ANIMAL SIGN

Animal sign is the key to eliminating guesswork when setting your traps. Only trap where there is sign. Sign is anything the animal leaves as a trace that indicates it may have passed through the area. There are seven types of sign you need to know that will help you identify things like species, eating habits, and population numbers:

1. Tracks: Examining tracks is the easiest way to identify the species. This can also help determine population numbers, frequency of travel in that area, and even preferred food in cases where you can tell that one animal has been trailing another.
2. Scat: Scat left when an animal defecates can also help you identify species as well as what food source the animal is currently foraging.
3. Slough: Slough is something from the animal’s body left behind after it is gone. Examples include a strand of hair on a fence wire, a feather dropped while preening, or shed snakeskin.
4. Remains: The dead body of an animal will not only provide possible resources such as bait and attractants for other traps, but it also may give some idea of what other animals are in the area.
5. Refuse: Refuse is the animal’s garbage, which will help identify its species and its travel routes. For instance, a squirrel midden, or refuse heap, is its favorite spot and will be littered with shells from the nuts it has been eating. A beaver or muskrat leaves behind chewed trees and branches.
6. Dens: A den is an animal’s home. It can be a hole in the ground, in a bank, or in the hollow of a tree. The type of den is often a sure indicator of the species. You can usually set traps at the entrance or exit.
7. Odor: Odor is the trickiest sign to detect, but cat urine has a distinct smell, as does rotten meat from a carnivore den where a fox might live. Obviously you’ll smell a skunk in the area, but other subtle smells can be identified as well.