When you find yourself in the situation that you need to survive on the wild, on animals that wander in their native element, then you are going to need some knowledge of survival traps. Trapping animals for recreation or control is one thing, and while this can provide valuable information for survivalists, when you are caught in a situation where your very survival depends on capturing animals for food, pelts for warmth, or bones for tools or other weapons, then you need to know the basics of survival traps.

The first and foremost lesson that you need to learn is that when trapping animals, they can be extremely dangerous. Animals that are trapped will be the most vicious than any other time in their entire life. This is the moment when they are trapped and their bodies go into survival mode of their own. It’s the ancient fight or flight mode and since they can’t flee, they will use every tool in their arsenal for survival.

That means even the most harmless looking squirrel or rabbit can cause serious injury if you are careless of take them for granted. And the animal that looks subdued or defeated could very well just be saving its energy for one last stand.

When you trap animals, be prepared to kill them before you get within their striking zone. In other words, before you place your hands or arms or legs within range of them reaching you, make sure you instill the fatal blow. This could be through the use of a gun, a rock onto the head, or a knife. Whatever method you use, make certain before you try to remove the animal from the trap.

Traps come in all shapes and sizes

When talking about survival traps, there are many things to consider. Many questions. The first question is whether you are in a situation where you have no man-made traps or if you are prepared for this survival episode and have traps with you. We’ll start with the idea that you have planned for a situation of survival and have a few traps set aside somewhere.

The two most basic man-made traps are the cage trap and the snap trap. The cage trap is commonly used today to trap pesky animals for removal to another location. These small cages have traps on either side, or both, and when the animal wanders into the trap for the bait that is left there, the trap doors snap shut. The animal is unharmed and the only way to be released is if a person sets it free.

The snap trap is just like a mousetrap. These can be dangerous and are not commonly in use today outside of trapping bears. They are spring loaded and will snap closed on the animal, either on the leg or neck, and won’t be released without the intervention of another human being. Animals have been known to eat through their limbs to set themselves from of these traps. These traps will cause significant pain in the animal and cause intense survivalist rage in the animal. The can also inadvertently catch humans in them, causing serious injury. These snap traps should be used only if you know that there are no other people in the area.

Setting the trap

Whichever trap you choose, you will need to conceal it well. Animals, even those in the wild and those that have never come in contact with human beings, are a suspicious bunch and will approach non-natural items very warily, even when food bait is within them. Many animals who have had no contact with human or the products we produce will take a very long time to enter a trap. The more concealed it is, the higher the chances of luring it within the confines of the cage.

Make sure the trap is not along any kind of path as you could attract undo attention from other people looking to survive. You may also lose a meal, and a valuable trap, if someone comes across yours and decides to make it their own.

Deadfall traps

Of course, if the need to survive comes on suddenly, you may not have access to actual man-made traps. In this case, a deadfall trap is the perfect solution. This is basically a large, heavy object, like a boulder, that is propped up on a sequence of sticks with bait at the end of one, under the weight of the rock. When an animal takes the bait, the trap activates and the heavy rock or other object collapses on top of the animal, trapping it beneath. If the rock is large enough, it will kill the animal. If not, then you will need to take the same precautions in approaching the animal as previously noted.

Survival traps are just what they sound like. Without them, survival in the wild can become even more challenging.