2024 Gamekeepers / Spring - Predator Control

Automation aids managers practicing trapping 
to benefit ground-nesting birds

The emphasis on trapping to benefit wild game species began when coyotes began to infiltrate the Southeast more than a decade ago. When hunters saw the first coyote in their favorite hunting spot, it set off a fire alarm for many and led to a scramble to find a trapper. Today, it’s wild turkeys and quail that are the game species in decline, and it turns out that ground-nesting predator control can be a key to helping them recover. Varmints, critters, furbearers, and other names allude to this army of egg-eaters armed with teeth, claws and the natural ability to find their prey.

Jason Hewett is owner of Private Land Management Co. in S.C., and he spent years managing large tracts of land for ground-nesting birds like quail. “You’ve got to understand the relationship between predator and prey when varmint trapping,” said Hewett. “We are always managing for habitat improvements, which increases prey numbers, and an uptick in predators is a part of that equation. Which means any intense trapping effort is likely to remove a large number of predators, but be prepared for similar numbers in the years to follow too.”

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To view past blog entries from Gamekeepers click on 2023 Wild Turkey Decline - 2022 Managing Duck Impoundments - 2021 Regional Wood Duck Study -  Fall 2021- Summer 2021 - Winter 2020- Spring 2020 - Fall 2017- Spring 2016 - Winter 2016 - Fall 2015 - Summer 2015 - Spring 2015 - Winter 2015 - Fall 2014 - Summer 2014 - Spring 2014 - Winter 2013