The American Beagler Forum

Got an ol' box trap and a load of rabbit's around the garden. Thought I might try to catch one, Anyone got the lowdown on what kind of bait will get'em in there? Thanks in advance.

Probably nothing without it being winter.

Make or buy a pyramid trap they will go in them in the Summer.

Is there any certain thing in the garden that they are eating. I'd try that. A budy of mine uses sliced apples in the fall. Personally, I have not tried to catch any since the early 70's. Then we would catch the young ones by hand after they came out of the nest near the garden in the Spring.

Chris Chandler

Put a rabbit fence around your garden and leave one hole, put your trap on the inside up against this hole. This may save your green beans & lettus...plus get you a rabbit...

ps. we always had a screen tacked to the back of our traps so the critter could see through...if there feed'n on your garden, they'll find the hole...

Use a pyramid trap with a chunk of an ear of corn as bait. Catch rabbits all year long in em. I know cause I do it. Try to mask as much human scent as you can. Spray in and around trap with vinegar water or anise ectract watered down. Apple juice will work but it attracts bees and ants by the droves. Good luck.. CHH

Granny Smith apple, w/ some vanilla extract and tame rabbit droppings. I set my trap 2 days ago for the 1st time in a while and had a strike and a miss. This time of year food is more abundant and it's harder to catch them. Fall & winter are the best times.

coolbreeze is right, some fresh rabbit droppings really make a difference too.

You will have the best luck trapping if you dust your garden first. They wont touch the plants if there is dust on them. They will eat the fresh apples or carrots or whatever you put in the trap.

Thanks guys... I got a couple of things to try and it will keep me busy now...Thanks again to all those who responded.

Marshmallows

Raw sweet potato!

Click on search on internet.

Type in figure 4 trigger.
Click on EST Forums: Improving figure-4 trap
click on figure-4 trap (in blue)
scroll down to figure 4 Deadfall

Get or make you a wood box approximately 1'x2' with one side of the 2' open. (half inch plywood should do)

Carve you the sticks for the figure 4. (make sure the bait stick reaches 3/4 to the back of box and the rock stick at least a foot long or however high you need the box for the rabbit to go under about half way to back of box?)

Put a red apple, (small bagged apple at grocery store is fine) on sharp end of bait stick about half way into the apple. (keep fresh apple on stick about every two days or so)

Set one end of the open upside down box middle ways onto the top of the rock stick keeping all you notches connected on edges as much as possible so trigger will release as easy as possible as the rabbit moves the apple.

These instructions are guess work so you may have to make adjustments but I do know this will work on catching a rabbit in summer just as a pyramid will.

Catch you a rabbit.

Wayne

The best results I have had is apples, and I brush the trap in like a brushpile. I have left them uncovered for weeks, with no results, covered them, instant Rabbit, just add a puppy for action. Gregg

Apples and salt pellets that I use in my water softener. Just caught on in an open cage. Took about a week but I got one.

I don't know if this will work on cottontails, but it works very well on hare. Use brown bread or 7 grain bread, along with apple as bait. A friend of mine asked me for advice a couple of weeks ago, because he saw hare right at his traps (that were baited with apple), and he hadn't been able to catch one in over two weeks. I told him about the brown bread, and he caught 7 in a week. Works in summer and winter. Try baiting late in the evening or the squirrels will grab the bait first.