How important is scent?

[Kyle]

How important is human scent when setting snares for predators? Same question applied to cubby sets for predators?

[jentz]

I trapped in the late 50s and 60s. I bet with all the new stuff masking sent is a money maker.I'll leave it at that.Smoke is a fine scent to mask anything.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I can't answer the question aboot snares as I've never set them.

When I was a young lad I used to boil my traps in a mixture of water, willow bark, and a few other things to darken them and get the scent off of them. I was also real careful to leave them outside and not touch them with my hands. When setting traps in or near water I washed them real good to avoid scent.

Now I'm old. Traps are stored in the garage that smells like stale beer and grinder dust. I figure if I shoot coons and skunks that are trying to get into my garbage can they really don't care about all the human scent around here. I also think mink, beaver, and muskrats care a little about scent but not as much as I used to think.Fox is a little different story and I'd say scent matters with them.

Different critters like bobcat, martin, fisher, and wolves I can't say. Those are up-nort animals and I live in Dixie. However, I grew up in Linwood and actually trapped a bobcat in a dirt hole set when I was a teenager. That was many years ago and totally by accident.

As Jentz said, smoke makes a fine mask. So does deer dookie, there's plenty around and it's free.

[RangerJack]

Kyle, if this helps, I set snares bare-handed and catch lots of red fox with them...just make sure you don't get any stinky lure on the snare and they'll have no idea it's there.

good luck.

[Kyle]

Thanks Ranger!