I really don't know what else to do. I don't want to go ANOTHER season without being able to get permissions. The only reason I was able to do any trapping at all last season was because I won a public land lottery, but was pretty much limited to DPs and cage traps on land, so I wasn't able to go after coyotes like I wanted. I did so much preparation for nothing.

I don't have any connections to the farmers up here (northern IL), so I don't have any friends or family I can lean on to break the ice. I tried making phone calls. People said that I needed to put boots on the ground and knock on doors, so I tried that, and the results were miserable. When somebody answered the door to talk to me, invariably they said they already had somebody to take care of trapping, and that's when they were nice. Some farmers I bought some eggs and things from to break the ice and I left them my card, but never heard back. I had a really bad experience,when approaching one , where a grizzled old farmer came over and yelled, "What are you selling?" I told him I wasn't selling anything, but that I was willing to offer my trapping services free of charge, just for the opportunity. He cut me off: "NO, we've already got somebody." I asked, "Please, may I at least leave you my card?" "NO." So I thanked him for his time, wished him a good day, and left. He was so angry; it was awful. I can't take interactions like that and it really put me off knocking on doors for awhile. It feels like I'm invading their privacy when they react like that.

I don't know what else to do for permissions. Nothing I tried worked. I've heard it gets easier once you have some jobs under your belt but that point seems so far away.

So what about taking out a classified ad or something? Do farmers read them or would they distrust some unknown trapper trying to offer his services?

If you go back to knocking doors, try baked goods.

I got on some smaller properties and then was recommended by that farmer for neighbors. Then it’s word of mouth from there. That’s been my experience here.

Hopefully you’ll get your foot in soon.


If you find a place that has beaver problems go ask them. I have found that gets a yes pretty quickly. Not sure if you trap beaver though.


Hope your luck turns around and you have more ground to trap than time to trap it.

No, don't do that. In this day and age if some stranger came to my door with some homemade goods I dang sure wouldn't accept.

I've been the same area my whole life but things have changed. All the old small farmers are gone and that land sold and now everything belongs to a banker, lawyer, Dr ect for hunting land and they don't want anyone on their land for any reason. It just ain't worth it, trying to find other places to trap. Especially for what you can get out of southern hides. I'll just do a little trapping on the home front and be content with that.

Don't "offer your services free of charge". It comes across like you are doing them a favor, which just isnt the case here. instead they are doing u a favor by letting you trap. Just be honest with them and tell them ur just getting into trapping and ur hoping to get some permission on some private ground to get started. We you to spent all day knocking on doors trying to get hunting permission when I was a kid in hopes just one person would let us. We had to knock on a lot of doors. A few acted offended or mad, it was just part of the game and we usually got a lot of laughs out of those. What i really hated was the mean dogs. Classified adds seem like an even longer shot.

I'd start by asking the landowners if they were having problems with coons, coyotes, etc....whatever I was geared up to successfully trap. Then, I'd do exactly as Yes Sir stated above.

…. Around here it’s hunting leases… if you can kill coyotes quickly you’ll get more ground than you can cover by reputation… I get phone calls year round that I have to turn down because of working full time … I have access to a couple big places that I trap during fur season and they pay me to do it

… so try getting in through the deer hunters … they all think a coyote is going to kill their boone and crockett

…. You have to be able to show them dead coyotes though

Beaver can be another door opener. Try hang out where the old men play cards or drink coffee of a morning. Sale barn on sale day is good. So are farm auctions.

The newspaper ad sounds like a bad idea. You have no idea who will respond. Most likely antis.

Do you have a local farm store. Maybe they have a bulletin board you can put your card on. That is the group you are trying to interact with.

How about volunteering to help with chores on the farm. Help baling hay? What about an FFA group at your high school? Think outside the box - anything related to agriculture

Once you get one property and do a good job, word of mouth will get you more property.

That's exactly what I tell them, that I'm a hobbyist (not professional) trapper getting started in the hobby looking for permissions. I only told that one farmer that my services were "free of charge" because he came right up to me and asked me what I was selling. When I tried to explain further, he cut me off and said he already had somebody.


I did that, asking if they have any problem animals that they would like me to target. One farmer I bought some eggs from asked me if I could target a skunk, and I told him I'd be willing to target a skunk, and I left him my card and never heard back from him.

Dont leave a card. Get a phone number. Write yourself a note with details. Then YOU call them 4-5 weeks before season. Use your notes to talk about your previous conversation.

Fun story, one of those days we were spending knocking on doors to get permission to hunt we had a crabby lady act all offended and she said "we dont shoot our deer we feed them" , I responded perfect, we dont want you to shoot them, just keep feeding them and we want to shoot them.

Maybe 1 or 2 farmers would have given me a number if I asked. Maybe. The rest "already had somebody."

Those with listed numbers I already tried, without much success.

…. If they lease their land to deer hunters … get in through them … I’ve had access to hundred thousand acres and never met the actual owner except on two properties… and that was just because they wanted a wildcat to mount

That is something I haven't tried. I guess I'll do some research to find those properties.

Does anybody have any thoughts on the classified ad idea?

That's probably the best especially where deer hunting is big. Coons eating the deer feed makes a trapper look good

As far as the classifieds i thing face to face is always best when trying to get permission

…. They poison the coons around here …. They bring me in as a coyote mercenary lol

One of my key job responsibilities when I worked for Michigan State University was to teach the young folks how tom approach property owners to gain permission to be on their property. Here are my tips to you. Do not approach a property owner on a Sunday. Do not approach a property owner during meal-time. When you introduce yourself be direct, tell them your name and then ask permission to use their property for trapping whatever but DO NOT go into some BS about trapping OR BS about yourself OR BS about them. They DO NOT CARE!. Don’t be BS’ing them with trivia about you or their day, just be direct otherwise you are wasting their time AND they know it and do not appreciate it so that's automatically a strike against you. Did you tell them that ONLYm YOU would be on their property or did you leave an impression that they could expect you AND a convoy of want-to sees following or riding with you! They’ll either say yes or no and if they say no, end of story, thank them for their time and beat feet! You do understand that their comment about “somebody else trapping” is a blow-off right??

I don’t care what anyone says, today’s property owners are too many generation off the farm to be welcoming to a trapper so you are automatically up against it. Take your lumps of rejection, suck it up and go to the next property owners!!! It has been my experiences here in Central Michigan that ONLY face-to-face meeting's with property owners works, not phone calls, not letters, etc, only face-to-face works. I told all of those young college people, put yourself in the shoes of the property owners and would you want this person standing on your doorstep on your property, using your property of which you pay the taxes??

2/3rd’s of the trappers I know around me I wouldn’t let them on my property!

Many of the old farmers in your area likely get together at a local restaurant and hang out and talk over coffee in the morning. That's a good place to meet them, where you're not encroaching on their property.

Facebook and Craigslist ads can work too.

Keith