at my customers house there is probably 15 to 20 holes and they are in a barn and scattered across property. ive set traps and ive only caught 1 baby ghog. they see them on the camera and i was wondering if i should stick with blindsets or should i try baited sets?

' soft plug ' all the holes. Close off the holes with something easy to move like leaves, sticks , grass , loose dirt.

Check in a day or two and you will know which holes are active.

Check for flies. Those are your active holes

Are you trapping with bait or positive setting?

How many traps are you using?

im using about 8 traps and im using positive sets

Double door? Start blocking off holes. You’ll find the ones they are using fast. Consider the 8 holes you’re trapping on now to be the wrong holes. Plug those too.the fly tip is a good one.

im catching the baby ghogs but not the parents. i think the babies are plugging up my traps so i set a swing panel for the babies and then i have lots of conibears out. im thinking of taking some sulphur bombs and covering all holes and throwing those down them then coming back and seeing if anything has dug out of the holes

I would set every hole that looks to be active. Groundhogs will use the same trials and holes. Look for dirt/mud on the grass and in the trails. If traps aren't working, a little sitting time with the rifle of choice may be needed. I use a 22 or 25 caliber air rifle with good success.

update: i caught the big ghog and another baby. i thought i had all of them and went to pull the traps today and i saw 2 a big one and a small one. trying to get those now. thanks for the tips guys!

Are you filling in the extra, unused holes? With 8 traps and limited holes, you should have caught them pretty quickly.

i filled all the holes in and they all got unfilled exept for one. it smells skunky in one of the holes. also i modified my 160 by filing the dog down on the highest power setting so i have more power with less sensitivity and i made the trigger wide then it comes straight down and i set that in a ghog hole that i dug out a little so the trap wouldnt hit anything and the ghog couldnt climb over it then i set probably 5 pounds of rocks on it and it was pretty stable. i then added more sticks and rocks to it while making sure it would still fire and the springs could come out easily. checked it today only to find once again a trap set off with nothing in it. this happens if im trapping big ghogs or coons because i catch the little ghogs and rabbits but not big ghogs. the set i made today i used a cinder block on top of the eye of the spring, i will update tommrow but what am i doing wrong? also if i use 220s i dont have the traps set off without a big ghog in them.

Be very careful using conis on the ground. It can lead to some very unpleasant conversations should you catch the wrong animal.

I recommend switching to cage traps.

Agree. Especially I'm urban and suburban areas

alright, i set a cage trap baited with apple slices and marshmellows and set it where i see the ghog and its been 1 day and nothing has touched it.

X2

Can't catch if there aren't any visitors. Marshmallows can get you lots of interest from coon, oppossum and skunk as well. There are much better bait and lure options for ghog if you aren't positive setting.

Ok, so here is the secret with bait. It has to stimulate the animal. You have to get them excited through the 5 senses: sight, smell, taste, sound, or touch. With what you are doing, you’re going to use sight and/or smell. If you do it right, they never get the chance to taste until they are caught.

Woodchucks live in a super market. Actually, better than a supermarket as their food is so fresh, it’s growing all around them. If you’re trying to lure them away from all this delicious, fresh food. What you choose really matters.

Not to be rude, but what are you offering that’s appealing to a woodchuck living in a supermarket, with oxidized (brown) apples (there are apples that do not turn brown) and marshmallows? That dandelion in the lawn is tasty, nutritious, and very fresh.

What you are looking for are baits that provide something that is relatively hard for them to get and will stay fresh in the sun for a couple days come summer. Presentation is key. You don’t want shriveled food, they don’t either. Carotinoids provide a good visual presentation and have a lot of health benefits for us, and them. Their diet also isn’t full of them, so they are motivated to go after them. Lucky for us, they’re pretty durable as baits also. Since you’re a young one, I’ll let you research what carotinoids are. Are there any you think would make a good, durable bait in the sun? Post your ideas, we can save you a lot of time rooting out some that don’t work.

So far, we’ve discussed the visual aspect. Smell is important too, but I believe Bob knows volumes more about luring them in with smell than I do.

Well a carotenoid has carrot in the name so would carrots be a good bait?

I looked up the definition and it talks about an orange pigment so I think carrots and oranges? I’ve also heard of cantaloupe being a good bait, is it? Also Eaten by limestone, you aren’t being rude I asked for the help lol and I wasn’t really offering them anything that would be appealing.