Trapping coyotes is quite a sport, you need to be very clever in your approach to ensure you lure the coyote. The whole process takes patience and a lot of planning. The kind of trapping set you use is very important. It may be the difference between you catching a coyote and one escaping.
When it comes to trapping sets, there are numerous different sets you can use as your approach to catching the coyote. You just need to be smart enough to outwit the coyote. You also need to have a strong trap. We recommend using a coil-spring foothold along with cable devices that are non-powered. These will trap the coyote properly, making sure that it does not get away once caught. You want to make sure that the trap is not too thick, so it can easily fit in the hole you make without the coyote noticing.
A scent post set
Coyotes are typically attracted by the scent of its own or a fox’s urine. It travels along the same path as a fox also. Once you have the path of the coyote figured out, you can set up a scent post that is positioned upwind in the routine path. Once the scent is picked up by the coyote it can follow it to the post.
Setting up a scent post set:
- The process is quite easy, you need to start by locating coyote tracks. Follow the tracks to a spot where the
coyote stopped. We recommend you go to the highest ground where the coyote stopped to increase your chances of trapping it.
- Look for a flat space in the area and stake a foothold trap. You need to ensure that the trap is below ground level, doesn’t have to be too deep, 6-7” deep should be more than enough.
- You need to hide the trap and cover it. You want to make sure the covering on the trap is similar to the surrounding area. So be sure to cover with dirt, grass, and whatever you can find from the area so it blends well with the surrounding. You have to ensure that the chain, stakes and everything you are using with the trap is covered properly.
- You then want to put a small post, 6 inches big, above above which you can use as your bait.
- The coyote urine will need to be drizzled on the post, your scent bait.
This particular trapping set works well. It doesn’t require a lot of effort from your end. The hardest part is figuring out where to put the trap but once you find the coyote’s trail it doesn’t take too long.
A dirt hole set
This is a simple approach to trapping a coyote. You want to use a trap that lays low so it is not easily noticeable by the coyote.
When setting up the dirt hole set, you first locate the trail of coyote. This will allow you to know where to target.
Once you have the trail spotted, you can dig a small hole slightly off the trail. But not too far.
The hole you dig should look like the digging of a dog, this will make the coyote curious and approach it.
Set your trap and cover it with rocks and dirt so it blends with the surrounding area.
The reason why this trap set works well is because coyotes are curious. They go examine digging because they want to see what is hidden, mostly looking for food or anything a dog or another animal has hidden in the ground.
A flat set
The flat set is similar to the dirt hole set. In this you just disguise your trap and lure the coyote with bait. You can use different types of bait, we found dog food, cow chips, and rotten wood to work well. You can use one of the three or pair them up if you like.
You will not be digging a hole for this trap set. For this you just leave the bait on the ground around the trap.
You can even have the bait set on the trap. To camouflage the trap, you take a clump of grass and put it on top of the trap. You can also use leaves to cover the trap.
To lure the coyote on to your trap, you can use coyote urine or gland lure. This should be used on the side of the trap.
We have found this particular trap set to work well. However, we have had more success with the scent post set than this one.
