Problem with a Duke body grip

Hello. I've been reading the forum off and on for a while but just signed up yesterday. I have a couple questions I'm hoping to get help on. I live in a neighborhood with close housing and coons/skunks are tearing up my yard. I've seen them on my trail cam. So I made a box set with a Duke 155 in it (biggest above ground allowed in Ohio).

To date I've caught 4 coons and 2 possums (who weren't the culprits). I made it the way you see to get skunks up inside and keep them from raising their tail to spray when caught and stinking up the neighborhood. Came up with this design after reading about the Skunker style traps online. Those are live catch, mine intentionally isn't.

1) From trail camera images, I now know body grip traps aren't instant death. Takes about 4 or 5 minutes which bothers me a lot. I'm thinking about welding an 1/8" x 1/4" deep bar across the 2 jaws so when the trap closes, the 1/8" edges clamp down on the animal instead of the 3/16" round bar hopefully killing it quickly. The trap always closes just behind the skull but it still takes too long. Would my idea work and be a quicker kill?

2) Several times (when my trail cam wasn't set) I've had some creature go into the trap at night and eat the marshmallows and sardines without setting off the trap. What animal might that be? It's at night and they evidently slip through the open spaces without bumping the trigger. A weasel maybe?

The distance from the trigger to the bait is about 7" and the box is tight for a coon or skunk so I doubt they could go up to the trigger then reach through and grab the bait. But IDK, maybe I'll get a trail cam image some time.

Here are 2 pics of the set, outside and inside.

Kill bars came on Bulldog 220's when they were made, and some folks add them.

You could have better results if you turn the trap upside down, bend triggers and add a pan, for them to step on, to trip it.

Mice or rats could be stealing your bait.

Also, you'll get better results with slots barely larger than the spring wires, most folks make slots about 3/8"-1/2" max. It keeps the trap coming straight out without flying around.

Why do you have the trap so far into the box? I don't think a pan will help you out when trapping coon. It's feet will never get to the pan since a coon Is to big of an animal.
It's not the traps fault you are just using to small of a trap for the job. And adding kill bars Isn't going to help. Hate to tell you this but a skunk doesn't have to raise Its tail to deliver It's essence.

The other thing you should look into is how much trigger movement Is there before the trap fires.

I know you can only use that sized trap but the bottom line Is this, your using the wrong sized trap for the job.
My suggestion would be go to using live traps.

How old are the traps? I've used 155s for years and they never move except the odd possum or suitcased kit coon.

Do need to move your trap up in the box. Also realize that some raccoons just won't go in the box. Which is fine for fur work but nuisance work, I'm going cages nearly every time.

The coons are always dead. Hit right behind the skull with everything just the way I've shown it. I just don't like how long it takes - 4 to 5 minutes.

I thought some skinny kill bars would be quicker than the round rods the trap is made out of. Trap is only a few months old.

I have no problem catching them, I got a huge one this morning. They apparently don't mind going in.

I have a cage trap and have used it. Works well. However if a skunk goes in there I don't want to deal with it. I've read on this forum and others about how to do it, I just am not interested. Living where I do eliminates firearm usage unfortunately. Otherwise a cage trap and shotgun would be the ticket for skunks or coons since I'm not harvesting fur.

Mice are most likely your bait stealers...i dont think a weasel would be interested in marshmallows.
It's a coin toss whether skunks will spray in bodygrips but they most definitely can in my experience, whether in a box or or not.
Cage is better option, use a blanket or large enough box to cover the caged skunk for relocation...and move the cage slowly when you do.
Caged skunks placed in deep enough water to cover cage is a decent and cheap no spray option if not relocating.

I welded a kill bar onto one of my Dukes and have had good results. I now use Belisles when I can as I like the design better. I would add a spacer to bring out the kill bar out farther to tighten the gap more.

buy a CTM 5X5 and you will be amazed in the difference. I found the same in using the Minnesota Brand 160 with the kill bar compared to other 160s. Those are my go-to skunk traps as it is lights out. Beslisle is not making a two spring 5x5 to my knowledge, only a 150. I would assume there 120's would do it.

CTM is Ohio made too! CTM 126

Using Skunk baits will reduce other catches if you desire. By now I would suggest grub based baits.

Rob Erickson, Bob Noonan, and one of the Kaatz Bros each have good books on the subject.

CTM o r the 5x7 WCS is selling are what I run in Ohio. Springs are much better as they are using 160 springs instead of 110 springs

I would suggest using a pan trigger trap set back about 7-8 inches from an anchored down bait. In this situation the coon will generally step on the pan while working the bait with it,s head and shoulders thru the jaws. When the trap is fired the result will a neck/thorax strike resulting in the quickest dispatch possible.

Here's what I found: https://www.minntrapprod.com/CTM-126-5-x-5-Jaw-Spread/productinfo/CTM126/
From the picture it looks fairly similar to my Duke. How would the CTM kill quicker?

I'm a little confused...do you have a photo or drawing of this spacer configuration?

