Trapping is an art best left for tall men

To trap flying squirrels, I mount brackets on trees and place tomahawk traps on top of the bracket. The higher the trap is on a tree, the more capture success it will have. Now picture your 6' co-worker setting traps as high as he can reach, and then sending me (5'4) to set them.

See the problem? I spent half of my winter trying to scramble up trees with traps totally out of my reach. And to put the bait in the trap (peanut butter on the little peddle that shuts the door once its stepped on), I need to be "face and eyes" into the trap.

After about the 6th time climbing a pine's dead lower branches and then sliding down the tree, getting stabbed by the nub left by the branch when it broke off on the way down, I decided I needed a step of some sort - and I choose a milk crate for that purpose, because it was light and sturdy. The milk crate was my sidekick all winter, giving me the extra height needed to set traps with ease.