Covering Traps
After the trap has been firmly bedded near an undisturbed scratch hill, scent station, or carcass, or in a trail, it should be covered with earth and the surroundings left in a condition as nearly natural as possible. Dry horse or cow manure, finely pulverized, may be used to cover the inside of the trap jaws. Extreme care should be taken to keep all dirt from under the trap pan and to see that the open space there is at least one-fourth inch deep. The trap pan should be covered by a pad made of canvas or old descented slicker cloth, and cut to fit snugly inside the jaws, and all should then be covered with finely pulverized earth, leaving the immediate area looking, as nearly as possible, as it did before the trap was buried. Finishing such a task properly and thus leaving the ground over the trap in a perfectly natural condition so that it blends with the surrounding area is an art that requires much practice.
Figure 4.—Devices to prevent capturing small animals and birds in traps set for mountain-lions or other predators: A, Fan supported by twig (grass or a light coil spring may be used); B, splint support; C, forked-twig support; D, Biological Survey pan spring
Traps Accidentally Sprung
When traps are set near carcasses additional care should be undertaken to underpin the trap pan so that it will not spring under the weight of a magpie, buzzard, or other carnivorous bird that may be attracted to the carcass.
In forested areas a mountain-lion hunter may find his traps sprung by small animals, for squirrels and other rodents (and sometimes small birds) may dig or scratch around and between the jaws of the trap. Unless the trap pan is properly supported, these animals are unnecessarily endangered, and in addition the trap is frequently sprung. This may be prevented by setting the trap pan so that it will carry a weight of several pounds.
One simple way of underpinning the trap is to place a small twig perpendicularly from the base snugly up to the middle point of the pan. Instead of the small twig, some hunters use a fine coiled-steel spring. Such contrivances will permit the trap pan to carry the weight of the smaller mammals or birds without endangering them or releasing the trap jaws and thus spoiling a set well placed for a mountain-lion. Devices adjusted to mountain-lion traps to prevent their being sprung by small mammals and birds are illustrated in [Figure 4]. The Biological Survey pan spring ([fig. 4, D]), recently developed in this bureau can be readily attached to the No. 14 steel trap used for mountain-lions. A slightly larger spring is required for the No. 4½ trap. A patent on this device has been applied for, to be dedicated to public use.