The wildlife commission in each state is to blame in my opinion. They set the trappibg dates and harvest limits. As well as introducing these invasive species such as coyotes to areas that they now thrive in.
John - I agree that trapping dates in many states is an issue, but no state agency introduced coyotes. You may be from the east. Coyotes have been moving that direction for many decades. This is well documented.
Man I love trapping! I've never done it for the money but it sure does make it hard to justify driving all around setting traps when the prices are so low. I really don't know what the solution is
I really enjoyed talking to you today about my properties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It was nice actually meeting you face to face. I look forward to hopefully hiring you to right up a management plan for them. It’s a shame we couldn’t have talked longer but I enjoyed talking to you. God bless!
Love all these videos but a lot of it does not apply to the average hunter that is limited to public hunting lands. I still try and trap and have noticed a huge impact on the turkey population at the WMA where I hunt that's near me.
Jerrid - Thanks for watching! - We hope everyone can benefit from our tips and techniques. I work with several folks that hunt/own 10-40 acres. - grant
I just recently got into trapping, it’s not easy for me to see the animal trapped and dispatch it, but so far we’ve eaten all the meat. Surprisingly raccoon, skunk, armadillo and even coyote was really nice to meat if cooked properly.
GrowingDeer.tv Believe it or not mine went into a live trap that had cat food and fish oil. Thank you about the heads up with the leprosy I’m aware of the disease that they carry at times I believe it is now highly curable thank God
Dr. Grant I have a question, I’m planning on clearing a small piece of property that is mostly cedar and hackberry dominant with very little mast trees. I plan on planting fruit and nut bearing trees afterwards, but there is an invasive shrub call privet that is growing everywhere; people have told me it was tough, do you have any solutions to get rid of it?
Tanner - Sounds like a great project! Checkout the following link to learn about controlling privet - grantextension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/W324.pdf
John - I hope so - probably in June or July. Send and email to info@GrowingDeer.com if you'd like to be up on our Field Event list for early notice. - grant
Lots of timber stand improvement projects to open the forest canopy and allow cover to grow versus a bed of leaves and the use of prescribed fire. - grant
On my property the turkey decline is not from human hunting. Top killers of turkey with no bag limit or closed season are: coons, possum, skunk, red fox, grey fox, snakes, weasel, mink, feral cats, bobcat, and coyote.
Mike - No doubt predators are a huge issue. This paired with declining habitat quality in many areas is causing turkey populations to decline - rapidly.
@@GrowingDeerTV stop spewing the habitat propaganda. On my property they habitat has improved human hunting pressure is non-existent yet the turkey population has declined to nearly zero. Predator populations have gone through the roof. In years past using a turkey hen Yelp I have called in six or eight foxes and three or four coyotes all coming into the sound of Turkeys. I have set chicken eggs that have been in the refrigerator to long time out on the back porch and raccoons could smell those eggs in the carton and they climbed up the stairs on the porch and got into the eggs. I put up a bluebird house and there were baby bluebirds in that house, a raccoon climbed up the post stuck his hand in the hole and ate the baby bluebirds. But somehow you believe that is loss of habitat.
But yet, the material I keep reading from the Missouri Department of Conservation keeps on saying that predators have very little to do with the issue, which I don't understand. How could predators have little to do with the issue of decreasing turkey numbers if predator populations are on the rise? It's usually an accepted fact that as predator numbers increase, there's a decrease in prey numbers. If that's the case, then why does MDC say the opposite? Sure, the weather doesn't help any. Cold snaps in April and alot of rain could probably also have a detrimental effect, but there's no way that predator numbers don't. I'm not saying that what you're saying is wrong, I agree with you. I'm just perplexed as to why MDC states that predators have little to do with the decreasing numbers.
Really good habitat can reduce the impact of predators - if the predator population isn't too out of balance. With turkey numbers declining in many areas, we need to do both, improve the habitat and reduce the number of predators.
