In Kansas, coyote, coon, oppossum season is year round now. I'm running into some problems I didn't have over the winter.

The cat food I've been using for bait now turns to mush when it rains and grows mold. Corn germinated inside a DP trap. Occasional flooding in the low ground gets the DPs muddy. A golf ball on top of the trap helps keep mice out but seems make it more likely ants will build a nest inside the DP.

Any tips on this? maybe bait ideas that's more water and ant resistant?

Would raccoons mind a little insecticide inside the DPs to keep the ants away?

I've got a little battery powered pressure washer that will suck water out of a bucket. It works well for cleaning them when they get dirty or modly.
Maybe I should just put a bucket of water on the ATV and rinse them once a week. If I do this, does it matter if I rinse them where they're set? Its a lot easier to drive the ATV up to the DP, and take 15 seconds to give it a quick rinse with the pressure washer then rebait. But I wonder if letting the modly/stinky bait linger by the trap would be a problem.


The coon and oppossum count is way down from last fall before I started. I see alot less on camera. When i do see them on camera, sometimes they'll sniff the DP and keep on going.
Is this likely because the remaining coons don't like my bait, or the condition of the bait with rain/mold/ants, or they're pickier this time of year when there's more food around?

Another 2-4 weeks and the weather will dry out. So mold and bait turning to mush won't be a problem much longer. But ants will probably be a hassle until winter.

I have better catch rates using cages in the spring and summer. I suspend (with a piece of wire) the bait (in a small zip lock bag with a few holes punched in bottom) near the back of the cage. I use cat food or fish food or marshmallows mixed with Kool-aid powder....same bait I use in DPs.

Suspended bait slows the ants, being in the zip lock protects from rain, and the suspended bag generates some attractive movement.

I occasionally use a trailing scent from the door to pan....... DG brand strawberry syrup (like used to mix in milk) or liquified and preserved sardines in a squirt bottle.

Cages with a bait door makes it easy to setup.

Btw....I only have 18 cages.....for the limited coon/possum work I get in the summer where I can't use regular foot traps.

That gives me some ideas.

I only have 1 cage trap suitable for coon. Its a double door Havahart trap I bought when I was a kid. I quit using it when I was baiting with corn because I kept getting squirrels. Its annoying to drive down the the property just to let a squirrel out. But I expect cat food in a bag or sardines would only appeal to the stuff I'm trying to catch.

I also have a cannister of gaterade mix in a flavor I don't like. I had thought about getting rid of it by mixing it in with the bait, but wasn't sure if that's a good idea.

Thanks for the info!

I was catching coon for my Sis but was catching some sows with little ones in a den somewhere so I stopped. I don't like killing critters when they have young ones in a den somewhere.
Canned sardines in cage traps.

The man that mentored me in trapping gave me some stuff that looks like collard seeds and it keeps the ants and stuff away and the yotes don't mind so I know the coons wouldn't either. I don't have a clue what it is because he passed away before i ever asked him what it was.

I wouldn't use sardines in the bait bag. They sour in a day or two in warm weather and nothing will eat them. Also, use dry cat food in the bag...not canned....or you'll have same problem.

I use the floating catfish food they sell at tractor supply in my DPs in summer. I mix it with dried whole kernel corn. I have no problem catching coons and possums get no mold and no problems with ants. Birds do sometimes clean out the top one inch of the trap. But still plenty of bait left for the critters. Here's yesterday's possum taken with this setup

A few minutes ago I got an opossum in a cage trap. I wasn’t sleeping so I checked my phone and it was by the trap. I watched it go in and out of the trap until it set it off.

I also put sardines in the dps and the last couple days I’ve watched the opossum and coons clean them out without setting them off. The coon sat down in front of the camera and enjoyed his meal, never setting it off. I’ve been reading threads about that so tomorrow I’ll wax the trigger with a crayon and be mindful of how deeply I engage the trigger.

Maybe I caught all the critters that rough handle the trigger. Now it seems I’m down to the delicate little princess critters.

If you have any used cooking oil put some on top your bait this will help out a bit for keeping ants at bay for a couple days.I use this in the summer here trapping coyotes and it seems to help .