Setting Traps In or Near Water

The most important part of trapping is making the actual trap sets. This includes bedding the trap properly to help make sure that trapped animals are treated with respect.

For the beginning trapper, it is best to start with water trapping systems for muskrats and mink. Here's why.

• The small traps used in these sets are relatively inexpensive.
• Water trapping systems are easier to make than sets on land because human odor around the set is washed away by the water.
• Water trapping systems usually catch more than dry land sets because furbearers are most abundant in wetland areas.
• Water trapping systems avoid most non-target animals.
• Water trapping systems usually kill the furbearer. This means the trapper does not have to dispatch trapped animals.
• Water trapping systems can use bodygrip traps, cage traps, cable devices, or foothold traps of the appropriate size and weight.