I wonder what other factors are hitting these Southeastern/Lower Midwest turkey populations. Here in coastal California, on public parklands and local utility district open-space parcels, we have beaucoup meso- and avian predators and cougars, but turkey populations (rios) are expanding (and blacktailed deer holding well @ 30-45/sq. mile). What we've not got are human hunting, nor for that matter, trapping (not opposed to either here) . . . most agriculture is livestock grazing, with little in the way of broadcast pesticides/herbicides, nor treated seed use . . . summer rainfall is almost unknown, but we also get a few storms during early brood rearing weeks. We've the advantage of tens of thousands of acres of contiguous habitat rather than fragmented parcels, and the birds are spilling over into suburban and residential urban neighborhoods . . . ??
Jence - Send an email to info@growingdeer.com and tell me more about your property including acreage, habitat types (ag fields, pasture, timber, etc. - grant
Harvest numbers also should be put into the context of trapping effort to better understand why the numbers went up. Maybe they just spent twice as many hours trapping? Regardless, I would guess part of the reason Grant is seeing a lot more turkeys is the significantly increased/improved brood rearing and nesting habitat, combined with expanded food options from his food plots. Would love to see him make a video about that, especially with the removal of all the cedars/opening of the glades, woodland burning, etc.. There's a whole lot more going on there.
Bucks N Trucks - Nathan is correct - we've put more effort into trapping each year. We have great habitat as do many landowners but turkey numbers are declining in most areas where predators aren't controlled. - grant
Nathan - You are correct that we are putting more effort - more traps out each year. We've had several videos about cutting cedars and using prescribed fire and will continue to share updates from these projects. - grant
Turkey's eat ticks also! I'd rather see more turkeys that opossums. Very few properties are trapped these days yet ticks are a big nuisance in most places! There doesn't seem to be much evidence that opossums reduce tick populations on the landscape. - grant
If there's video evidence of possums in America actively foraging for ticks, I hope they'll post it. I've seen tens of thousands of possums in the wild, and have yet to see one actively foraging for ticks. I do know they raid nests, eat fruits and mast, dig in people's vegetable gardens, eat people's eggs and poultry, leave foul turds and urine everywhere I'd rather have the game birds and small game animals and the young game animals than the "cutest " varmint that walks
Feregni -The Missouri Department of Conservation doesn't consider a critter to be a nuisance unless it's damaging property and we don't own wild turkeys. = grant
@@GrowingDeerTV Hmm, I checked my state regs closer. About the same. If it comes to it, my defense will be scads of photos of them eating supplemental feed (my property) and there is no value in their fur. Hopefully the truth will set me free. Hard to argue they aren't destructive vermin in the south. Worse than rats. Rank closer to hogs.
Just started trapping here in Kansas and love it. 12 traps in one day netted me 5 coons.
Missouri needs to extend trapping season!!!
Brendan - I agree! - grant
Great topic Grant. I love to turkey hunt.
Noel - Me too! - grant
The wildlife commission in each state is to blame in my opinion. They set the trappibg dates and harvest limits. As well as introducing these invasive species such as coyotes to areas that they now thrive in.
John - I agree that trapping dates in many states is an issue, but no state agency introduced coyotes. You may be from the east. Coyotes have been moving that direction for many decades. This is well documented.
In one year alone we noticed a tremendous difference. We used to find eaten turkey eggs now we have baby turkeys!
Thanks for sharing! - grant
Man I love trapping! I've never done it for the money but it sure does make it hard to justify driving all around setting traps when the prices are so low. I really don't know what the solution is
Paul - There are many landowners concerned about the turkey population. Maybe you could trap for a landowner? - grant
I really enjoyed talking to you today about my properties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It was nice actually meeting you face to face. I look forward to hopefully hiring you to right up a management plan for them. It’s a shame we couldn’t have talked longer but I enjoyed talking to you. God bless!
