Snares: Quick, Cheap Way To Control Pest Animals

Snares: Quick, Cheap Way To Control Pest Animals MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Pest Animals 23-6-8 If you're looking for a better way to get rid of pesky raccoons, beavers, foxes, coyotes, etc., you might want to take a close look at snares, say Neil and Rhonda Bock, owners of The Snare Shop in Carroll, Iowa. They claim to have the world's largest selection of snares and snaring equipment and custom build thousands of snares each year. "Snaring is the fastest and most economical way to get rid of pest animals," says Neil. "More farmers are using snares to control raccoons, beavers, and coyotes because they're so effective and easy to use. Snares work great for trap-wise critters because they're very escape proof. Yet the caught animal usually stays alive so cats or dogs that are accidentally caught can be released without harm. We offer many different lock mechanisms, some designed to kill the animal right away. We even offer snares for bears and wolves that catch the animal by the foot. "Another advantage is that snares are a lot less expensive than most conventional steel traps. For example, steel beaver traps sell for about $25 apiece whereas our standard snares for beavers and other small animals sell for about $1 apiece." Snares are designed to be placed up in the air and directly in the path of an animal. "Animals usually take the path of least resistance. This principle is what makes snaring so effective," says Bock. "Most animals will travel along deer trails, ravines, fences, beaver dams, dead furrows, truck tracks through tall grass, trails they've established between their dens and food supplies, over logs across deep ditches and through culverts under roads. They meet hundreds of small obstacles such as branches, weeds or vines every time they travel and will walk right into a snare as if it were just another weed or branch. They don't know they're in trouble until it's too late." Most snares are designed to attach to a stake and are held in place by a support wire. To set up a snare, you attach it to the stake and pound it in the ground, then open the snare loop to the desired diameter and plug it into a small "friction fit" collar on the support wire. Then bend the support wire to adjust the height and position of the snare. Bock says snare technology is improving all the time. "For example, we offer snares that are designed to hold foxes, raccoons and coyotes but release adult deer and livestock. These larger animals exert more pounds of pull which causes the snare to release from the stake." The company also offers a new live bucket trap kit that works great for catching raccoons, opossums, skunks, cats and similar animals, says Bock. The kit contains all hardware needed to convert two 5-gal. plastic buckets into a sturdy live trap. You cut out the bottom of one bucket and then use brackets to bolt the top ends of the two buckets together. A steel frame equipped with a sliding door goes over the open end of the bucket. (A rod connects both the bait and trip pan to the door). The door closes if the animal either pulls at a bait or steps on a trip pan inside the enclosure. "It's very safe to use and doesn't harm cats or dogs that are accidentally caught," says Bock. "It keeps both the bait and the animal dry. Captured animals can't bite, scratch or spray through the sides of the bucket. Works great with skunks because you can carry it off without getting sprayed." Standard snares sell for $13 a dozen plus S&H. The live bucket trap kit sells for $19.95 plus S&H (bucket not included) or $29.95 assembled and ready to use. For a free catalog with hundreds of snare designs and other trapping supplies, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, The Snare Shop, 13191 Phoenix Ave., Carroll, Iowa 51401 (ph 712 822-5318; fax 5319; E-mail: sshop@netins.net; Website: www.snareshop. com).

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