Havahart Medium 1-Door Humane Catch and Release Animal Trap for Rabbit, Skunk, Mink, and Squirrel - Professional Style Live Catch Trap - 1078SR - Humane Capture and Release

இ ԲμⓏʐᎽ ധƱ௨Ẕყ Rating: ѾѾѾѾѾ Highly recommended with warm fuzzies! Living in a city where the night temperatures regularly dive below freezing every winter, I had squirrels living in my attic for the past two years. Squirrels in the attic can cause a lot of damage by chewing up wood and electrical wiring, as well as using the attic as their cozy insulated toilet room. Chemical repellents and ultrasonic sound noisemakers that supposedly keep squirrels away do not always work. And shooting or poisoning them are cruel and messy methods, especially if the poisoned squirrel quietly dies and rots in my attic. So I decided to trap them using this Havahart cage and then relocate them to various open fields near a large state park. The cage is shipped with a useful instruction sheet, including a list of suggested baits for trapping various animals. For trapping squirrels that live in your attic, you do not need to place this cage trap in the attic. Walking around in unfinished attics can be dangerous since attics can be too hot in the summer or cold in the winter, you can fall through the ceiling by stepping in between joist beams, attics are dusty and dirty, and you can irritate your lungs, eyes, or skin with insulation materials. Just be observant about where the squirrels are roaming around your yard during the daytime. The squirrels may sleep in your attic at night, but they still need to forage for food around your property during the day. Place this cage in the area where you have previously spotted squirrel traffic. For my cage trap, I used a light trigger setting by just placing the tip of the trigger rod under the trap door's cross-rod. If the animal that you are trapping is really light in weight, you may have to take pliers and slightly bend the tip of the trigger rod so it is flat instead being slightly hook-shaped. But I did not need to make any adjustments or modifications to my cage trap to catch tree/gray squirrels. I have trapped both younger tree squirrels that were smaller in size and full-grown adults that were larger in size without needing to adjust the trigger rod. If the animal that you are trying to trap is just taking the bait but walking back out of the cage, you can make the trigger more sensitive by either having the spring-loaded trap door be held open with just the tip of the trigger rod pushing against the door's cross-rod (which is what I did) and/or using pliers to slightly bend the trigger rod into an L-shape, instead of its slight J-hook shape. The key to getting a squirrel to consistently trigger the trap door is to lure the squirrel into entering deep into the cage to eat bait that is placed BEYOND the trigger plate that is on the floor of the cage. This means placing the bait near the end that is opposite from the trap door. As long as the squirrel needs to put at least one foot onto the trigger plate in order to get to the food bait, that is enough to trigger the trap door closure. But you will not trap a squirrel if you place the bait closer to the trap door in front of the trigger plate. I took two plastic jar lids, drilled two holes into each of them, and used some small wires looped through the drilled holes to tie these two improvised food trays to the floor of the cage to use as food containers. I placed one inverted jar lid in front of the trigger plate and one jar lid all the way back at the rear of the cage. Since it is difficult to extend my hand to the very rear of this cage, I used tongs to position the plastic jar lid at the very rear of the cage while I used wire to tie it to the floor of the cage. For the front jar lid, I placed a small "appetizer" nibble of peanut butter and bread. In the rear jar lid that is placed behind the trigger plate, I used tongs to place a larger "main entree" hunk of peanut butter and bread. Squirrels love to eat peanut butter, and the great thing about using peanut butter as a bait is that peanut butter easily sticks onto the two jar-lid food trays that I have tied to the floor of my cage. Bait such as vegetables, cereals, or nuts may roll away or get blown away by wind. After putting the "appetizer" and "main entree" peanut butter bait into the two food trays inside the trap, I then placed the cage outside and rigged the trap door. I have uploaded a photo to the "Customer Images" gallery of this product showing the before-and-after of how the cage looks with the two food trays holding bread and peanut butter, and the squirrel that it trapped within a few hours of being set up. This cage trap is very effective at catching squirrels. This is my first squirrel-trapping experience, and I caught my first squirrel within two hours of setting the trap outside on the first day! You always remember your first... trapped squirrel :-) On the second day, leaving the cage in the same place, I trapped one squirrel (Squirrel #2) in the morning and one squirrel in the afternoon (Squirrel #3). On the third day, a lone squirrel repeatedly approached the cage with caution, but it never stepped inside the cage. Perhaps this squirrel saw the previous three squirrels being trapped inside the cage? I went outside and added more fresh bread and peanut butter to the food that was already in the cage. But the pesky Squirrel #4 refused to take the bait. On the morning of the fourth day, I cut open a kitchen garbage bag along its length to make a plastic sheet that I draped over the entire top of the cage. Covering the entire top of the cage with this white plastic sheet both camouflages the trap and also prevents the peanut butter from getting washed away when it rains. Both ends of the cage are not covered by the plastic and squirrels can still easily smell the peanut butter. I then placed a heavy boot