The dog-proof raccoon trap has become virtually synonymous with wild turkey management. Removing some nest predators, particularly raccoons, from the landscape before the nesting season seems to be a good way to improve poult production, particularly when the efforts are used in conjunction with sound habitat management practices such as prescribed fire and food plots, and perhaps trapping for larger predators, too.

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Dog-proof raccoon traps are easy to set and very effective for controlling nest predators. Images by Godwin Photography.

DP traps are by far the easiest style of trap to set and learn, and they’re highly effective. You can buy a dog-proof trap and everything you need to rig it for about $20 in many hardware, outdoor, and farm supply stores, and they’ll last pretty much forever. The first traps I ever set were DPs, and I caught two big raccoons with them the first night out. I still run them every day on my trapline.

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This video details the basics of setting a DP raccoon trap, including:

- Trap rigging, including chains, tags, and snaps

- How to load and set a DP trap

- Baiting DP traps

- DP trap placement, including gang sets to target groups of raccoons

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Are raccoons cute? Sure they are. But they also feast on turkey eggs and have soft fur.

Raccoons are opportunistic feeders, and they can be caught on a variety of baits. Day in and out, my favorite combo for a DP trap is cheap cat food topped with a marshmallow. Sardines canned in plain water or olive oil are a close second, particularly if you’re looking to catch opossums as well.

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It’s especially easy to lose track of DP traps when you’re running a trapline. Dropping waypoints with onX Hunt ensures that you won’t forget anything.

I highly recommend marking raccoon traps on a mapping application such as onX Hunt (there’s even a handy “trap” icon that you can use under the Waypoint tool). Coyote traps, although they’re well hidden, take a while to set up properly, and it’s pretty tough to forget about them after you’ve put in all of that effort. Besides that, it’s tough to miss a 30-pound coyote bouncing in a trap. But caught raccoons will frequently circle a tree or tuck into brush to hide when approached, and because DPs are so quick and easy to set, it’s equally easy to forget about them.

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Cheap cat food and cheap sardines are solid choices for baiting DP traps.