Trap For Your Life

Part 9: The Two Stick Deadfall

As I’ve said before, deadfall traps can be difficult to construct; however, they can be made from all-natural materials. The trap we will be constructing in this article is made from simple materials — two sticks and a rock. Building deadfall traps can be dangerous if a rock falls on your hand, so be careful — it hurts. (Trust me, I know.)

You'll Need:

• A 12-inch stick
• A 15-inch stick
• A large rock
• A knife

Steps:

Take your 15-inch stick (the supporting stick) and use your knife to flatten the end out, like the images below.

Take your 12-inch stick (the triggering stick) and use your knife to make a groove near one end of the stick, like the image below.

On the other end of the triggering stick, use your knife to sharpen it to a point.

Find a good location to set up your trap. In previous articles we discussed ideal locations for trap setting.

Now place the groove of the triggering stick onto the flattened end of the supporting stick. Place the rock on the triggering stick (this may be tricky, so be careful.) The supporting stick is doing the heavy lifting.

Place bait, such as peanut butter or acorns, in front, behind, under, and beside the triggering stick.

Once an animal bumps the triggering stick, the rock falls of the sticks and crushes the animal. This trap can trap chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, and opossums. Again, be careful with this trap; it may fall hand on your hands, bruising or breaking your hand.

Have you ever used a deadfall trap to catch small game? Let us know in the comments!

If you liked this article, check out the rest of our Trap For Your Life series.

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