# How long does lure and bait last?



## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

This question came up during discussions this winter.
This a dirt holes that I last baited and lured the end if January beginning of February that was dug out last week.


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## BigJoe. (Jul 6, 2015)

Good post freepop, I remember one late November as I was checking sets in a late season rain storm I had one particular dirt hole set that was under 3 inches of water for almost a week. Without adding bait or lure one week later it held a coyote.
I believe we as Trappers tend to over bait and over lure. Getting back to your original question, I have no doubt it can be attractive to k-9s months later.


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## Patrickr (May 2, 2016)

Freepop, this is an interesting subject and one that the majority of trappers don't consider enough when using their lure or bait. Commercially prepared baits and lures have preservatives and fixatives in them so they can last a long time under various weather extremes. Because of this it is crucial that trappers place their lure or bait on an object that will hold the lure and/or bait odor such as sheep's wool, a piece of hide, a wad of grass, piece of wood, etc., before placing it down a dirt hole or at a flat set so that when the trapper pulls out of that area he or she can remove the lure holder and take the odor with him or her and prevent lure and bait habituation by the local animals. I think lure and bait habituation due to trappers leaving the lure or bait odor at a set is a major reason for a perfectly good lure or bait to lose it's attraction to the animals. Unless a trapper is using an edible bait such as straight meat or organ tissue such as liver a smart trapper will take his or her lure and bait odors with him or her when they leave. As a trapper I want to catch and hold the targeted animal the first time it comes to my set. If I miss catching it due to poor foot guiding, or the animal was just lucky that day, it's curiosity towards my lure and/or bait selection has generally been satisfied. If I catch the animal but it escapes I now, in the case of coyotes at least, have an animal that is capable of associating that set with that lure and/or bait - especially at that location. Generally I will need a different lure and/or bait at a different location if I want to catch that same animal in the same type of set. Animals to my knowledge can't count but they sure can associate odors with good and bad experiences. Just my opinion.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

The lure was on a stick that I threw in the hole, that I didn't retrieve and the bait was a beaver hind leg. I'd say the fox was probably rewarded for his efforts and none the wiser of those smells and set.


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## Patrickr (May 2, 2016)

FREEPOP said:


> The lure was on a stick that I threw in the hole, that I didn't retrieve and the bait was a beaver hind leg. I'd say the fox was probably rewarded for his efforts and none the wiser of those smells and set.


Probably not as he had a good experience since there was no trap there. It is likely, being it was a fox, it will associate that lure odor with a possibility for obtaining another free meal. But if there had not been a beaver leg in the hole it might have had it's curiosity filled and ignore that lure in the future. Like what could have happened to any animals that visited the set after the beaver leg was taken. As I already stated, animals associate odors with their experiences - good and bad. Trappers would be wise to always remove their commercially prepared lure and bait that they use for trapping or they run the risk of the animals becoming habituated to it and start ignoring it. Just my opinion, but you can do what you want.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Patrickr said:


> Probably not as he had a good experience since there was no trap there. It is likely, being it was a fox, it will associate that lure odor with a possibility for obtaining another free meal. But if there had not been a beaver leg in the hole it might have had it's curiosity filled and ignore that lure in the future. Like what could have happened to any animals that visited the set after the beaver leg was taken. As I already stated, animals associate odors with their experiences - good and bad. Trappers would be wise to always remove their commercially prepared lure and bait that they use for trapping or they run the risk of the animals becoming habituated to it and start ignoring it. Just my opinion, but you can do what you want.


Any animal that visited after the fox was there would know where the food went as I could smell the fox, plus he left some scat to boot.


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## Patrickr (May 2, 2016)

FREEPOP said:


> Any animal that visited after the fox was there would know where the food went as I could smell the fox, plus he left some scat to boot.


Did the fox also take away your lure stick? If not, the other animals that might have visited got a free smell of the lure you were using and no free meal. Nothing there for them so they might have had their curiosity filled as far as the lure habituation is concerned.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Don't know what happened with the stick. I guess that I don't have much faith that other animals will remember a particular scent a year later or associate it with a dead end. Maybe they'll believe that the fox got the goodies and all that is left is some smell. I always have more than one set at a location to try and get ones not interest in a particular set. If there's no real negative experience with a smell, scent or location I believe they will work sets again. 
I can appreciate your thought process and I fully believe there's value in removing scents and baits.


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## Patrickr (May 2, 2016)

I have seen the association result played out numerous times throughout my almost 50 years of trapping and hunting. And under certain circumstances, certain species right down to individual animals, can be conditioned to respond the way the trapper or hunter wants through positive associations and/or changes in their habitat. I've said it before and I'll repeat it here, there is not an animal alive that a serious trapper or hunter can not kill if they have enough time and access to the animal and if they pay attention to what the animal is telling them through the sign they leave. All animals will tell you when and where you can kill them.

Edit: In response to the original question, COMMERCIALLY prepared lures and baits COULD last a long, long, long time at a set under severe weather conditions depending upon the lure holder and attractant used, as well as the quantity placed at the set.


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