This spooks me a little. I'd be afraid of catching it in it's face unless I'm not visualizing/understanding it correctly. Before I figured out how to properly put the trap in my box set, I caught a possum in it's face, not it's neck and it was awful. It suffered all night and was still alive in the morning.

I have no experience with the spraying thing, just relating what I've read numerous places on the internet about the tail raising. Unfortunately I don't have anything large enough to hold my big cage trap unless I go buy a horse watering trough. Not worth it for this one problem. Plus drowning doesn't appeal to me. I have no problem killing them, I just want it to be quick and humane. Here in Ohio it's illegal to relocate skunks, coons and a few other critters.

my spacers are pcs of same dia rod as the new jaw, maybe 1/4"-3/8" long, welded perpendicular on old jaw and then to new jaw., like a "standoff" when in machinery. forms a T, then when you weld other end of spacer, it is an I......capital i.
2 spacers about 3" apart on 220's

I have used this pan setup for many years on mink, marten and fisher with total success. Never a bad catch when set the appropriate distance for the target species. With a 4-5" set back from the bait always a neck/thorax strike on mink and marten and a neck catch on fisher. With the appropriate set back for any species, including fisher at greater distance than 4-5", I do no see any problem with not attaining a neck/thorax
strike. You just need to experiment a bit to find the correct set back distance for the species.

Now if the critters neck was only 1/2" thick that might help. I don't think that's going to help In killing coon.

bctomcat those pans are great for those smaller critters but that small of a opening is going to have that coons chin hitting that pan.

Need I suggest to you; use a larger trap for a larger species set back the appropriate distance so that its shoulders are within the trap jaws or nearly so when it fires the trap by stepping on the pan.

But the poster can only use 155s

OK, forgot about that ridiculous regulation he has to deal with.

Catch skunks in live trap and then walk up to the trap holding up a blanket. Cover the trap and carry it away. Have done it many times without getting sprayed. Plenty of pellet gun options that will dispatch a skunk too.

I had the Duke trap AND my cage trap out last night and both were empty today and the bait hadn't been touched. Maybe the yard rototilling is over with and the last giant coon I got was the end of it. Thank you all for your suggestions and help. I emailed Duke about the kill bars and he pretty much said, "yep, go ahead. it'll probably kill them quicker" so I think I'll do that.

BTW, I had used suggestions on Trapperman to adjust the trigger on the Duke trap. It originally had too much swing to it, now it works well. Close to being too touchy but still OK. Thanks to whoever posted the info.

Not too worried about carrying it somewhere, just dispatching it. I do have a very nice customized RWS 34 .22 pellet gun but unfortunately it's nearly as loud as an actual .22. I dispatch cage trapped coons in the garage with the door shut but won't do that with a skunk. My wife would be livid with that aroma floating up to our bedroom.

Maybe it's all over though, I'll set out traps for a couple more nights and see what happens.

Yes, very irritating. Can't go larger even in a box set like mine where it's WAY back inside.

Beav there are zero issues using pans on larger animals. 220’s with a pan equal a coon snapped behind the ears 99% of the time and 90% of the time they’re still laying in the box.

Not when the trap Is 5 inches square and Is 12" back In a 6X6 box. That coon Isn't walking It's crawling. And It's head Is a long way out In front of It's feet.
Now If that animal Is walking I can see It but not the way the poster Is doing It.

Problem is the OP is using 155's and with a pan you lose another inch of that small square already. So unless he has baby coons there is no way that would work well. Now if you had a pan like Sam wood was kinda playing around with it might work.

My question to buddy5 is with the trap as far back as it can go and pushs forward when tripped could it be hitting to far back and sliding to the neck as the coon fights

Skunks are hard to kill with a 120 sized bodygrip-even a magnum.There is something about the way their carotids are situated that when they get a single strike to the neck they are not dispatched quickly.
160 is a better trap and you want to move the trigger to get a double strike.
Since you cant use a trap that size there is one 120 sized trap that will put their lights out quick.It is the sauvageau C-120 magnum.They are hard to find as they are not made anymore.The next best trap legal for you would be the sauvageau 2001-5.

Caught a medium size possum in the trap the other night, the jaws hit right behind it's head like they were supposed to and he stayed quite alive all night and I found him like that in the morning. Turned him lose and he went off with very little problem.

I haven't done the kill bars yet but that showed me that since I'm not allowed to use a proper size trap, I really need to do them. Might even sharpen the edges since I don't care about fur. I will look up that sauvageau trap though.

When I inspected the trap, I saw that the bar the dog rides on is curved to allow dog movement. I'm thinking that curve is part of my problem on this small trap. I'll fill that in with the shape of the kill bar, allowing a 3/32" crack in the middle for the dog, then the bottom edge will be flat to meet up with the flat edge on the other kill bar.

You let It go??? grinners are more destructive to wild life then just about any other critter. And carry lots of diseases.


Don't sharpen the edges no reason to cause the animal more problems and It still won't get the job done. And I don't think kill bars are going to make a difference.

Is that 155 sized trap a single spring trap If so that Is your problem. If you have more the one 155 take a spring off of that trap and put It on the other one. Then I believe your problems will be over.