Aaron - Thanks for coming to the Great American! It was a fun event. I do hope our paths cross again soon! - grant
Great topic
Thanks Grant!
Love all these videos but a lot of it does not apply to the average hunter that is limited to public hunting lands. I still try and trap and have noticed a huge impact on the turkey population at the WMA where I hunt that's near me.
Jerrid - Thanks for watching! - We hope everyone can benefit from our tips and techniques. I work with several folks that hunt/own 10-40 acres. - grant
Man I learned so much from this video thank you!!
Rudolph - Thanks! - grant
I just recently got into trapping, it’s not easy for me to see the animal trapped and dispatch it, but so far we’ve eaten all the meat. Surprisingly raccoon, skunk, armadillo and even coyote was really nice to meat if cooked properly.
Texas - Be very careful eating Armadillo - some carry leprosy. Armadillos are insect eaters and rarely go in traps. - grant
GrowingDeer.tv Believe it or not mine went into a live trap that had cat food and fish oil. Thank you about the heads up with the leprosy I’m aware of the disease that they carry at times I believe it is now highly curable thank God
Dr. Grant I have a question, I’m planning on clearing a small piece of property that is mostly cedar and hackberry dominant with very little mast trees. I plan on planting fruit and nut bearing trees afterwards, but there is an invasive shrub call privet that is growing everywhere; people have told me it was tough, do you have any solutions to get rid of it?
Tanner - Sounds like a great project! Checkout the following link to learn about controlling privet - grantextension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/W324.pdf
Will there be a Field Days this year?
John - I hope so - probably in June or July. Send and email to info@GrowingDeer.com if you'd like to be up on our Field Event list for early notice. - grant
What are some of your turkey habitat projects you were referring to?
Lots of timber stand improvement projects to open the forest canopy and allow cover to grow versus a bed of leaves and the use of prescribed fire. - grant
On my property the turkey decline is not from human hunting. Top killers of turkey with no bag limit or closed season are: coons, possum, skunk, red fox, grey fox, snakes, weasel, mink, feral cats, bobcat, and coyote.
Mike - No doubt predators are a huge issue. This paired with declining habitat quality in many areas is causing turkey populations to decline - rapidly.
@@GrowingDeerTV stop spewing the habitat propaganda. On my property they habitat has improved human hunting pressure is non-existent yet the turkey population has declined to nearly zero. Predator populations have gone through the roof. In years past using a turkey hen Yelp I have called in six or eight foxes and three or four coyotes all coming into the sound of Turkeys. I have set chicken eggs that have been in the refrigerator to long time out on the back porch and raccoons could smell those eggs in the carton and they climbed up the stairs on the porch and got into the eggs. I put up a bluebird house and there were baby bluebirds in that house, a raccoon climbed up the post stuck his hand in the hole and ate the baby bluebirds. But somehow you believe that is loss of habitat.
First comment keep doing the vids
Thanks Nyles! - grant
@@GrowingDeerTV i harvested an 8 point on the 16 of February
But yet, the material I keep reading from the Missouri Department of Conservation keeps on saying that predators have very little to do with the issue, which I don't understand. How could predators have little to do with the issue of decreasing turkey numbers if predator populations are on the rise? It's usually an accepted fact that as predator numbers increase, there's a decrease in prey numbers. If that's the case, then why does MDC say the opposite? Sure, the weather doesn't help any. Cold snaps in April and alot of rain could probably also have a detrimental effect, but there's no way that predator numbers don't. I'm not saying that what you're saying is wrong, I agree with you. I'm just perplexed as to why MDC states that predators have little to do with the decreasing numbers.
