Howdy y’all, this is my first time trapping. I saw some raccoon tracks near the pond and decided to set up a foothold trap. So far I haven’t had any luck with my dps. I fill them with marshmellows and the “tree climber” lure. Any advice?
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1st off good to have you on here
Hope you will continue to trap and I’m sure you will enjoy it and keep posting
I always think of a coon as a little pig
They will eat about anything
There was a good post on DP bait not to long ago
If you go to the search for the post you might find it
I try not to fill my dp much past the trigger
They need there paw in there to grab push or pull the trigger
Put a couple of those small marshmallows out so the coon gets a taste
Dry cat food works well for me
If rains put a plastic cup over it
They can get in a garbage can they can easily get past the cup
I’m gonna let some of the others give you some
Tips
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It could be the coon tracks are old around the pond. They stay in mud and this low water a long time. Coons move around a lot dependent on food sources. Try a different bait, maybe mackerel if it’s not freezing weather or add something with it like glycerin to keep it from freezing your trap trigger in a solid fish ice cube. Maybe put just a dab of cherry oil in it or even a slight addition of cherry NyQuil. Just enough to smell more than taste. Don’t fill DP up. Just bait up to the trigger or below. You want something in there that they’ll smell and work for when they get a little taste. If it tastes bad they won’t work it much. Good luck to you and thanks for adding to the conversation on here.
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Welcome aboard homesteader and just to add to their advice cause I use both things of what they said plus sardines with a squirt of fish oil for a trailer or just the juice from the sardines.
Don’t put nothing in them.thats not edible. This time of year can be tricky as coons diet will change as it gets later he’ll want more protein and less sweets and grain but they will still go for it the majority of the time.
I put a big marsh meller in the bottom. Then powdered Sugered dog feed or cherry jello dog feed then you can put cheap syrup molasses over all that.
I like a trailing scent around the trap either used cooking oil or a hand full of dry cattle feed molasses. I buy mine at feed store in 50 weight and it last several years.
Oh and welcome and if your gonna trap Id like to encourage you to do so traditionally and utilize what ya catch. ( Not saying your not just wanted to put it out there) we have a sale coming in March you should join us)
Colt
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What do you usually do with raccoons to get everything you can out of them? I don’t want to waste parts of the animal if I can.
Well I mean theres the fur of course,the penis bone has value the glands have value skulls teeth claws and if your a real trooper you can eat um and they ain’t to bad at all.
Hard to eat as many as you can catch in a short time. And there’s nothing wrong with just harvesting for the fur and chunking either. I just wanted to encourage the utilization of atleast the hide. As our industry hobby past time what ever you call it has seen a big increase in killing for nothing in resent years.
Colt
Welcome aboard! I use a mixture of dry cat food, marshmallows out of the cheapest cereal in the store and cherry Kool aid or cherry jello mixed together and add enough to just cover the trigger in the DP. Has worked really well on the possums that were raiding my dirt holes 
I bought some stuff from Hal Sullivan,Sugarberries,very intense grape odor,they work very well
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I like smoked oysters. I save the oil in the can they come in for DPs. Put a little dry dog food in and add a little oyster juice on top and around the trap. Works for me.
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Welcome Homesteader! GREAT bunch of good ole trappers on here. All the advice here is proven…these guys know how to to get it done. In DP’s I have found about the best bait is sardines in oil, mixed up into a paste and a glob of it under the trigger. Good luck with the trapping!
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I’ve heard a lot of good things about that berry bait and I just ordered some. I’m gonna try all these suggestions and see which ones work the best. I’m setting up some cameras tomorrow night and I’ll report back my findings to y’all.
Fruit loops work great with a little fish oil for a trailing scent