The leaves are beginning to fall, which means I am beginning to prepare for trapping season. With the 2020 collapse of the fur market, I am trapping for meat, fur for personal consumption, and management of nuisance animals. There are conflicts with wildlife that can pose great stress and financial consequences for people. A fox that kills a homesteader's flock. A raccoon that takes up residence in the attic. A skunk that dens up under the deck. So this season I want to hone my skills in solving these conflicts. Here is a simple lure that you can make in the farm or home that will draw skunk, opossum, raccoons, foxes, etc.
Natural fermented egg
Some folks use synthetic fermented egg. I wouldn't use anything with hydrogen sulfide for my own safety. It's easy enough to whip up a batch of homemade fermented egg.
- I use chicken eggs from my flock that are particularly unsightly, having rolled out of the nesting area and been pooped on. Folks say duck eggs are better.
- Crack them and beat them in a glass jar like you are making an omelette.
- Screw the lid on so gases can escape and out the jar in a shady area
- Mix it once a week
- Let it sit for a couple months until it is a mayonnaise consistency
sad looking eggs from a coop that needs to be cleaned out
do not consume, it is not jam
I will publish on some sets to use with it, but you could use it "as is" for skunk, raccoon, or possum. For coyote and fox, I will add the ground bladder of a a fox that killed a hen.
Update on other lures
After five months of rendering in the hot sun, my other lures are about ready. It is important at this point not to disturb the jars because I am just going to skim off the top level of oil off each one.
The most promising batches are the shellfish oil from blue crab carapaces and the beaver tail oil. There is only a trace layer on the fish oil because bullheads don't have that much fat.
from left to right: fish oil from drained tuna fish water, blue crab shellfish oil, beaver tail oil, fish oil from scraps from bullhead catfish