Finding a way to feed yourself and your family is of utmost importance when it comes to survival. While you can leave up to three weeks without food, that doesn’t mean it’s comfortable or the best choice. You need food to be comfortable and to have energy, otherwise, you’ll feel drowsy. Learning how to make animal traps ensures you always have something to eat.
When people imagine living in the wild, they often think that large game will just wander across the field, waiting to be caught. That’s rarely the reality. You won’t be eating deer or a moose, but rather you’ll be foraging wild edibles and dining on rabbits or mice.
Trapping and snaring animals is key to catching meat and find survival food. Small game is sure more delicious rather some foraged insects. You can learn how to set snares and traps with almost no supplies.
4 Simple Animal Traps
Don’t start off trying to make fancy traps. Plus, you don’t have the time for that if you’re hungry. These are some of the simplest traps, but simple doesn’t mean ineffective. Here are four of the easiest snares for you to step up.
Simple Snares
The simplest animal trap is a snare, and you can use this style of snares near an animal den. It’s also the easiest trap to make, perfect for a new trapper.
To make a simple snare, all you have to do is tie a small loop and pass the end of wire or strong to make a loop noose. Then, the snare needs to be placed in front of an animal den. Depending on the material that you use, you might have to use sticks to place the noose up higher.
As the animal leaves their den, their neck gets stuck in the noose. As the animal struggles, it will get tighter around their neck.
Many trappers prefer a simple snare because it’s one of the easiest to leave in the open, and it’s typically not harmful to others. You can use string if you want, but some animals can get out of string.
Twitch-Up Snare
Trappers like the twitch-up snare because it kills the animal quickly when it twitches upward. So, if you’re concerned about killing humanely, this is a good choice, and you won’t have to kill the animal yourself.
Another benefit of the twitch-up snare is that it prevents other animals from eating the animal before you can get to it. The snare throws the animal into the air, so it stops animals from getting to it easily. It does require some construction, so it might not be the best first choice for a snare.
Making a twitch-up snare isn’t too hard, but you need to find a young sapling that is on an animal trail. You need two sticks to make a trigger bar. Put that trigger bar into the ground and tie a noose around the end of the sapling. Bend that sapling down and tie it to the trigger bar. The noose needs to be open and over the trail.
When you make a twitch-up bar, the trigger back that you pick needs to be heavy enough to hold the sapling downward. At the same time, it needs to be small enough that it lets go when the animal’s head goes through the noose.
The animal is walking or running down the trap. His head goes through the noose, causing the sapling to release. This motion sends the animal into the air, breaking its neck, and the animal dies quickly.
Deadfall Trap
You can get creative with deadfall traps. They all work the same, but you can change the design. You need a heavy object, such as a log or a big rock. Chances are you’ve seen this style of animal traps in a few movies.
Find some sticks that are strong enough to prop up the heavy object you selected. When an animal touches it, the sticks will fall, trapping the animal under the large object. Most of the time, you’ll need to stick some bait under the trap and wait for an animal to become trapped underneath.
Deadfall traps are best for small animals, such as mice and rats. You can make larger ones for bigger game, but that’s going to take more time and effort. Also, larger deadfall traps can injure you, and you do need to be careful of that during a survival scenario.
Squirrel Pole
Squirrels are plentiful, but they’re also insanely fast so they’re rather tricky to catch. The squirrel pole is your best shot, and it’s basically an improvised snare.
To make a squirrel pole, you need a diagonal branch that is propped against a tree that has a lot of squirrel activity. Then, on that pole, you’ll need to put several wire nooses along the pole. The nooses should be around 2-inches in diameter and an inch off the pole.
Squirrels are busy creatures, and they will go into at least one of these nooses as they go up and down the tree and the pole, causing it to get caught. You do want to make sure that the nooses aren’t at the top or bottom of the pole. This will mean that the squirrel can keeps its feet on the ground or tree.
If you’re interested in learning more survival traps, Outdoor Life shows how to build 15 survival traps. You never know when you might need one of these.
Take Trapping Seriously
You must remember that trapping and snares are meant for survival. You can practice constructing them, but you do need to take them down quickly. Check with your state’s laws and ordinances because they might have laws against trapping and snaring animals.
Some states allow trapping during hunting season, and others only allowing trapping for certain animals. Some areas don’t allow trapping at all, and you don’t want to risk it.
Setting traps comes with responsibility. You can’t set a trap without first knowing that the area has the game you want. Setting snares out randomly without knowledge of the game in the area is dangerous. You can easily hurt a human or trap a pet.
Don’t forget to check your snares often. The dead game in your snares is an easy meal for predators and a loss of a meal for you and your family. Don’t get the predators a free meal when you need every calorie. Otherwise, it’s foraged weeds and insects for dinner.
Good to see someone else understand that the menu will drastically change