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 submersion trapping systems for muskrat and mink. Here's why.

• The small traps used in these sets are relatively inexpensive.
• Submersion systems are easier to make than sets on land because human odor around the set is washed away by the water.
• Submersion systems usually catch more than dry land sets because furbearers are most abundant in wetland areas.
• Submersion systems avoid most non-target animals.
• Submersion systems kill the furbearer. This means the trapper does not have to dispatch trapped animals.