AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Using and setting soft jaw traps for foxes
Dying and Waxing your soft jaw trap before you use it.
This is the most important thing you can do for your traps when you buy them. I have done this every time I have bought a new trap and also when I catch a fox in a trap. I have a boiler that I use to do this in, just for traps. When you first get your trap, wash it in warm soapy water, rinse it and put it outside in the weather for a week at least. When this is done you will notice a bit of rust on it. That is good. Set your trap and then set it of with a stick. Do this a few times. If your trap is hard to set off get some wet and dry and rub the trap were the dog sits into on the trap. The end of the dog may need a gentle rub once or twice only. Then reset your trap till your trap sets off easy. Be very careful not to make the little area that holds the dog into place round or your trap wont set. Usually only a couple of rubs with wet and dry will do it. Ok now we are ready to dye our trap. Go out and look around, see what sort of native trees you have growing around you. I use river red gum as I am on the river and they are everywhere. Pick some young branches, fresh shoots. Fill your boiler with warm water and bring it to the boil placing your chosen leaves in it. When it is boiling put your traps in and boil them gently for an hour. Your water will go brown and so will your trap.Please make sure you don’t pick a poisonous tree that could be toxic to you doing this. After the hour is up take your traps out out the boiler. Sit them on the boiler lid being careful not to get burnt. I use the handle of a wooden spoon to pick the trap up with. Take the boiler full of water outside and throw it away. Refill your boiler with either a block of black wax made for waxing traps or boiling water and paraffin wax. I use the paraffin wax as we have plenty here my husband uses it to seal up his bagpipes. When my water is boiling I melt the paraffin wax on the water and dip my traps back into the boiler. Let them sit a about 10 minutes in the mix and turn them over with your wooden spoon. Then when that is done take your traps or trap out of the boiler and don’t touch them with your hand under any circumstances. Use your gloves and hang them out to dry somewhere.
Setting your Traps
Now you are ready to set your traps or trap. I tried just as a little experiment not waxing and dying a trap. I never caught a thing and it rusted up very quickly. The wax stops them from rusting. I have been trapping with soft jaw traps for many years now and I have learned a few tricks with the traps in this time. I trap feral cats and foxes in the traps. I check the boundary of our property daily looking for signs of fox scats and scent. I can smell a fox from some distance and know when they are frequenting the same area every night. That is when the traps get moved to that area. Foxes also know where you have been they smell your scent. To set a trap you will need a bucket (with traps in it), newspaper, small garden spade(old spoon), sledge hammer, gardening gloves, boots (I use rubber boots), traps, setter or a pocket knife(I use my pocket knife), chain and pegs that are at least 2ft or 60cm long. The longer the better, mine are 3ft long.
The trick is patience and steady hands.
I find were the foxes have been and I find there walking tracks, you will see it if you look hard enough. The grass maybe knocked down or separated. Sometimes it is totally flattened as they have rolled on it. If it is bare ground then you will see that the dirt may have been disturbed were they have been. Find your spot you want to set the trap or traps. Put your gloves on and start. Now there is a trick here to a successful trap. Foxes will not go near ground that has been disturbed and smells strange. Lay your newspaper down and dig your hole putting all the dirt on the newspaper. Kneel down on some more newspaper and make sure your hole is just bigger than the trap. When the trap is set it should sit just below the level with the ground. I use the wild dog size soft jaws so I dig my hole about 4 inches deep or 10cm at a guess. I then set my trap on firm ground and very gently place it in your hole. Then I get the chain on the trap and drive my peg or stay through the end link and into the ground till you cant see it with your sledge hammer. When this is done very carefully with your small garden spade or old spoon fill in around the trap being careful not to get any dirt on the pan of the trap. Put the dirt right up to the edges of the trap. Also in the trap but not under the pan or over the edges of the jaws, making sure your trap sits flat and level in the hole. I then look around the ground and see what I can place across the top of the trap to cover it. Usually dead grass or gum tree litter. Be careful not to set off your trap and never put your hands in were the jaws can get you if you accidentally trip the trap. When you stand up and look at the trap you should not be able to see any sign of the trap in the ground. The ground should look undisturbed. Now roll up your newspaper taking any spare dirt with you. Collect all tools you had up and make sure you don’t leave you pocket knife behind. I have never got a fox the first night after doing this but the second night is a different story if you have done all this right. I find I always get them by there front foot also. I check my traps twice a day and I destroy the fox straight away. One clean shot down from the top of the head between, near the ears. That is instant. I trap for three reasons.
1. I love my poultry
2.Foxes and wild cats are feral and do so much damage in the wild to wildlife.
3.I don’t like the dirty, disease carrying creature.
I don’t know much about trapping this is just from my experiences and what works for me. I hope it maybe of some help to you as well.


