Human sent

How long does it last?

Depends on how much u leave. With coyotes my guess would in average conditions and time involved in making a set I'd guess they know u were there for at that least 3 or 4 days. How much human odor they will tolerate enough to work set and get caught depends on several variables. My 2 cents.

Put it to you like this. Bloodhounds can still pick up on human scent via skin cells ( which ,unless your wear a bubble suit your dropping everywhere 24/7/) for 12.5 days if not more . Don't know the specifics but I remember reading coyotes can smell even better then that. So long story short their gonna smell you. Guys down here are live market trapping during the summer in 90+ degrees sweating like pigs and there making catches within a few days usually so that should tell you something

Thanks ,I just asked because I made a few sets with no gloves!
But I had a kneeling pad.

IMO in most good coyote habitat, around rural farm and ranch areas, coyotes are very familiar with human (and other) scent and do not shy away from it unless concentrated in one spot associated with something else like a baited dirt hole; pee post or whatever.
In my experience if you are basically clean you leave very little scent with your feet or hands. If you are worried about it just rub some local vegetation on your hands before setting. Actually, you leave much more scent from your body; essentially have confidence, keep it simple and just get in, set and get out as quickly as possible. Your body sheds off much more scent than you leave with bare hands and will generally dissipate in a day or so.
_________________________

Exactly right on bloodhounds. We constantly shed microscopic dead skin cells.. This is how bloodhounds track. A test was done putting a person in a trunk of a car & drove around a couple of streets & the dog traveled the exact route. Would love to see test results of wild animals on their scenting ability

I set without gloves or a kneeling pad, and I still catch coyotes regularly. I think after a day or two they can still smell you but they can tell you’re no longer there and will work a set anyway. Last year I made a two sets on a warm day, no gloves, no kneeling pad, sweating all over, had a coyote double the next day. Don’t get too caught up in stressing over human scent. Get in, make your sets quickly and efficiently, get out, and then check em from a distance. Catch the dumb ones and move on.

this is for fur trapping. If you’re doing control work where getting every last one is important then you absolutely need to cross every T and dot every i to fool the wise ones.

I truly believe a well formulated attractant takes the caution away caused by human odor/presents. I wear gloves to protect my hands and take my time making sets correctly. Trap is always on the downwind side of the set. I get straight line approaches and more consistent catches than when I raced to make sets. If I walked from the tough ones here, I wouldn't trap many coyotes. By November they are all pressured from the increased human traffic from deer hunters and nighttime calling. I've had to adjust and do both at the same time. When the population was higher it was almost easy, now it's not....

What you've been eating/drinking makes difference too!

Lots of speculation on this topic. Mainly because we lack the ability to smell the same cues our targets do.

JMO, but odor producing molecules are so prevalent both on ourselves and on every living thing in the environment that I imagine it would be almost physically impossible to go undetectable to something as sensitive as a canine nose.
So my take is to not lose sleep over it and try to work with what is. Basically keep what may be offensive or alarming to a minimum and offer other odors that may be more attractive or able to overcome any reluctance.
Also understanding my target's possible reactions, learned or otherwise, to the odors I leave behind at a set.

Again, jmo, but in many cases human odor alone is not necessarily a deterrent. I've had deer trail me into a stand so I know in that case it wasn't enough to cause flight. Yet if I wave a hand at that deer or speak I get instant flight.

Georgia just released a study where they placed cameras to watch the reaction of deer to various recorded sounds. The #1 cause of flight was human voices, #2 was wolves howling, coyotes #4 behind dogs. Seems 1 and 4 and possibly 3 are learned behavior while 2 is instinctual as wolves have been extirpated from Georgia for more than a century.

https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting/study-shows-deer-fear-human-voices/

Take away, don't be learning them that human sent near a hole or rock with lure is to be feared.

