live traps and dispatching

[model 70]

for you live trappers, what's the best way you've found to dispatch trapped animals?

[jmarriott]

Place the trap in water for a while.

[justwannano]

I don't use live traps often. I own 2 havahart traps but I took more critters with a homemade box trap.
With the box traps I used a hog catcher noose to pull them out and then shot them.
I've both shot the critter and drowned them with the havaharts.
The problem with shooting them in the trap is the blood.
Don't really want it on the trap.
With drowning you now have a wet dripping animal to handle.
Now you have to drag it out of the woods.
In the dead of winter they don't dry very fast either.

One method I haven't used is to inject it with something.
They used to sell something that you use in a syringe on the end of a stick to dispatch skunks.Dunno what was used.

Something I've been considering is using dry ice and covering the trap ,critter and a chunk of dry ice with a blanket or plastic. Ought to work but not really anything you'd want to be packing around on the trap line.

I tried using a plastic sheet and spraying auto starter fliud (ether) to dispach a skunk. Man you'd be surprised how long a skunk can hold its breath. :D


Either that or I didn't use enough or wait long enough.

Lotsa luck
just

[multibeard]

Justwannano

If my old feeble mind remebers right it was methelethelkeytone that was injected in a skunks chest with a syringe on a pole that was used to put a skunk to sleep. I think the common name for "MEK' is acetone.

The guy that developed the idea had about a 5 foot skunk hide made up by a furrier that really caught you eye one the backdrop of his booth at conventions.

I never had to use the kit I bought as I switched to strickley beaver trapping about the time it came out.

I had a couple buddies that used it successfully. One day they stopped at a staion to get gas where they only had girls pumping gas. [This was a while back when someone actually pumped your gas for you] The gal wouldn't pump them any gas as she was afraid to get near the old station wagon as there were a bunch of dead skunks laying in the back of the vehicle.

[model 70]

do you know if you can still buy those "skunk sticks"?

[Nulle]

22 short in the head
Those sticks can be purchased through any animal supple house
That drug my be controlled so better check on that

[justwannano]

FWIW

MEK (methyl ethyl ketone ) aka butanone aka C4H8O
is not
Acetone aka dimethylketone aka propanone aka(CH#)2CO

I wouldn't try either one until I knew for sure whats gonna happen.

Look here for more search results.

[justwannano]

OK found a site that sells the kit.

http://www.mandmfurs.com/Catalog%20Pages/pages56-70/page61.html

Disclaimer
I've never bought from these guys so you are on your own but anyone with a 75 page trapping catalog can't be all bad.:D

Still dunno what the stuff is though.
more searching or maybe a call to a vet.

[justwannano]

so OK acording to this site http://www.traps4kids.com/Skunk-Pole.html
the fluid is acetone.
Check it out. A homemade version of the entire kit. Pretty neat.

You can find me outside in the shed looking for some pvc pipe

[model 70]

i've actually seen that before. just curious if a ready made version is available. so far online searches have shown me nothing.

[justwannano]

The M&m furs site is the page that sells the kit.
There is even a couple of longer poles that you can buy.

[steven gordon]

Methyl ethyl ketone is pretty severely restricted as it's ONE chemical step from being meth. If you attempt to buy some the feds will probably put you under surveillance.

I have heard (it would make sense, but I've not tried it) that if you put the critter close enough to your car/truck exhaust it won't last long.

I use a havahart trap for the local squirrels, but I relocate them.

If the price of pelts goes up, though, I could rethink my strategy.

[model 70]

why not just use acetone?