Im building marten boxes tomorrow.

Any added Ideas?

I do have a question on 120 spring slots.
How deep,
Settin the trigger on the bottom, How far from the top , with spring slot centered,, and How far from the bottom?

Have you seen Tom Krause sets? I think he passed but might find something with google!

If legal I would cut spring slots only 3 to 6 inches deep.After putting the conibear set in the slots I would also put the springs either down or up.This would help steady your trap.Try either way and see what you like.Springs up would push the trap towards the bottom.Springs down would push the trap up.If you decide on pushing the trap down just make sure you have enough room so the trap dog clears.You can also cut your spring slots at diffrent hights to your liking.I would make one trap first seeing where you want your slots before making a bunch of boxes.I also like wire mesh on the back of my boxes so the marten can see all the way thru the box.

Might have to fool around with the brand of trap you’re going to use. Some of my boxes slots are only 3” deep in the 1/4” plywood and the slots not narrow enough, the traps not secure enough. 3” is ok, but I cut mine very narrow and 4-5” deep so I can bend the springs up to hold the trap in. They can use the kill bar as a handle if they want, or they can crawl on the springs while checking out the box without knocking the trap out. Waxed Belisle 120s and the box is good for even the little ermine.
It also depends on how thick the wood you’re using is. Might want to make a test box to play with.

If you use two pieces of plank (at least 1" thick and 3" wide) on two opposite sides of the box in the back, you can use scraps of even very thin plywood to make pretty sturdy boxes, because all walls are held together by nails or screws that go into solid wood and not into plywood/OSB. Assembly is also much easier this way because the plank pieces create right angles. You can also use a bit less mesh in the back this way.
Also, dipping the plywood or OSB into copper sulfate solution prolongs its life quite a bit because most of the wood decomposition is done by fungi and copper kills fungi.

I have victor and Blake and :Lamb 110's apx 1980 models. I have about 250 and plan to highjack the springs off of about 60 110s that had been remodeled And Ill be giving away the parts at the next trappers convention.

my boxes that I made 10 years back were 6.5 inches inside I dont need the width , all tops and bottoms will be 3/4" plywood sides will be 5/8th (or 19/32)
After some more experimentation on my part Ill be making the inside of the box 6" wide,
forcing the springs down and the trap to the top of the box with a 1/2" plus space for the bottom jaws and trigger assembly
Ill also make the spring slot just slightly tighter !/16.

Im retired and really cant move too fast anymore Years back I had plans to trap with buddies to run trapline in our retirement And this was going to be my first big year. Believe it or not my big disappointment is high fur prices,,I would rather catch more and receive less of a paycheck

Thanks for the suggestion


Im using cheap CDX : 3/4 " on the top and bottom, 5/8th on the sides , and 1/2 and 5/8th for the back

If Im lucky Ill get 5 seasons out of me, so I'm not worried about the life of the boxes. depending on weather Ill trap 10-20 days per year

I thinking of coating and using Copper sulfate would help with getting rid of that new bright colored veneer

I was also planning on Pre treating the top inside of the boxe with beaver castor and separately mink gland,,

Does anyone use skunk inside their boxes in the lower 48?


What better way than wire to fasten the trap to the box ? Easier in the cold ( none of my traps have chain) and keep the fur away from the tree

I put the skunk up high and beaver caster in the box.

That what I was doing with the few sets I had last seasoned

Thse are the boxes I made 10 years ago, and used last fall,, My set will be simular this coming season

Don't waste a bunch of brain power on marten boxes. I would not coat the boxes with anything. Marten don't care, other than wood preservative has a STRONG odor that lasts a long time. And it smells chemically.
As for slots, you don't need those big, wide "slots", but rather narrow slots that hold the trap secure. Two passes with a skil-saw, or about 1/4" wide and 3"-4" in is all you need. Cut in the middle of the box and they will hold your 120 securely. As for all these concoctions in the box, well, just put some meat in there, (I prefer beaver or even a duck part). The marten will find it. And it is hard to beat a little stick dipped in Gusto and placed near the set in a branch or crotch of a tree. That is really all there is to catching marten. Oh, and of course having marten in the area helps.

Don't use wire, you have a bobcat reach in the box and he will break 14 wire and leave with your trap. I use cable. Most all of my boxes now have a loop of cable on the top of them and I just use a caribener to clip the trap chain to it. But for pots and what I used to use with boxes is a length of cable with eye loops on both ends. Put it around your tie off ( tree, limb, etc.) and pass one eye through the other then carabinier it to the trap. Cheap 3/16 carabinier works fine.

No I no longer use skunk inside my boxes. Mainly because I store my boxes in the shop during the off season, I smear my lure on the tree above the box and just put bait inside the box.

Except he is using old traps, and some older traps (including Victors I believe) the two sides of the spring are not parallel so you need a wide slot for them to fit. You need to make your boxes to fit your traps. I've got a few that way, those I usually use with pots, but I have a couple old boxes with wide slots they work in.

copper sulfate has no noticeable smell and marten don't care but you don't need it if your boxes aren't out all year.
You only need camo on your boxes if theft is an issue.