I don't think there's much u can do about human odor besides just get in reasonably quick and get out and stay as far away checking the set as u can. Here coyote are just spooky about human odor in places they don't regularly smell it. Every coyote I've witness walk across my trail while deer hunting acted like something slapped his nose and they always left the scene faster than they came. I got over a hundred videos of coyotes this spring testing lure some places some coyotes seemed spooky the first day or two. Some places that I was regularly at they rarely acted spooky. One 160 acre field I could set camera at the NE corner (I regularly test there for several years and year around) and coyotes never acted nervous. Move camera to SW corner and some coyotes got spooky enough they would go very wide around set and camera..... I always figure coyotes noses can tell them as much or more than what our eyesight tells us. With that in mind think about this. Do foot prints in the snow walking down the sidewalk or street make u nervous? How about if those foot prints left the sidewalk and walked around your car or house and stopped by each window? Most coyotes know something is at least a little off when a human walks out into a field, kneels down, plays in the dirt then leaves something very appealing there. Day 3 is the most common day for a coyotes to work a test set or trap set for me. To frequent to be chance.

Yup, these city coyotes are so used to human activity that I get some leeway. Do the same thing out in the country where everything is posted and leased up a coyote might avoid for a month.

There's more to know about the critters we chase than just what they like to eat.

Yup doesn't matter, hunting or trapping. I use clean gloves when setting traps and don't kneel on the ground, but don't really worry about scent off my boots or whatnot when setting along roads. I explain the same thing when guiding elk hunters, the animals are used to smelling humans on logging roads, unless your scent is very fresh (enough so that the animals smelling it think you are still close) they don't spook, they expect to smell older human scent there. Get off in the woods away from where they expect to smell human scent and it is a whole nuther ball game.

I agree with Yes sir on day 3 for my area too. Probably a lot of variables come into play though. Windy and dry conditions I feel dissipate scent quicker than with areas that are more moist and have less wind.

I have thought about about the foot print thing. Not sure it really makes a difference in some areas. A lot of cattle in the areas I trap. So I think they are use to ground disturbance and don't really differentiate human foot prints from cattle.

What my analogy with the footprints is that coyotes noses gives them as much information or more than what our eyesight communicates to us. If that makes any sense. I don't worry about my footprints per say in the dirt either.

Ok, I get what you are saying. I just had in mind actual footprints left behind. I know some worry about them and try and brush them out. I'm sure some have seen coyotes veer off track when they come across human tracks and think it's the prints. I would venture to say it probably has to do with a fresh smell(scent) of recent activity that alarms them to something.

Guss- for every one who says '' make sure you do this'' or ''you have to do this'' there is another person saying don't do it. None of us are coyotes - how do we know. We just know what works for us. They know you were there. A lot of people get them the first night so those coyotes are either ignoring it or thinking it is not a threat if they don't see you there. They can also tell you have not been there for a while or you are there now. I wouldn't worry about it and just go set traps. Just don't let smells like food or lure on the traps and keep them clean and you'll be fine. He's 2 of them 2 days in a row. That's my house about 10 yards in the back ground. You could argue they are used to me though.

I'm not sure how long it last but I can say through experience that after I punch in a line the third day is my most productive day. I do know hounds are known to be able to pick up scent older than 3 days, it seems that after a couple days coyotes are comfortable enough with the scent left to work my sets.

I agree on the third day deal. I would only assume it was three days before one passed by if it weren't for many times seeing evidence of one passing or even approaching the set.

In that case I suspect they note something new and attractive but caution keeps them away only until they've confirmed for themselves nothing hinky is going on. Which is why most of us make a set and leave it be, no fussing or tinkering around with a set on a daily basis.

Human scent (like a lot of other scent)belongs on a trapline.it is left there by the trapper scouting,hunting,fishing berry picking and running his line
Human scent,(and other scents utilized by the trapper) must not be introduced into areas that they dont belong-unless you are using scent as a method of diversion at a specific set.
Keep all scents,including human scent where it belongs.
Handling traps and snares with bare hands is no problem.
Under no circumstances handle bait or lure with bare hands and then handle your traps and snares.This is introducing scents where they do not belong and will cause you problems.
I normally do baiting and setting my jackpots on different days.
I know when first setting footholds you have to handle traps and bait scent all day long.Use gloves to handle your bait/lure and handle your traps with bare hands,or vice versa so as to not introduce scents where they dont belong.
A trap at a remade set at a stunk up catch circle should be handled with you gloves on so as not to transfer scent to your hands if you will make new sets later.

