Is baiting for pests hunting?

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rangur1

rangur1

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Jan 4, 2018
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peoples republic of New York
Technically , No. However , is it a cake walk? NO! The key aspect is that baiting for pests , not deer , bear , or other game that has restrictions. Yes , I am aware squirrel and raccoon have for the most part , game limits on them. My point is to the situation where one is overun with these "game animals" . In short , when I have a request to deal with these critters at a friends request , I have a finite amount of time and availability to deal with them. Baiting is the remedy to deal with said problem in a timely manner with trail cams to mark activity patterns. Guess what? The targets don't always cooperate with their recorded patterns of visit , especially raccoons. Even with baiting , even with trail cam footage , just when you think you have a pattern of arrival at a given spot , You don't! It's hunting , straight up , instead of trapesing through the woods looking for eye shine , you sit waiting at a specific local hoping something shows - when there is NO garantee that they will. I know some hunting purists frown on baiting methods , but pesting is a zero sum gain , you either win completely , or you lose and need to continue in the quest. It has it's challenges , like hunting , different , but still there to be reckoned with. Rant / point over , LOL!



Mod edit: moved to hunting section
 
i think unless your a licensed pest control operation your on some shakey legal ground 'pesting' for example to get rid of your friends squirrel/racoon problem .. they arnt a pest to you ... but protecting and managing your own property i think any strategy is legitimate including baiting and setting them up ... putting a pile of food out for no reason other than to attract something to kill though is psychotic .. understand the fine line between pesting and mental illness lol ... 'me want feed pwetty birdy ..you birdy kind not allow i kill you' .. ok pal your borderline lol ...
 
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The only game/pest issue for me and my neighbors is squirrels. Like all rodents, they chew anything, all the time, it's their instinctive and physical nature. It cost one neighbor $600 in auto wiring repair (which he discovered was not a warranty claim on his new car). I don't specifically bait them, but our bird feeders are a major attraction, which helps keep them away from the house and garage. I kill them year round which, technically, violates the game laws. But unless I were to put a pellet in a neighbor's house, car, or person, I can't imagine it ever being an issue. And I am very careful to avoid letting a pellet escape my property. I have to pass up a majority of easy shots in an abundance of caution. So, if you need to bait the critters, I wouldn't worry about it, but advise discretion.


 
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After $1200 in wiring harness replacement, 2021 Toyota Tacoma 4x4, all rodents go BuBye.

Psychotic is a harsh word :) and baiting to kill rodents without the use of poison is actually HUMANE. I would NEVER want any of our songbirds, or even neglected stray cats, to get poisoned.

Lead Dispensers Save Lives!


 
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I live out in the suburbs. My house is on the corner of two relatively busy roads. I cannot walk around my yard with a (air) rifle shooting rats , mice or starlings. So I hunt over a bait pile. Pest come to one spot and I can stay out of the view of the general public. 
My house is also old. Built in the 1920s before building codes. The house has a dirt basement. Anything the size of a rat or smaller can (and does ) get into my house. 
I am not going to randomly shoot around my basement in hopes of dispatching a mouse or rat. I hunt over a bait pile. As a matter of fact. I got this rat last night. 
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B9BECA85-C1E6-47FB-823D-79DE41A03E4D.1638369849.jpeg

 
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Dizzums seems to be obsessed with mental health in others. I'd suggest talking to a therapist about projection issues. 

Generally I don't see shooting pests as hunting. I don't really consider opening a bedroom window to shoot hunting. I don't consider rooting vermin out of the chicken coop as hunting. I am not opposed to killing vermin in any format. I regularly do all of the above. It's just not how I define hunting.

As to shooting over bait. Bait is a tool that allows for a focusing the target species in a safe direction. If a target species (vermin or game) isn't already there, baiting isn't going to make them be there. Baiting is a pastime as old as man has been eating meat.
 
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Dizzums seems to be obsessed with mental health in others. I'd suggest talking to a therapist about projection issues. 

