Badgers are strong animals that can cause a lot of damage. They can den under homes and buildings and create problems for residents. The successful trapping of badgers can eliminate or prevent these problems. Badgers can be removed by using live traps and/or foothold traps set like those for coyotes. Snares have been used with mixed success, but they can be effective in the right situations.
Badgers often return to old diggings, so this is always a great place to trap. A good bait for badgers is a dead chicken placed within a recently dug burrow. Fur trapping may reduce badger populations locally, but badger pelts are generally of little value and most badgers are caught incidentally.
Foothold traps in the sizes #3 or #4 are adequate to hold even a large badger. However, rather than staking the trap to the ground, it is better to attach it to a drag such as a strong limb or similar object that the badger cannot pull down into its burrow. The problem with stationary stakes is that badgers will often dig in a circle around a stake, sometimes enough to loosen the stake and drag the trap away.
Badgers are neat animals when living in their natural habitat, but removal through trapping is sometimes necessary for both the badger and people. Before trapping, I recommend trying to “bother” the badger with enough activity to push the animal out of the area. This can include the continuous playing of a radio close to their den or continual filling in of their den. This harassment may be enough to get the badger to leave the area and move off to better, more appropriate habitat.
