Traps and marshmellows

[ecampbell]

A place down the forest where we like to walk has allot of large, raccoon size, Have A Heart type traps baited with marshmellows. They're well marked and many traps can be seen from the roads we walk and drive. There were none on Thursday morning, but on Saturday we stopped counting at 64. They're marked as Govt Property, rabies vector, do not touch. Someones really serious in this particular area. They were still there this morning, but moved in location. Did I mention dogs like marshmellows? We'll have to walk somewhere else for awhile.

 

[Teegate]

So I guess we all should be careful out there. Maybe there is a rabies problem.

Guy

 

[uh60chick]

Here's some information about the USDA's rabies vaccine baiting program that I found.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/wildlife_damage/content/printable_version/raccoon_rabies.pdf

 

[Teegate]

Thanks! I wonder why marshmallows and not the bait unless they are capturing them to take them for testing?

Guy

 

[manumuskin]

I use to find stations baited with raw meat in Belleplain, had a guy down there once working under his van when a coon ran across the yard in broad daylight and bit him in top of the head.Of course it was rabid.

 

[RednekF350]

They did an aerial drop of the vaccine a few years ago in and around our campground in Cape May County two years ago. Our dog started finding these little green biscuits in our campsite but they didn't eat them. They were marked as a vaccine.

Marshmallows are the inexpensive bait of choice for trapping raccoons, especially in cage traps. I used them succsessfully last year on a snare line too.
The NJ trapping season does not start until Nov. 15. It makes sense that the traps that were found were Government placed traps and marked appropriately.

 

[uh60chick]

Thanks! I wonder why marshmallows and not the bait unless they are capturing them to take them for testing?

Guy

My understanding is that they place the traps sometime after the vaccines have been dropped in order to test the raccoons for the efficacy of the vaccine. I couldn't find any notices that vaccines had been dropped in NJ this year, but that doesn't mean that they weren't. They could be trapping them for some other kind of testing, survey, or study too.