Scent-free Is it necessary?

I'm from the old school of trapping canines, and that is being scent free as possible, down to wearing fresh gloves, never wear the same boots, while setting traps that I drive in, and even wearing a bandana , so I don't breath on the trap set.
Yesterday, I put a pine squirrel down a hole in a sand hill, that I dug with my gloved hand, gloves that I wear everyday to work in, wearing the same work boots, even kneeling to dig the hole as far as I could reach. Then put up a trail cam just to see. That same night. Results: 1 yote dug the heck out of the hole to get the squirrel, 3 fox checked the hole out, 1 bear even stuck his snout in the hole.
I'm not proposing to be a slob while setting traps, but is being scent-free being pushed to much?

I've brought this subject up mainly from my reading of books and articles from Daily, Thorpe, Lennon, Dobbins and others years ago, just kinda sprung into the brain.

This bait was placed in the middle of a National Forrest, where there is very little human contact.

I don't get caught up on the whole scent free kick to a k9 nothing is scent free. I paint all my traps never any problems. I wear gloves to just to prevent wear and tare on my hands. Boots to keep my feet dry. I wear the same boots in and out the vehicle from the house. I just make my sets as quick as I can and keep moving along. Good location, well bedded trap, rest is up to the animals. I agree on don't be a slob about it but no need to put your self in a plastic bubble.

Pretty much no matter what you do the animal knows you were there at some point in time. So being comfortable and confident in what you are doing is most important just my opinion on it.

I don't use gloves of any kind setting coyote/wolf snares or traps. As long as you are relatively clean you will leave very little scent from your hands. Most of the scent will be from your body. Just get in, set and get out as quickly as possible and you will have little problem. Coyotes are generally quite familiar with human scent and will know that you were there; you just don't want to leave a bunch at the set.

I agree.

I wear Dans hip boots to protect my legs from briers and getting wet. I wear gloves when its cold. But take them off to set my snares. Foot holds get set and bedded with out gloves.

Getting in and out fast in more inportant. Dont to leave a big scent pool.

Ed Schneider of Kansas Trapline Products catches more coyotes than most of us dream to. In one of his videos he uses his baseball cap to blend in the dirt at his set just to prove a point.

In all seriousness though look at any reports of what a search k9 is capable of and then think about a coyotes nose being better than that. They'll always know you were there.

Yes, and lets not forget where he traps.
Mac

Back in the late 70s' we had a guy in our County Trappers Association took a brand new trap, untreated, set with bare hands for red fox. He wanted to prove it to everybody that it can be done, actually he did well. I still did and do my sets with all the scent-control precautions. but I never did or heard of the the bandana thing though...

Lots of the old timers wore bandana's Setting Sets If you read some of the old Wolf Trapper books. You can read about - great details the ol timers went threw on scent free. Example ? They buried their tools in horse manure They used tarps made of calf skins. They wore Indian style moccassins. They rode un shoed horses. Because they believed in not have the = iron smell of horse shoes around Sets the list goes on

The old timers would have done just as well setting with bare hands and not wallowing in poop.

The area I trap is a true wilderness area with zero human activity except some minor activity during rifle season. I've watched coyotes hit my scent where I hiked into my deer stand. They turn inside out. I've watched them cross in the pasture near the house where I had just been and they ignore the scent. Are coyotes less wary of human scent where there is regular human activity such as small farms? I find the same thing with deer. If I'm hunting the orchard 50 yards from the house they tolerate human odor much more than say when I'm on a high wooded ridge a long way from any human activity. They will not tolerate even the slighted human odor.

I agree. But concider the learning curve? They didn't have books,DVD, or YouTube. They had to learn from their OWN mistakes. So scent was over done. They had to do it all by trial and era. No 1 told the trappers of the 1880 = Hey , just try Formula 1 or logwood dye LOL!!

Most of the areas I trap have a lot of human presence around. All the animals are used to seeing (and smelling people), hearing farm equipment, 4 wheelers, trucks etc. I don't think they sense as much danger as animals that are living in areas with few people.

I don't get too hung up on it but I also don't set traps with gasoline on my hands either.

Brian

For sure I agree. I think even with all of the information out there there’s still a learning curve. There’s still people that won’t set a trap without wax, dye, different gloves, different boots, etc. Information is more readily available but even some of it talked about now seems overdone.