Generally I don't see shooting pests as hunting. I don't really consider opening a bedroom window to shoot hunting. I don't consider rooting vermin out of the chicken coop as hunting. I am not opposed to killing vermin in any format. I regularly do all of the above. It's just not how I define hunting.

As to shooting over bait. Bait is a tool. If a target species (vermin or game) isn't already there, baiting isn't going to make them be there. Baiting is a pastime as old as man has been eating meat.
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I can definitely see that perspective , my situation warrants me sitting out back outside for sometimes 4-5 hours and more often than not a raccoon decides not to show or arrive a half hour after I finally call it a night. Rats are very tough for me as well as they figure the IR is bad for them very quickly. Now I saw baiting pests as a different kind of hunting only because it entails a shooter - me and target quarry. Either I succeed or fail. In the end , it is NOT hunting , just a different set of challenges . That was the essence of the OP.
 
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@rangur1

Use a motion sensor camera. On another forum we are discussing cameras and using an old cell phone as a motion sensor, live view and recording device. It works. Google Play Store and query "Alfred"

I spotted a possum AND raccoon this morning.

raccoon
https://youtu.be/sFiZeAwIhc0

possum
https://youtu.be/lMGqkxcben0
 
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Baiting for pests is pesting. I feel no guilt whatsoever as my "job" at my permissions is to eradicate ground squirrels & rabbits that mess with the owners agricultural products. Sometimes we call it hunting but we know we are pesting. Hunting itself is a whole other level & skill set. What we do is baiting and (or) waiting when eradicating rodents.
 
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"Baiting for pests" is exactly as it states. It is pesting. As others have said hunting/pesting,, its 2 different overlapping skill sets.

Hunting involves finding appropriate areas where your chosen game will be, then stalking or setting up a stand/hide to maybe allow a good humane shot. Finding the right habitat is not part of pesting.

Figuring the correct hold over/clicks for the various distances possibly encountered when stalking, is a skill in itself. As is squeezing off a shot at the perfect moment when game is either in the cross-hairs or will be in the cross-hairs when shot arrives at target. Stalking is another hunting skill all unto itself, some are very good at it others not so much. Being able to follow a blood trail or track a wounded animal is also a important hunting skill that shouldn't be needed often for an experienced pesting baiter with the correct bait station set up.



Pesting areas are already well defined as one knows where his pests are located. The best bait stations are erected at the perfect predefined distance and position, makes for easy holdover calcs. Sounds simple, but to set up a bait station that allows for perfect humane brain shots most every time takes some thinking and experience.

1) the right bait must be used to keep the critters head stationary long enough to get that perfect brain shot off.

2) the way the bait is delivered/accessible, helps create that perfect humane shot placement.

Doesn't have to be a complex bait station to work well, I use a rectangular piece of plywood smeared with PB about 6" up on the wood, making the critter stand facing the wood backstop with base of brain facing me for the perfect shot while pest is licking the PB with head stationary for many seconds at a time. The 3/4" plywood also acts as the backboard/backstop to catch the pellets....

jmo



159102.1638381008.jpg


For those that think nutters aren't pests, look carefully at my avatar....
 
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Sounds like people need to mind their own business. You don't like to hunt then don't, but don't judge me for doing so. 

Don't like to use bait to hunt, then don't, but don't judge me or others for doing so. 

Don't like ambush hunting, then don't, and don't judge me or others for doing so. 



To many people anymore are constantly trying to push their ideals on others. They feel their way is superior and the only way. Bugger off and hunt the way you feel comfortable with. 
 
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Sounds like people need to mind their own business. You don't like to hunt then don't, but don't judge me for doing so. 

Don't like to use bait to hunt, then don't, but don't judge me or others for doing so. 

Don't like ambush hunting, then don't, and don't judge me or others for doing so. 



To many people anymore are constantly trying to push their ideals on others. They feel their way is superior and the only way. Bugger off and hunt the way you feel comfortable with.
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Cool Man!!!
 
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