WOW Gold Home --> How do Hunter traps work?
Hunters have the ability to place traps while out of combat with no arming time, or in combat with a two second arming time. Once placed, they will appear on the ground at the hunter's feet, where they will remain for a time unless triggered or disarmed. If an opponent steps on a trap it will go off, inflicting its effects on the target.

Traps are not triggered by friendly targets so you need not worry about your pet or your party members accidentally stepping on them. You can only have a single trap active at any one time. Traps can be detected just like stealthed units can be detected.