There’s guys with coyote trapping DVD’s that haven’t caught over a hundred, ever. If a new trapper were to watch some of these DVD’s, YouTube etc. they’d still think they had to play in poop.

I admit I was more cautious when I started trapping. Now I’m focused on one thing. More traps in the ground and the least amount of time to get it done.

I don’t trap in the vast wilderness. Coyotes encounter human scent daily here there’s at least a farm house on most square miles. I’m also not trying to kill the last coyote. So for me scent means little to nothing.

The less scent I leave at the set the faster it will dissipate to a point where it will be undetectable or so faint it is not considered an immediate threat.
For me, that equates to faster response times and more first night catches.

A few years back I did a little experiment. On my first 30 coyotes of the season I pulled around 30% on first night catches.
Rubber boots, gloves, and a kneepad were used to reduce scent.

The next season my location, lures, baits, & sets all remained a constant with the only variable being that I started using a tarp.
My first night catches jumped to 50%, catching 15 of my first 30 coyotes on the first night. That increase was enough to make me sit up a take notice.

I believe using a tarp can knock the smell down enough where the scent is so faint it is not seen as a present danger like a stronger smell would be.

When I have an old timer tell me to use a tarp and he’s caught well over 1000 coyotes in year, I pay attention.

This is a really good topic!!! I agree with you WadeRyan. Always a learning curve. Lots of stuff and info on the internet BUT also a lot of crap! Guys that have caught that many. Acting like they know everything! Holly Wood guys everywhere! LoL! I also agree with Tejas. I started with the tarp about 3 years and near 1000 coyotes ago. I can honestly say = I have Sean an increase on first night catches !! The tarp also makes for MUCH cleaner flat sets. But on the flip side. To play devils advocate = I often set traps Bear handed and make lots of dirthole I wear tennis shoes sometimes in stead of rubber boots. It depends on how long I am at a place and weather sometimes

Anyone ever think about the bait your using a a scent concern. And I mean not talking about contamination I mean just the smells of lure down the hole or what ever. Like some of these are extremely exotic smells, seems something too unnatural could pose a possible problem

Wolfdog91. I have thought some on it. Muskrat VS a real rat? I'd say coyote can't tell a difference Most of my coyote contract jobs are in hot weather So I Set very few dirtholes. Mainly flat sets. I do set lots of dirtholes In Wet weather. But with flat sets. Ogormans and many other lure makers have = Exotic stuff in them. Wiley E. Has mint? In it. I have caught 100s of coyotes with this lure of Mr Ogorman's Lure. So my view is = exotic can catch you lots of coyotes at Flat sets

Excellent responses from everyone. New experiment today. Made another mock dirthole about 20 feet away, this time rub my ungloved hands, all over the squirrel, hole about 18 inches deep, lite dirt covering. About 2 feet away, I took a leak, to see what happens. Tomorrow the same type mock set, but I borrowed some of the wife's perfume, just to see the response from any critter.

Back long ago I used to use a tarp to kneel on when making a set
A few first night catches.
Then my knees cried out so I started using knee pads and dropped the tarp.
About the same first night catches.
I really don’t like adding a step or a piece of gear, but I am considering using both?
Does anyone do this? Results?

I use a dollar store rubber kneeling pad. Wouldn’t leave home without it. It keeps your knees dry and does a great job of blending once you’re done. Everything gets carried to location one time, no back and forth to get this or that. I do wear gloves (except for baiting luring) bc I believe there is a difference between having your scent at a location and having direct human scent on an object you just placed there. I’ve seen the proof too often to believe otherwise. Break a limb off to clear a trail on your way to your deer stand with no gloves and then watch the reaction of the next deer that walks through. And it’s no secret deer don’t smell as well as canines. Nope, no chance of ever fooling a canine’s nose, but if taking just a few easy extra precautions can help even a little, why not do them?

Wade has a good point for us that trap coyotes around here. There are farm houses and acreages at least every mile and even every 1/2 mile around here. Farm equipment, a little trash blowing around here and there, our coyotes encounter human scent every single day and 99% of the time id wager what they encounter doesn't hurt them or cause a negative reaction so why would they be wary of it. While the odor could be offensive it probably doesn't hurt them. Ive got a doe and fawn that walk right long rhe little chain link fence around our septic lagoon. All the books would say deer wont go near that thing stinking like human excrement in its breakdown stages but ours do and fairly frequently too, within 5 to 10 feet of it. Doesnt hurt them, its common around here.