Really good habitat can reduce the impact of predators - if the predator population isn't too out of balance. With turkey numbers declining in many areas, we need to do both, improve the habitat and reduce the number of predators.
i herd a turkey get eaten during deer hunting 2018. last summer we didn't see any at all. :(
Goodness - Turkey populations are in trouble in many areas. - grant
I wonder what other factors are hitting these Southeastern/Lower Midwest turkey populations. Here in coastal California, on public parklands and local utility district open-space parcels, we have beaucoup meso- and avian predators and cougars, but turkey populations (rios) are expanding (and blacktailed deer holding well @ 30-45/sq. mile). What we've not got are human hunting, nor for that matter, trapping (not opposed to either here) . . . most agriculture is livestock grazing, with little in the way of broadcast pesticides/herbicides, nor treated seed use . . . summer rainfall is almost unknown, but we also get a few storms during early brood rearing weeks. We've the advantage of tens of thousands of acres of contiguous habitat rather than fragmented parcels, and the birds are spilling over into suburban and residential urban neighborhoods . . . ??
How many tender traps would I need on 100 acres
Mark - There are lots of variables but a dozen would be a great start! - grant
@@GrowingDeerTV thank you...and thank you for all of your help.
How can I get you to come look at my property and how much would it cost I am located mid missouri a little below kansas city thank you. Jence
Jence - Send an email to info@growingdeer.com and tell me more about your property including acreage, habitat types (ag fields, pasture, timber, etc. - grant
@@GrowingDeerTV I sent you an email containing the details thank you for your willingness to help.
I shot a doe this morning and a doe yesterday afternoon !!!!
Lots of venison! Congratulations - grant
GrowingDeer.tv thank you!!
You've been trapping for 10yrs and more "predators" this year than ever before? That should tell you something fellas
What I was thinking.
Harvest numbers also should be put into the context of trapping effort to better understand why the numbers went up. Maybe they just spent twice as many hours trapping? Regardless, I would guess part of the reason Grant is seeing a lot more turkeys is the significantly increased/improved brood rearing and nesting habitat, combined with expanded food options from his food plots. Would love to see him make a video about that, especially with the removal of all the cedars/opening of the glades, woodland burning, etc.. There's a whole lot more going on there.
Bucks N Trucks - Nathan is correct - we've put more effort into trapping each year. We have great habitat as do many landowners but turkey numbers are declining in most areas where predators aren't controlled. - grant
Nathan - You are correct that we are putting more effort - more traps out each year. We've had several videos about cutting cedars and using prescribed fire and will continue to share updates from these projects. - grant
I have mixed feelings about controlling possums since they eat a significant amount of ticks.
Turkey's eat ticks also! I'd rather see more turkeys that opossums. Very few properties are trapped these days yet ticks are a big nuisance in most places! There doesn't seem to be much evidence that opossums reduce tick populations on the landscape. - grant
That's false on those critters. Turkeys and poults eat way more ticks
If there's video evidence of
possums in America actively
foraging for ticks, I hope
they'll post it.
I've seen tens of thousands of
possums in the wild, and have
yet to see one actively foraging for ticks.
I do know they raid nests, eat
fruits and mast, dig in people's vegetable gardens, eat people's eggs and poultry, leave foul turds and urine everywhere
I'd rather have the game birds and small game animals and
the young game animals than
the "cutest " varmint that walks
Isn't trapping "season" about pelts? Can you not take out nuisance critters any time in your state? Buzzards gotta eat too.
Feregni -The Missouri Department of Conservation doesn't consider a critter to be a nuisance unless it's damaging property and we don't own wild turkeys. = grant
@@GrowingDeerTV
Hmm, I checked my state regs closer. About the same. If it comes to it, my defense will be scads of photos of them eating supplemental feed (my property) and there is no value in their fur. Hopefully the truth will set me free. Hard to argue they aren't destructive vermin in the south. Worse than rats. Rank closer to hogs.
영어본문
Google Translate detects this is Korean but don't provide what it means?
I going to start trapping raccoons this season and I can't wait to do it.
Good! Me too!
You guys should predator hunt since you can’t keep trapping
Joel - We try but it's not nearly as effective as several traps out daily. - grant
GrowingDeer.tv I agree it was awesome getting to see you at the show