Im not so sure about that. I have set traps drunk and sober. Still caught coyotes!!! LOL!!

You ever been full of german weisse beer and korean kimshee drunk?
I swear you could smell that upwind in a tornado.

People put a lot of stock in 'human scent' left behind, however, I never did very much.
All the years I spent dumping 'butcher ' scraps, taught me that coyotes knew I was there regardless and didn't much care.
They expected to smell human scent there.
How else did that bait pile get there ?
It didn't fall from the sky !

The only times I've noticed that a coyote feared my scent at a set, was when I showed up with a gun !

I suspect animals have the ability to "age" scent. They know the difference between recent on not recent smells.

I have caught plenty of coyotes the first night setting out a line. As far as the time frame of 3 days like stated it just may be the time it took for one or some to come by your sets. There are always variables to such discussions about human scent. I have not been concerned with that for the last 55 years.

When I was young and listened to the old timers talk I was always concerned about human odor. Now just about anything goes and you will catch predators.

Set with bare hands, pee and poop close by, dip your traps in a fuel soluble coating, paint them or set them dirty, un waxed, set out of the box and rusty. I have done all those things and caught coyotes. Imagine that. I know, many won't believe it.

These are not things I do on purpose, however they are all things that have happened over the years just because that's life on the line at times.

The cool thing nowadays for $150 u can buy a trail camera that works good on coyotes and one can learn from them yourself. I've watched over 100 videos of coyotes working sets in the last 4 months.

I also believe that human scent a factor in some place but not in others. You go down to South Texas near the border where the coyotes are thick as flies and you will catch them easy. BUT go to West Texas in sheep country. And you better come correct. Drop cloth clean gloves and traps are a must for sheep killing coyotes

I wonder how many generations of trapper vs sheep killer have gone on. If you believe in Darwin.

i DON'T KNOW MUCH. I have listened and watched my hounds track and trail game animals when they are hunting for 50 years. So with your ears and GPS you can pretty much tell what they are doing (GPS made a liar out of a lot of us!). I try to draw parallels of scent tracking/hunting between the two types of canines and how they use their noses to find and start a track or set. The coyotes I have watched on camera, tracked in the snow, and observed calling, seem to be of two distinct camps when regrading scents. The one camp shows indifference and almost nonchalant reactions to human and scents that don't interest them much. Hard to describe but it is like they are so familiar with it that they acknowledge and know it is there without a lot of fanfare. Snow tracks show where they came over, sniffed, hardly broke stride and left at the same pace/stride at which they approached. Just really not that cautious or interested or leery enough to warrant more or different actions - from their tracks..... The 2nd camp is a different story. I always say when you "turn that nose on" you are in a different ball park. They will slow down on the approach, and I am guessing from their tracks that they are constantly testing the scent of the site. They pace (my favorite reaction), they scratch, they circle and/or stride out on a run based on the camera and their tracks. You get a lot of these reactions and others when "you turn that nose on" with some scent - be it human or otherwise. My guess is they have had some exposure to that scent or it is so activating their nerve center that reactions can be the fight or flight others are talking about. So two things here from my observations............................... 1. That indifference shown by Camp 1. coyotes have prove difficult for me to catch when I was younger even though they don't seem overly spooky or scared of recent human activity. Just another scent to them. Camp 2 coyotes indicate a reaction that can make them almost attracted to human scent and its past presence. I said "Almost",,, as included in this camp are the shy and leery ones that have a learned behavior causing their immediate retreat from the site...................... As 2 side notes ... No one has talked about humidity affecting scent and that has been a big thing with my hounds tracking/smelling. I'm convinced it does affect a coyote too on how much and easily it can discern the nature of the scent. And........ long long ago way before Covid showed up and caused prices to skyrocket, I used latex gloves (the inside coated with talcum powder) as a pan cover slipped over the pan and frame cross piece. It was inexpensive and convenient - caught coyotes the next day with no refusals I could tell in the snow and mud tracks. So someone want to comment on that technique? Told you I DIDN"T KNOW MUCH... Still don't....................................... the mike

Having watched my bird dogs as a young man, I can tell you that on dry years it was tough for my dog to pick up the sent on birds. I'm sure that may follow through as well for coyotes or any other animal.

