Homemade Bear Traps

Bear traps are generally inhumane ways to trap a bear as it snaps around their leg, cutting into their flesh and trapping them in a small area. However, there are humane homemade bear traps which can be made in the woods or backyard where bears are becoming a problematic issue.

  1. Dig a Deep Hole

    • A very deep hole should be dug in the area where you want to place your bear trap. Assuming the bear is large and can stand 8 to 10 feet high, your hole should be about 15 feet deep and twice as wide as the bear you are trying to trap (about 6feet). This is a large hole and will take some effort to dig, so make sure you have the correct equipment and some help. Make sure the sides of the hole are as smooth as they possibly can be, so that a bear cannot climb up the sides.

    Create a Faux Surface

    • The surface of this trap should now be covered with long, thin sticks and brush so that it looks like the forest floor or sections of grass so it looks like a backyard. It should be strong enough to hold up when small animals like cats or dogs walk over it but will collapse when something as heavy as a bear walks over it, dropping them into the hole. This is essentially a very large version of something called a pit trap, which is one of the oldest traps used by human beings. This will cause the bear to fall to the bottom unharmed and be stuck in the hole until you come to get it out.

    Baiting the Hole

    • Draw bears to your trap using odiferous foods bears like to eat, like honey or salmon. You can leave this at the bottom of the hole or bury it in the faux top. However, this will probably attract other animals in the wild as well, causing you to inadvertently trap them or them to steal your bait and not allow you to properly attract a bear. This type of trap requires you keep a close eye on it, so that you catching animals you don't intend on catching and only the bear you originally set out to trap and so that children or others do not fall into the hole accidentally.