corn stubble field, also in a mowed hay field. Kick up a big trash pile of stalks or bean chaffe and put bait under one side of that and hack out a trap bed on bait side. That sets works really well for me when I can't dig nice holes.
Another trick is to find those little stands of cornstalks along field edge, you know the ones where maybe a handful of taller stalks are still standing. Hack out a bed next to one of those and bend the stalk over to point down toward the trap. Use your knife and hollow out the end of the stalk that soft spongy core stuff you can carefully scoop out with a knife tip. Shove some predator bait up in end of the stalk and add a shot of pee to the base of the stalk. That set has taken a lot of coyotes for me when snow came and temps plummeted. Stays up in air and talk about a low visibility set to any hunters or others going through. This is a Dobbins land trapping book set ive used for many years. So a knife needed for that one.
When our ground is rock solid frozen here in late winter I found it better to go "up" a little than trying to dig down. Go collect a few buckets of dirt and try some mounds with holes in the mound.
Jim