Well so much for that Idea I just looked at The Duke add and I see their 155 sized trap Is a double spring. I guess It's back to square one.

Deleted post.

Don't be saying those things On this forum that's not how trappers deal with things. WE respect the animals we trap.

2X

x3
Are you an ejit?

I'm binging to wonder about buddy5. I think a moderator should kill this thread.

Sorry guys, no harm meant. My thought process was to ensure an instant death thereby respecting the animal rather than knowingly letting it suffer for some length of time. Which I might add, happens when you drown it and that was suggested by others earlier. Letting it suffer while it drowns seems rather disgusting to me hence the reason for trying to work through a more humane and instant process.

Due to the legal restraints placed on us in Ohio, I was trying to figure out how to best operate within the parameters I have to work in. I have the process down for coons or possums in a cage trap but if skunks are involved, the dispatching process is considerably more difficult. As I mentioned, others appear to be OK with the animal suffering while it drowns but I wouldn't be able to do that.

Skunks arent a complicated process and people are more nervous about them than is warranted. We don't have a lot of em in my part of they stayed but I catch a few mostly in nuisance situations. Find a local nuisance guy in your area and see if they can teach you how to take care of em.

I've only got hit once by a skunk and it was just a few drops. It was just mad as can be before I even got there apparently. As soon as he saw me he unleashed a 180* arc of spray and I was just barely in range. Most of the ones I've dealt with i could put in the truck without covering, though I still do.

Nuisance trappers here carry them back to their shop and put them in a CO2 box. As a homeowner, to dispatch one in a neighborhood is a problem as I mentioned in some previous posts. I weld with CO2 but not sure I want to build a setup just for an occasional skunk.

x2



Please educate yourself more on how to handle dispatching a trapped animal humanely. If you cannot use the proper trap or dispatch method, leave it to the professionals.

Cysquatch, how would you dispatch a cage trapped skunk while living in a neighborhood? Would you have a different method that hasn't been discussed yet? I'm quite open to learning something new if it's quick and humane. I have no issue dispatching other animals, skunks are the problem.

In terms of educating myself:

Nuisance trapping professionals around here use cage traps which I also have and use. Secondly, they dispatch the animals with a CO2 box which I can also do if I were to build one. However, according to a training manual on nwco.net Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators (which details simple plans for building one) it takes skunks about 30 minutes to expire.

So that is the professional method. Maybe you have a better solution?

That's a recommendation but it's not what all professionals use. It's definitely not what I use.

PM

SniperB, I have a friend that works for a large local suburban pest control outfit. I can't believe how much money they get to get rid of your coons, etc. Anyway, we were discussing what they do with the critters and he told me they all make their rounds, load their trucks up with the cages, then back to the office to the CO2 boxes. I haven't talked to other companies so maybe some have a different method.

Look up Bob Noonan's odorless skunk removal book.

Just found this thread on a skunk poke pole. https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/391964/ultimate-skunk-pole

Thanks to someone on here, I learned about the Therminator Skunkinator Poke Pole and DIY versions. That's a device I didn't know about. It's only 60" long though. Will it work on coons & possums too and will it go through the mesh of a standard Havaheart cage trap?

possums i dont know, coon dont bother as youll just end up getting your pole broke as they will fight it. Not familiar with that type of system but if its not a thumb controlled pole like I have that WCS sells, they generally dont fit in cages without opening the doors or cutting access ports.

Good grief. INSTANT DEATH OR NOTHING!!!
Good luck with that. You are dreaming, my friend. The skunk pole isn't instant, drowning isn't, either. Nor a knock on the head, a heart attack, a stroke, electrocution, lethal injection, poison, hanging, getting run over by a car, most car accidents, getting eaten by another animal, starving, disease, and the list goes on.
It is admirable to be as humane as possible, and most here strive for best practices, but death is never an instantaneous, flash-boom occurence.
I'm sorry.
On the other hand, neither is birth....

A view point most should consider

I believe the AIHTS agreement requires time to unconsciousness in anything not a weasel or marten to be less than 5mins.

When my buddy was In the business he used the CO2 box . It was pretty quick and painless.
When I worked on a fox farm we electrocuted the fox It was fast but a far cry from being painless.
I don't believe you could ever put down a coon with a skunk pole.

Does anyone know if there are legal issues about using acetone to euthanize nuisance skunks? Of course if you keep your mouth shut there aren't any but just asking.

We use It.

I've heard it could be an issue in some areas, as far as I know, Ohio isnt one of those.

I've caught 6 coons and I think 5 possums so far. Mostly with my body grip setup. Coons are always dead, possums are nearly always alive. Must be made differently than coons or are tougher.

I made the mistake of turning the possums loose from both my cage trap and my body gripper. I'm now very suspicious that possums are part of my trouble.

The problem now is that I've educated them. Any advice on how to catch them in one of those two traps? Change bait? Something else?

I don't think you can educate a grinner.

I hope not. I had my cage trap set up last night in an area they recently rototilled and nothing this morning. Bait hadn't been touched (sardines and canned cat food) but down about 50' from there was another dig.