One of my best guaranteed a coyote or two each sesson spots is same little opening in field where the farmer gets out to take a whiz, ive watched him do it. The center of the road even has oil and other fluid drippings where his tractor idles while he steps out. My theory is neither odor there caused a negative reaction to a coyote and they seem to like both dirthole bait sets and post sets at that very spot...same as they do on the next farm along an open fencerow. Why would I chose to set where he (the farmer) pees and has fuel and oil drops? I don't know but I set i every year and I catch a few there every season like clockwork. I have no clue why, it defies everything I read not to do near a set.

Now...around here every truck that stops tends to shoot at coyotes standing in open...that id wager is a bigger fear factor for our coyotes.
Ive set with and without gloves. I do my best to have clean equipment and be quick and get in get out but I don't overly worry about it.
Jim

Every coyote has a threshold of human scent (or sight, or sound) it’s willing to accept as safe.

For some it’s a lot.

Others it’s very little.

Exploited populations versus un-exploited change this.

Population density changes this.

And a lot of other individual factors specific to individual coyotes.

Since my goal is to catch ALL the coyotes, and not knowing every coyote that may walk by my set, I take basic, common sense precautions at reducing and managing human intrusion at locations.

Dumb, bold, aggressive coyotes are easy to catch. But they aren’t all dumb, bold, and aggressive.

Just checked the game camera, no yotes, but I did have a fox come and take the squirrel, and then another fox checked out the hole. However what surprised me was a bear came into about 2 feet from where I took a leak, and hightailed it out of there, never knew for the size they could move so fast. So, I'm thinking maybe because the fox has very little to no contact with humans, human scent don't bother them. However, since bear season is in, the bear has had human contact of some kind.

Muskrats VS a barn rat ? If I can tell the difference a coyote sure could. A muskrat has a very distinctive odor more so then a barn rat or a cotton rat. I'm sure any kind of meat In the hole will catch coyotes but the muskrat stands alone when It comes to a powerful odor.

Beav. You maybe correct. But the Alabama coyotes in the cutovers I am trapping have NEVER Sean a muskrat. I see large rats in log piles all the time So that's why I buy muskrat meat from MB in 5 gallon buckets. I know nothing about muskrats Only that the muskrat bait I buy is runny and goes slippery down a small punch hole. And catches coyotes here. I was questing. A rat is a rat. But if you say muskrats are Way different. I will believe you.

Perfectly put...

You will NEVER convince a coyote you weren't there now matter how fast you make a set, even if ya wear a wet suit and a mask. But, it pays off to have clean equipment and clean about yourself. The population is low here compared to other parts of the world. If I don't catch as many as possible that come to a set then my catch suffers big time. It's not how many you catch, it's how many more could you have caught..

Boy,I can't argue with any of that,either.

X2, here as well!

If making a blind trail set it's possible to come in from the side, place descented trap and drag with a pole, and push a few grass strands atop the trap. I consider that like using an AR to kill a mouse.

More knowledge right there. Where you stand when you make a set will have a affect on some coyotes, not all but some.

this sums it up pretty well

Yep, I agree with what Boone Liane said.
I don't see too much avoidance on my lines.
I feed them with bait piles all over. They hope they smell me. . .

The key to great success IMO.

Your body is constantly sheading dead skin particles that canines probably have no difficulty smelling. Depending on the weather and the length of time that has transpired, they most likely know you've been there whether you wear gloves or not.

I don’t need to convince them I wasn’t there.

I need to convince them it’s safe regardless that I was there.

If scent was that much of a factor it would be impossible to catch summertime coyotes...especially down South.

I think I read somewhere that = Human Scent molicules disapates quicker in hot and humid weather quicker than other types of weather

Or provide enough attraction that it out weighs their caution.

It's not our scent that we need to control!

I tie fresh skinned coyote hide on my boots.
Also made a pair of gloves out of fresh skinned coyote hide.
Traps,snares and tools are sanitized like surgical equpment.
Wear SENTLOCK suits.Like a deer hunter.
After the set is made I sprat it with SENTLOCK .Ever my trail in and out.
Then my screet is Scuba gear. I dont want to breath on anything.