I hunted bird dogs for quite a few year and agree really dry ground made it hard on them. But we had a beagle that could track pheasants in the driest of conditions. Would have never of guessed there could have been that much of a difference in their nose but there clearly was. I actually shot a fair number of pheasants over that crazy beagle. His barking on track seemed to actually make those birds hold tighter sometimes.

I think Wayne Derrick talked about in a interview on trapping radio where there was a coyote he couldn't catch. Said got down to where he figured that coyote knew him. Said he brought in another trapper let him set and he caught him

And the Crimson Tide was picked to win the SEC

I never used a drop cloth unless I was kneeling in pure mud or very wet conditions.
If it is too wet, I've used a mud flap from a truck, but that's a specif circumstance.
I normally just kneel on the ground, with one or both knees.
I don't have scent glands on my knees, after all, and when you are tall, it is much easier than squatting, especially as you get older.
I have killed coyotes year-round that kill calves, poultry, and even yes, even sheep.

I'm the least correct person you'll likely meet and I still get paid.
Coyotes aren't ( for the most part ) spooked by human scent at a set.
Calling ? Yes
When they can't see you ? Yes
But not at a trap or snare location. . .( again ) at least for the most part.
Unless you're oversaturating an area, by being there too much, then yes, you'll see where the coyotes will move out.
What I meant was, for the most part, the human scent does not spook a coyote at a set.

Set the trap, get in, get out and leave it alone.
That's killed a lot of coyotes for me and most trappers I know.

We are creatures of habit. I've often wondered if we don't sometimes leave clues that we aren't even aware of. And not just trapping either.

I called in a coyote just a few days ago that absolutely turned inside out and high tailed it for the territories when he hit the path I walked in on.

Mind you, he was well upwind of my physical position when he did so, and granted, my track was just 10-15 minutes old when he hit it.

If you have coyotes that have a laid back attitude to human scent, consider yourself lucky. But realize, once you start killing those coyotes, you’re GOING to start running in to some that don’t have that same laid back attitude.

I’ve seen time and time again coyotes hit my tracks in snow, stop, and beat feet out of Dodge.

Every coyote has a threshold of human intrusion it’s willing to accept as safe. This varies from individual to individual within a population.

Boone thats well said. So dogs are dumb. So dogs are smart. We have stupid people. Why can we have stupid coyotes? LoL ! The more you are in pressured country the hard the coyotes may get to catch Maybe

LT Grey. I start with the tarp about 5 years ago. Noticed about a 30 % incress on my first night catches. Thing about a tarp is I can make much cleaner sets with it than without. When I spent 5 days with James Lucero. He told me = Make it look like it did before you started making the set. I have a 5x5 tarp. I took lesson from Lucero because I wanted to learn more about = the old ways. Some coyotes are individuals So are easy some are hard to catch. I want to set ever trap. Like im going after the = badest sheep killer in West Texas.

Someday I’d like to trap coyotes in a place with no selection pressure, completely un-exploited, high population. Somewhere like LA County where they’re completely accustomed to non threatening human intrusion and probably even associate the sights, sounds, and smells of humans with food.

I bet I could get away with a whole lot of shenanigans…..for a while.

Boone, I did this in San Diego. It was insane.

x2, I figure about a week or so they would be a bit less responsive LOL...
A well formulated lure takes a lot of their fear of us out of the equation but over time it loses it's newness. From what I've witnessed some coyotes actually follow , some not so much. But I think they ponder sets and smells and return later to investigate closer. It takes patience to get those to comit. Stay away from those locations, check from a distance. Some will lay up close and ponder the situation. It takes time for the caution light to change from yellow to green...

Since the cats out of the bag now....the secret is during trapping season to take a shot of single male coyote urine in the morning (don't need coffee because the urine will wake u up just fine) and a cup of warm sun rendered fish oil before you go to bed (if ur long lining no worries about having toilet paper in truck as by morning the oil will have u cleaned out). It's the secret of the guys who stack up big numbers.

Ps u can thank me after u sell fur next year.