Just wondering with the up and coming season how maney of you have used a part of your season trying to trap what we call a "Digger Fox"

I won't spend a lot of time on them unless,I'm in the area to begin with.
A supriseing number of "digger fox" wear a mask and have rings on there tails

Ric, I think you're right on the money. Many times it is the work of a coon. I've gone through the same process most trappers do to deal with what I thought was a digger fox, just to end up catching the ring-tailed culprit.

Hey guys!!!! How bout when you fine tracks,dropping,and the trapup side down and not even sprung three to four nights out of seven I,D say that's pretty good.I don't even take them out that good.

I would say it's time to switch out the dirty trap , or make a blind set with the detected trap as lure.

If the tracks and droppings are that of a fox, then, okay you have a digger fox. If he's been there 4 or 5 times then at least you know he's coming back. At that point you should be able to determine where the fox is standing while digging up your trap. Conceal another trap where he stands to dig, and brush it in to try and blend it in so it looks just as it was the way he left it while digging up the origional trap.

If he digs that one up also, go back 18 inches or so from the second trap and bed in another trap just as you did the second one. you should be able to grab him by the back foot.

If that has happened that many times I would bet on a coon.And the fox just came along and dumped on your set.

Beav

All are good idea's and have worked.I don't like laying down alot of iron in one spot.I've even used a rusty old can to distract him and that has worked as for coon the way they walk around with two or three traps you would catch a coon.These are educated fox and you can spend some time catching them.This one special area that i'm referring isover trapped and the misuse of lure i fine is the problem.You get a lot of pratice making and re making sets if you got the time.

I'm not sure if over trapping is the culprit . I would look at the trapping basics , bedding your trap solidly , I'm no expert but when I first started trapping I had alot of the same troubles now I'm fair at trap bedding & have very few traps dug.

More times than not I've had what I thought were digger fox at my set. What I learned was that most of these diggings are from racoons. It is evident to me that the reason they will dig at that site is because the ground is loose and fresh. (Easier digging and curiosity) How do you correct this? Sprinkle water over your set area. Not too much, just enough to give the freshly dug dirt a lite crust. I've done this many times and caught coons the next day. Of course this isn't a good idea when temperatures drop...but should work any other times. Hope this helps