I had about 9 out and wasn't catching anything and they kept getting froze to the ground and so i brought them in. I caught 2 muskrats, 3 skunks, 3 coons, and some possums which i only kept one. I may put a beaver trap out after deer season.

Plinker

if they kept getting frozen to the ground you should have put something between them and the ground, like a piece of crinkled up was paper or a piece of cellophane.

If you use absolutely dry dirt you will have little trouble with frozen ground.

You can also wax your dirt.

I put them all out for muskrat in the creek now. They're too big of a trap to use for muskrat but i think they ought to drown, they're set at the water's edge. May try toset them back for canines, later on and use the waxed paper. I did see a large pile of some sort of excretement and it might have been coyote? There was probably a pound of poop, which looked like dog poop except i never saw a dog go this much and there shouldn't have been any dogs there anyway. So i might set the traps back in a week or so using the wax paper, but meanwhile i'm using them for muskrats.

Pliker

Plinker:
Sounds like you're havin a lot of fun and doing some good at it too. That's great!

Did you check that dog poop to see if it had seed's mixed in? Or fur?
Just about all the coyote and little bit of fox scat we see out here in CO has seeds and fur mixed in. IF it don't, then it's usually dogs.

Am not a trapper, just readin this for something to do as I've always found it good fun and educational.
The only trapping I've ever done was with selfmade wire box traps to catch bobcats in. Brother in law's checked them sometimes and found a skunk, MIL sure was p'd about that, guess they got soaked with it on the way home. hehehe.

I did catch six bobcats though. man those things are mean!! One had quill's stuck all over him. Face, neck, shoulders etc. I got them all out with a 10" pair of pliers a helper and lot oftime except one between the shoulder blade's. Traded that cat to a vet for a coyote pup. Said later the cat had quill's in it's throat and died. Landlord threatened to throw us out over the howling at night. So gave the pup back to the vet. Was too old to keep anyway. Had a ball with it the few weeks I had it though.

Plinker: Wish you the best, don't get bit!

George