How long will a 3/32 cable stake for coons last in the ground before it becomes unusable? I'm talking about leaving them year round. 1, 2, 3 years? Most of my coon locations are set in the same spots every year and was looking to get away from rebar. I'm sure there are lots of variables but I am just looking for other people's experiences.

I wouldn't trust one more than a year in my soils. This Georgia clay is acidic and will eventually eat the cable.

In wet soils or in or around water it's worse.

Thats for galvanized, no idea on stainless.

Soil make up would have a impact depending on the area.

Pull one and look it over. Twist the loop and see if any strands crack or break. I went to chain for a that very reason.

I wax all of mine, just like traps. But I'm sure they could also be dip painted or full metal jacket type coated to get more life out of them.

I would suggest hooking your trap, standing up and giving it two or three good hard tugs, I'm mean hard. If you cant break it chances are slim a coon will be able to. 3/16 cable is the key. It will last twice as long as 1/8" I've use cable stakes for 4 or 5 years before replacing them on coyote. I use the yank test every time and also have shock springs in my chains. You'll never regret going away from rebar.

Thats it ^^^^^ for most of the Southern states. 6 to 9 months on coon. Less on big coyote. Acidic soil and water down south KILLS cable. And Im talking good = Korean cable. Caught a coyote in February. Was returning after Turkey season May = Reused cable I left. Rolled up at 8 am on big male coyote. Shot it. Looked at cable. Got luck. Was on 30 inch chain from cable. I like long chains. Saved me that day. I thought to my self ==== cable looks awful. Rusty frayed. Can I pull it. Strait up a few timea and it still holded ??? 1 pull. Loop snapped. NEVER again. Cut and run !!

Foxhunter52 is right. Spent many year with = 2 or 3 full 5 gallon buckets of rebar in back of truck. DONT miss the old days at all LOL!!!

I've got some 18" long cable stakes made out of 5/64" stainless steel with wolf fangs on the end that are now 5 years old, and still going strong. Didn't wax them or anything. Spent a little extra money on stainless cable, but waited till I could find the best deal possible, then jumped on it. I've only been trapping 5 years, but those original stakes are still in use this year. I do exactly as mentioned above though- hook into one, and try with everything I've got to get it to break. If it holds, I trust it. So far, none have broken. I'm 6'2" and 230#, so if it holds me, I'm pretty confident it will hold my coyotes.

Being close the brackish or salt water . I build all me snares and other cables out of stainless steel.
While testing the 6" Belisle foot snare in east Texas. I had galvanized cable rust .from 1 year to the next.
I build everything out of stainless steel cable. Even if I'm snaring/trapping inland.
When using Stainless Steel cable Allways use Copper Ferrules and Stops

I left some 3/16 galv cable in the ground just to see how long they'd last. 7 yrs before failure. Boiled with baking soda to remove oil. SS not allowed in Mo.

Months to years.

Alkali soil here will destroy an aluminum double ferrule in just a few months.

Sandier ridge tops I’ve used anchors that have been in the ground three years without issue.

For states that allow stainless cable, the hot setup would be to use copper ferrules if you want to leave them in the ground. Boone is correct, aluminum doesn't hold up well left in most soils.

Stands to reason. I know aluminum doesn't play well with lye. Something keep in mind if you use lye to clean up traps and gear.