Fox cage traps
Fox cage traps work well but they are hard work compared to soft jaw traps. To use a cage fox trap you need to make a pile of old bushes, logs and rubbish near where you know foxes are using.It might be there track. Leave a small tunnel in the middle of the bushes. Take a bucket with you and fill it with whatever is on the ground in the tunnel you have made. Use gardening gloves and wearing boots on your feet so as to not leave your scent there. Give the foxes about 3 weeks or so to get used to the rubbish being there. The foxes will start to hide in and around it. When you notice these happenings (maybe scats)get your shoes and gardening gloves; the bucket of dirt, your trap and bait(chicken leg or roo meat wrapped in wire netting) also take newspaper with you to kneel on and a length of soft wire. Handle the cage with gloves then there is no human scent. Tie your bait in the trap right up high at the back. Take the back door off to do this and don’t forget to put it back on. The longer they have in the cage trying to get the meat the better chance of setting of the trap. Put your trap in the tunnel of rubbish, put the newspaper down in the front of the trap door and put your contents of the bucket over the floor of the cage. You must not be able to see the floor or stepping plate. Don't get anything under the plate. Using your spare wire to tie up the door open while doing this. When finished take your spare wire off that you used to hold the door open and set your trap lightly, when finished stand back and look at it. Cover the door with branches and rubbish until you cannot see any of the trap. The branches can hang down over the front as then the fox cant see the back of the trap until they are in it. Remember if you can see any of the trap they can too .Pick up your newspaper and go. When you check the trap do not walk up to the trap entrance you need to do it from a distance. I use binoculars to do this, you leave no scent around that way. Normally about a week after this there are no signs you have been near it and then it is a waiting game. With these traps you need a lot of patience, but it does work. The only fox you won’t get in this trap is one that has had a run in with a trap like these before and got away.I hope this maybe of some use to someone.This is a hard way to catch a fox.

Yvonne
Poultryonthegwydir

Well done Mummaroo, thanks for the advice, and thankyou for your insights on the Maremma, we have three maremmas, Clancy's nickname is smiley. I must admit, Yvonne, that I did give Clancy and Jo a smack one day when I discovered that they extended their boundaries to include the neighbours property, where they found a dead wombat and proceeded to roll in the mess. Unfortunately whenever the neighbours came out from their house they were barked at. Needless to say I recieved a phone call to ask if I would come and collect my dogs (very lucky dogs considering my neighbour is a very good marksman).After I hunted them back with very loud noises etc. they got a solid smack (just one). they've never been back since and we've forgiven each other.

Oh thank goodness you FINALLY posted this!!!!

Its about time you know !?!

read and learn from this post people - mummaroo caught 7 one week - I consider that just slightly LEGENDARY!!!!

What do you do with the fox after you catch it? Do the authorities come and take them away?

You don't need permission to dispatch a fox, they're considered vermin in this country.Out in the country if you called an authority to dispose of an unwanted fox, you might end up with a rather unfortunate reputation.

Hi frenchfowls,
You can call your local council ranger,they are more than happy to dispose of a fox or feral cats.

My council hired me a trap and after I caught the fox they came and took the fox and the trap back

My council charges just for the trap and won't take the fox away so lucky you

You might want to consider buying a trap as if you had one fox you do have others – by owning the trap all you have to do is follow the instructions above and ‘dispatch’ each fox as you catch them

I agree I first hired one and thought I had only one fox but less than a week latter another was at our chooks and ducks so we ended up buying one Price: $265.00 GST incl
Heres the web site if it helps http://www.traps.com.au/dogtraps.htm#CSD425