There are few other tricks that successful trappers use when setting up snares, deadfalls, and other trapping mechanisms. While these tricks don’t guarantee success, they certainly improve your chances of success.

Channelization is one such technique. This refers to creating a natural looking set of obstacles around the trap in an attempt to funnel animals toward the trap. You can create such a channel by using three logs around the trap.

This setup is known as a ‘box canyon’ and it works because animals prefer not to move backward while traveling. Once an animal has wondered into the box canyon, that animal is more likely to move forward, toward the trap, instead of turning around.

This is especially true when the trap contains bait that is appealing to the type of animal you are targeting.

The box canyon should not be impassable. In fact, it should appear as a naturally occurring barrier for best results. Using small logs, like the ones you might use for a campfire, is sufficient for most small game. Animals are extremely sensitive to human scent and will take extraordinary measures to avoid this scent whenever possible.

Successful trappers always take care to avoid leaving their scent on trapping equipment or on anything in the area of the trap line. There are many ways to cover human scent when setting a trap line. Urine or blood from another animal often works to mask human scent.

You can also try cover your hands and anything you touch with mud. Leaving unused traps outside for a couple of days also helps to greatly reduce human scent. Taking the extra time to reduce or eliminate human scent greatly improves your chances of catching animals so do not skip this important step when setting your traps.