How to Trap a Gray Fox

Gray fox live and hunt in wooded areas as opposed to open fields like the red fox. Their primary diet consists of rabbits and mice, but wild apples, grapes and nuts are eaten as well. The range of a gray fox is limited with a home area of one square mile of wooded terrain being the average. This makes it easier for the trapper to locate the fox's travel routes as they stay consistent within this area. Steel traps are the only reliable means of catching fox with trap sizes 1.75 and 2 being the best choices.

Things You'll Need

  • Steel traps
  • Extension chains with S hooks, 3 ft. long
  • Rubber gloves
  • Trowel
  • Rebar wire
  • Dirt sifter
  • Bait
  • Fox lure
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Instructions

    • 1

      Dye the traps and chains in logwood crystals before setting them out for fox to make the traps blend in with the ground and have a wood scent on them. Wear clean rubber gloves when handling the dyed traps and making the sets to keep human scent off of everything used at the trap set.

    • 2

      Locate where foxes are traveling in wooded areas. Trails worn around briar patches and clearings, as well as game trails, will be used by fox. Tracks in the dirt or mud and feces containing fur and bits of bone are indications of their presence.

    • 3

      Prepare a trap site in an open area beside a trail or along the edge of a clearing bordered by trees and brush. Dig a hole in the ground 4 inches wide and 6 to 8 inches deep on a 45-degree angle with the mouth of the hole facing the open area or trail. Hollow out a trap bed in front of the hole wide enough to place the set trap in and deep enough so the trap pan is 1/2 inch below the surface of the surrounding ground.

    • 4

      Place the set trap in the hollowed bed with the jaw hinges toward the hole so the fox has to step between the jaws not over them. Push the trap down so it does not rock and adjust it so the end of the spring is 1 inch from the edge of the hole and the pan is 2 inches off center of the hole.

    • 5

      Tuck enough dry grass or moss under the trap pan to completely fill up the space under the pan to prevent dirt from filling in under the pan. Attach the extension chain to the trap by closing the S hook onto the trap chain ring.

    • 6

      Find a branch 3 to 4 inches in diameter and 6 feet long. Lay the branch in a natural position across the back of the hole, run the extension chain out to it and wire the end of the chain to the middle of the branch. Bury the chain in a shallow trench and cover it with the surrounding material.

    • 7

      Sift dirt over the trap until the trap is covered and looks natural to the surrounding ground. Place a walnut size piece of meat in the bottom of the hole and cover it with 1/2 inch of dirt. Dip a dry twig in the fox lure bottle and drop it in the hole to complete the set.