I don’t worry much about scent control. I make sure my traps are clean, I wear gloves to handle bait and I’m careful not to ever let the outside of those gloves touch anything but the inside of my bait bag. Then I set barehanded if it’s warm. Cotton gloves if it’s real cold. A coyotes will be able to tell if you are still there, you were there yesterday, or if you were there last week. I trap for fur, most of my trapping is not for a landowner or trouble critters, so I don’t care to fool with catching all the super wary ones. Gotta leave some seed for next year anyways. I catch dumb, desperate and brave ones and don’t lose sleep over the ones that are still out there.

Now, if I was out to kill a certain coyote, or was being paid to kill every last one, different story. I’d be as anal as any whitetail hunter.

Peed in the pipe and caught a large female yote 2 days later. Some coyote are more paranoid than others over our or foriegn scents. I dont worry about scent as much as I used to.

Very good post. Some areas there are no dumb bold aggressive coyotes. They are all shot by the U.S.D.A. guy out of a plane, or hung in a snare on the fence by a sheep herder, or killed with a cyanide gun by the rancher or county predator control agent.

So when you ask "Scent-free Is it necessary?", I say it depends.


P.S. scent free isnt possible I am very aware. IMO it helps to hold it down as much as you can . Sometimes. Fur trapping getting more sets out is what you want

KISS in and out fast

Had guys cutting wood all day at one spot. 2 inches snow. Dirty sweaty clothing gas oil etc and had lunch made by wives and eaten out of dirty hands. Left a lot of scraps in snow and next morning all was cleaned up by yotes. Some are just used to people and tolerate scent and I believe they even check out what we were up to.

I agree with Boone, my experience is fresh yotes and virgin ground is fairly easy to stack some up in that area quickly ( brave, stupid, starving, young, aka “ the cream “ ) but there are still yotes in most of those areas most times that are more wary of what im doing and where ive been. They take a little more tact to catch in my opinion, but when I move same results catch the cream work for the butter. I still wear gloves to set, wax and dye my traps, and dont use same gloves for bait as I set with. Gloves dont bother me it’s normally cold and im wearing them anyways, fast and efficient sets also have everything there to complete the set fully get up and make next one.

But what if I smell good? My wife says I do.

Very interesting responses, and eye opening. We've come a long ways in all trapping matters from the times when the likes, of Thorpe, Hawbacker, Dailey, Dobbins and other great ones, that I grew up reading their articles and books. In fact I looked at their articles as the
Bible verses of the trapping world.
I more than likely will never change the way I trap canines, cause I'm kind of stubborn and set in my ways, but I also know that I'll never be one to catch 100 canines during the trapping season.
But I always go out and come back home with a smile, after a day on the line.

Reading through this thread has been interesting been at this for 53 yrs.
And still I learn , on location, and natural, make up for alot stuff.
I like knee pads because my knee get sore the older I get. I agree with what been said . Some can be trapped some can be shot some can be snared some can airplaned some can m44 ed they all have a fault just like us or weak spot let's say . All we got do is find it.

To add to this there is a difference for fur trapping coyotes and catching the one doing the killing . Or the last one if there is such a thing.
But in and out reasonably cleanly is a good practice imo.

That'll work.

Truth is that coyotes today grow up around humans and make at least part of their living stealing our livestock or eating our garbage, they are exposed to rusty steel at every fence and if they ran from every human caused scent there would be no coyotes at all in the lower 48. that may not have been true a hundred years ago and surely wasn't true 150 years ago, so maybe the old timers were kinda correct at the time, but their best efforts never left a scent free site.
Truth is no human was ever scent free and the crap sold to kill human scent has it's own scent.
"convince them that it is safe" covers it all, they can watch you build the set and if the bait is interesting enough they will check it out as you walk off.
I used to approach sets from a distance and make a loop trail around them so that I didn't leave tracks at the set when checking it until tracks taught me that the critters were following my new trails as often as the set trail; I was actually leading targets away from my sets.

The only extra things i swear by are cotton gloves & a kneeling pad.

IMO most trappers over think things re coyote and wolf trapping and spend too much time constructing sets leaving a concentration of scent and disturbance. Coyotes and wolves are very familiar with human scent, wire, cable, and chain debris in the bush from logging etc. Just have confidence, get in, set and get out as quickly as possible and you will have little problem.

I dont wear a rubber suit by any means but i do wax and dye my traps and wear rubber palmed gloves and i wear my lacross burlys i work in i just find a fresh pile of cow manure to walk through after chores to use as a cover scent to mask the oil or diesel i may have stepped in through the day