have some wood chucks under the old slabs around the barn
they are making a mess and digging under the slabs

started by filling in the holes with gravel to see where they were active.

then when I had target locations , I put cages a few feet away in the event they would go there

I also blended a 1 1/2 long spring about 9 inches out of the hole so as they were leaving they would have to cross the trap.
chained so the trap is already at full extension of the chain where it is bedded.

1 front foot and 1 hind foot catch on 1 trap in 2 nights.

they dig out plenty of sand so just sifting from the pile they leave makes for easy bedding material.

I also picked up a sow coon in a cage trap.

I usually use a 160 with a pan when they get under the shed, but the foot hold works too....
Saw a big coon last night, turned on the motion detector...will work on that big bugger tonite!..

I use snares, rbg, and 1.5 dukes over the years. Usually whatever I run across in the shead or barn first. The boys have caught som in box traps as well. They sure make a mess geting under the barn. I suspect there is not much solid dirt under the concrete at this point. We kill 7 to 14 a year on the farm between trapping and shooting.

A 160 in the hole.

they have some cats around they might like to keep.

also a little dog they say never goes down by the barn , but I don't fully believe that

they also had some feral cats they were fine with going away.

the chances of the cat going in the hole is slim but not zero.

if barn cats weren't a thing all my trapping would get easier , it's always how to try not to get cats that can't be let go.

they asked this morning , if I was shooting them and hauling them off.

Yup

how come we never hear any gun shots

well it wasn't because I wasn't shooting , gun mufflers are awesome.

the husband came down to see , so I shot the dirt pile for him. so he could hear why they heard no shots at the house 100 yards away.

I use a very old Havahart live trap. I use only one side.
I toss Cantaloupe in the back of the trap for bait.

Always seem to be one or two around that come up to my workshop and hang around or worse they come up to the house and chew on the siding.

You set the foothold just like I do for them. Often don't even need to sift anything over the trap, but I do anyway.

The first litter is out and about here, cleaning out garden beds.

Mine are all on my own property. If one starts digging under the barn the hole gets covered with a 160. That usually takes care of the problem. Lots of cats here too. If they are loose on my farm they are the owner's problem. I'd rather not catch the good mousers, but don't worry about it too much. I usually trap/shoot 5 or 6 every year. So far this year I have killed (shot) 12 and number 13 is comming up.

todays was very small maybe a pound, yesterdays was an adult

Yep cats will definitely go down a hole i foud out after not a single problem in 9 years. Maybe it was chasing a mouse or something but it went in the hole. Once.. relaxing lock cable restraints have worked perfectly and anything can be released

Place a cage trap directly in front of the entry hole and then block the sides and the top such that only way out of the hole is through the trap. No bait is typically necessary, but place a sweet type fruit under the trap just behind the trip pan if you want. The attached pics show a Comstock double door trap but a single door works just as well.

I caught a lot of problem woodchucks out of old dirt floor sheds. A #1 long with chain wired to a concrete block holds them easily and the block can be used as part of the guiding and funneling. You don’t have to bed the trap by did. Remember to put it a couple inches off to the side of a direct centerline. Woodys feet are on side and their little bodies are a little wide: All you need to do is build a couple funnel walls with about anything. Piles of dirt, boards, whatever you got handy nearby. Make the funnel v-shaped and the corner lure goes in the point of the funnel. You can funnel and guide them into cages too.
I know there are a lot of woodchuck baits and lures on the market but I had my best luck with hawbakers coon lure, seriously. For some reason that was the woodchuck magnate around here.
Jim

I can see where a recessed door trap like that would be very handy

that would work for one location here.

the other is a hole up a small embankment in the gravel under the slab.
the slab used to extend to the silos, the silos are long gone only the foundation remains

Ksnow like this

Yep, that looks like how I set them. If the sand is really loose, I will add a pan cover and put a light sifting over the trap. If its gravel, I won't cover it at all, just snug it down tight.

And stake that chain full length away from the hole. I've had to dig out more than one 'chuck. When they get in the hole, they do NOT want to come back out.

no they get those front shoulders through the narrow opening and they can hold very tight.

that set is on concrete nothing good to stake to , so I have 2 rotors bolted together with the swivel coming out of the middle

As mentioned above, I've used concrete blocks to anchor also. Woodchucks don't move them very far at all. And I can usually find one pretty close on most farms around here.

Seems like a foot hold in front of the hole will still catch the dog or the cats.
Dig out the hole place the 160 or 155 in the hole. Make a wire encloser and place it over the trap so nothing can get into the trap from the outside. I trap a lot of public ground, and I have this type of encloser to make the set a one-way set.

that is a good idea.

with the foot hold I could just release the dog or cat.