Mink musk is not very stable, using it to pre-treat the boxes will be a waste of nice material. If you want to pre-treat the boxes with an aroma substance, use methyl anthranilate. Your boxes will smell like grapes and birds will avoid your sets. It's better to add it to bait though.

Marten and sable here don't seem to care much for skunk and prefer sweet smells in lures.

I hope to put as much energy now even if some effort isnt efficient well before trapping season.

Ive never even been on the roads and trails I plan to trap , However that will be some of my summer recreation time
I was a long ago pretty good mink, fox and beaver trapper A legend in my own mind and often generalize mink fox and beave to marten.
And Ive seen how so much has changed.


Most all of my boxes now have a loop of cable on the top of them and I just use a caribener to clip the trap chain to it. But for pots and what I used to use with boxes is a length of cable with eye loops on both ends. Put it around your tie off ( tree, limb, etc.) and pass one eye through the other then carabinier it to the trap. Cheap 3/16 carabinier works fine.

I had bear do the damage , breaking 14 ga wire
At one time I used snap clips on my rat stake/traps, I was planning on using cable attached permanently to the top right corner of the box; carabiners seem like a slick way for a quick exchange.
Last year ever trap I fought to take the maten out, and to resent, This year Ill exchange the trap/catch with a new trap


I store my boxes in the shop during the off season, I smear my lure on the tree above the box and just put bait inside the box. [/quote]
I love the smell of skunk

More for settling my curiosity if guys used skunk or LDC lures inside their boxes Ive seen demo some cage cat trappers were putting skunky lures inside the cage
And soe were using a long distance lure, above the cage, a couple physicl attractants inside, the cage then a gland and couosity lure in the back and a trailing lure into the cage . then saw marten demos doing the same thing.

When I (we) trapped mink,, We used fresh fish( bullheads sometimes sucker or chubs) some fine ground beaver castor in a couple quarts of propylene Glycol. Mostly to keep the bait from freezing together and to carry the beaver castor

[quote=bearcat2]

Originally Posted by alaska viking

Don't waste a bunch of brain power on marten boxes.
I get it,, Unfortunately Im a bit ADHD every little thing can keep me awake at night.
I

Im not going out there to make money but I dont like misses on anything I know I could be just rfne what Im doing, I want to avoid the misses when they are preventable what ever they may be


As for slots, you don't need those big, wide "slots", but rather narrow slots that hold the trap secure. Two passes with a skil-saw, or about 1/4" wide and 3"-4" in is all you need. Cut in the middle of the box and they will hold your 120 securely. As for all these concoctions in the box, well, just put some meat in there, (I prefer beaver or even a duck part). The marten will find it. And it is hard to beat a little stick dipped in Gusto and placed near the set in a branch or crotch of a tree. That is really all there is to catching marten. Oh, and of course having marten in the area helps.

Except he is using old traps, and some older traps (including Victors I believe) the two sides of the spring are not parallel so you need a wide slot for them to fit.
[/quote] Yep I have 40 plus year old Victors and Blacke and Lamb



I guess I haven't had any theft the past 35 years,,, However I still dwell on that , an issue for me,,

I use to use a lot of mink gland fox and coyote trapping,,, it was my secret lure

Last year I used 4-10 oz of beef trim,,, I didn't have beaver meat.
A big heaping amount of plum jam .


Im really intrigued about the skunk and the sweet smells ... So I won't put skunk in the boxes.
In your location is there fruit in the woods available for all animals. Or do your think they eat lots of fruit because its available? I
My biggest problem with the plum jam is it would slowly leak out

]
Snug at 1 inch

I see trappers using old plastic newspaper tube's and plastic flower pots.

skunk seems to interest them somewhat, just like very rotten smells, but they won't commit unless they're super hungry. Some chemicals in skunk have fixative properties which is good in a lure, and have a permeating interesting smell (my bet is on 2-methylquinoline) but I think the sulfides that give skunk most of its smell are overrated. Marten don't seem to like very rotten stuff. I left a few beaver carcasses in the woods last spring and marten checked the general area and climbed the tree to which they were tied, but didn't eat anything. Foxes however kept trying to chew off pieces even when the carcasses were all black and nasty and mummified, months later.

I think the attraction of sweet smells is universal because sugars are extremely valuable, just basic mammalian olfactory chemistry, not necesarily because these smells are omnipresent in nature. After all most mammals like bananas and melons and seagulls steal ice cream.

Another problem with natural jam or honey is that it has little smell of its own. Some of the volatiles are gone during cooking and a large part of the smell attractiveness comes from the jammy, caramelized sugar part (Maillard reaction products).

I play with substances that occur naturally in fermented or cooked foods. In nature yeasts often get to sugars first, and their metabolites have more smell than the sugars themselves so these substances have signal value.

Try furaneol, it is definitely very attractive. Vanillin is also good. I also think some natural fruit esters are very promising as enhancers, and so is phenylacetic acid.

Ethyl maltol is definitely far-reaching and attractive at least to rodents (I offered some to a pet rat who likes to self-anoint, and she just started eating it, instead of being repelled, or showing mild interest, or self-anointing), not sure about marten though.