How to set a DOC200 Trap

Setting traps can be nerve-wracking! Especially for people new to trapping, and rightly so, as they are very powerful traps - you wouldn't want to get your fingers caught if the trap unexpectadly fires.

Generally speaking, it is difficult to set a DOC200 purely by pulling on the handle with one hand. The Waddington arm (the vertical arm that sits by the little nib/sear on the stem of the plate) can be difficult to pull through the kill bar with only one hand.

The handle reaches the side of the box which prevents pulling the kill bar up far enough, so you will usually need to use the strength of your other hand to squeeze the kill bar toward the back of your trap - which allows the arm to clear the kill bar and fall down into place.

In any case, setting the traps by hand often freaks people out because you do generally have to get your fingers in the trap.

I will always then transfer my fingers back to the handle before releasing the pressure -just incase it decides to misbehave and spring on me. Which can happen if the arm gets out of alignment from the top of the trap and doesn't catch enough to hold the kill bar up. It gives you a hell of a fright and I've had some pretty close calls and some injuries when traps fire like this.

All these risks & worries disappear when using the TrapEaze tool to set your traps. In fact, using the tool through the whole process of clearing, cleaning and setting your trap means you don't have to touch the trap with your hands at all.

You do still need a bit of arm strength to pull the kill bar up but the added length of the tool hooked around the handle makes the process much, much easier. Top tip - crouch or kneel by your trap to get down low when setting your trap, the angle works better than standing and bending over the trap.

I am very comfortable setting traps with my hands, but I find using the TrapEaze tool speeds up my trapping because you simply unhook from the side of the box once you've cleared and cleaned your trap, and keep pulling to set. Boom, job done, move on to the next trap.

Ocassionally the trap misbehaves and the arm doesn't set into place on the nib/sear and will swing to the back of the trap. In that case, just lower the kill bar back down and try again. 9 times out of 10 if you're a bit more careful and pull up slightly slower, the arm will catch and your trap will set. This problem also happens when setting traps by hand.

Non stainless, galvanised (rusty!) traps can be trickier to set too as the kill bar doesn't slide through as easy... still possible, you just need a bit more grunt to pull up and get the arm through.

TrapEaze is great for new trappers who don't like to to touch the traps & old-skool trappers to speed up trapping.

Happy Trappin'