I left the family business in 1994 and started doing ADC work full time. I loved the trapping part but hated dealing with people, even some customers. Pelt trapping I can go for a week and not encounter anyone (just how I like it) but ADC you are dealing with people all day. I learned early on to charge by the job and not a per-animal rate. Per animal rates make people suspect you are padding the numbers, especially when they saw 1 animal in the traps when the left for work in the morning but when you got there there was 3.
First few pics are coons that were living under an in-ground swimming pool. The pool was put in the middle of a huge rock pile (I have no idea why it was made this way). The coons lived in the rocks.
I just set Williams traps in the trails between the rocks and the perimeter fence. Caught over 30 adult coons in less than a week. One trap had a triple, all adults, no bait, just set in the trail.




Groundhog (woodchucks) are easier to catch in 8 inch Williams traps than in bigger size traps. We ( my employee Ben and I) only used cage traps around houses. Away from houses, in fields or horse pastures we used snares. Placed at least 12 inches inside the woodchuck's hole and fastened to the end of a stick about 18 to 24 inches long the caught animal drags the stick back down the hole and expires there. That way we were not handling summer rotten 'chucks like you would have in a bodygripper. How effective were these snares? 4 different years we caught over 5000 groundhogs a season, most of them in horse pastures. Our best day was 238. Catch a skunk or possem by accident? No problem he went down the hole and died too, no mess, no fuss. I had to hire a high school kid just to make groundhog snares and find sticks to fasten them to. Dumpster diving at home building sites, he scarfed up hardwood flooring or framing scraps to fasten the snares to. Sometimes he just went into the woods with brush nippers and cut sticks.



Snared this one near a satellite dish where he went under this bent rebar.


A bunch of flying squirrels caught in a multi-catch trap I made.


LawDog eat your heart out!!




This poor coon had stuck his paw into a long neck beer bottle and then broke the bottle leaving the bottle neck on his leg. It was infected and he was in bad shape.

Very nice of you to share, thank you.
I too once caught a raccoon that had broken bottle on their wrist.

Way better than politics or the economy !

great pic, and story, thanks for sharing

Amazing numbers

Good share Eric.

Mac

That's awesome Eric! I'm gonna trap groundhogs this summer at a farm down the road and now I think I'll try some snares. Do ya have any pics of the set itself?