scraper on top of cage to weigh it down and to also hold the plastic sheet cover in place. Placing one or two bricks on top of the cage will also prevent it from wobbling. In my uploaded photo, the boot scraper is molded like a pig; that photo shows Squirrel #2 being caught, before I also added the plastic sheet cover to my setup. I then added more bread and peanut butter to the copious amount that was already inside the cage. Voila! Camouflaging the cage did the trick. Squirrel #4 was trapped a few hours later. So either the squirrel was fooled by the white plastic sheet covering up the cage, or the squirrel finally succumbed to the temptation of the heaping-tablespoon-sized pile of peanut butter that was in the cage. I have trapped more than 13 squirrels within a two-week period just by baiting this cage trap with some peanut butter and bread. If the animal that you are trying to trap is not taking the bait, you may have to experiment with either varying the bait or changing the location of the trap. In my situation, there was one specific tree near the house that the squirrels often climbed up and down, and they would climb up the tree to hop onto my roof and get into my attic. I placed my cage trap near the base of that tree to specifically target the squirrels that were going into my attic. You can likewise place this trap near a tree or vegetable garden where the pests are frequently seen. If you place this trap in the middle of an open lawn area, even though they are naturally very curious animals, squirrels may not want to venture out to it because that exposes them to predators. But putting this cage trap near a tree trunk encourages them to come down and explore the peanut butter aroma coming from the cage. If you place this cage on uneven ground, make sure that soil, mulch, twigs, grass, or plants do not interfere with the operation of the trigger plate and the movement of the trigger rod. If the ground or grass interferes too much with the pressure plate triggering the trap door, you may have to either relocate the trap or place a flat board underneath the trap. After a squirrel has been trapped inside this cage, as a safety precaution, I like to wear thick gloves while carrying this cage and while opening the trap door to release the squirrel. I think that the possibility of getting bitten by a very irritated, frightened, and nervous squirrel is small, but why take the risk? To release the captured animal, the instructions mention to lift the door up and insert a stick or rod through both sides of the trap to prop open the spring-loaded door, and then step away from the trap to let the animal come out. But with all of my trapped squirrels, as soon as I opened the cage door, with my hand still holding the door open, the squirrel would race out through the opening like it was shot out from a cannon :-) They may loiter inside the cage for a few seconds, at most, before they realized that they could now escape. You should always thoroughly wash your hands with soap after handling this cage containing a trapped animal and releasing it. After each squirrel that I trap and release, I take a garden hose fitted with a nozzle and I use a forceful jet of water to wash the cage, and I also hose down the location where I had placed the trap to wash away the small bits of feces poop left by the squirrel. I then reload the washed cage trap with peanut butter bait and set it up again. You should check the cage at least once a day to see if an animal has been trapped. If you live in a cold-weather area during the winter, check the cage once more right before sunset, or before bedtime, to prevent the possibility of leaving a trapped animal sitting in sub-freezing weather overnight. And if you are going on vacation or no one will be able to check the trap once a day, do not leave the trap outside unattended. IMPORTANT: Check your local laws regarding the legality of trapping animals, if you can transport and release a trapped animal or if you have to kill an animal that you trap, and how and where you can release the animal. The laws governing live animal traps vary depending upon where you live, which state or country you live in, whether you live in an urban or rural area, and the particular species of animal that you are dealing with. Some state or city laws require you to obtain a permit to trap live animals, some laws only require a permit if you are going to trap, transport, and release an animal outside of your property, some laws do not allow you to release trapped animals and you have to (quickly and humanely) kill an animal that you trap, some laws forbid you from trapping or killing some species of animals, some laws only allow the killing of wildlife if it poses an immediate threat to your safety, etc, etc. For example, there is a species of woodpecker bird called the northern flicker. A homeowner in my area was previously fined a large amount of money for killing a northern flicker with an air rifle, even though that one specific bird was heavily damaging his home by pecking numerous holes all over the wood of his house. I have read plenty of online postings from people who knowingly violated their local wildlife laws by secretly releasing their trapped squirrels, without letting anyone see them, because they refuse to kill the squirrels that they trap. While those people may be cited/ticketed by authorities for violating their local wildlife laws, I can certainly empathize with their feelings. I have also seen horrible photos online where people submerged a cage containing a trapped animal in a tub of water to kill it. Animal experts now consider drowning and freezing to be inhumane ways to kill an animal. There are opinions stating that transporting and releasing a trapped animal outside of its home range may cause added stress and mortality risk to the animal, or the newly introduced animal may disrupt the existing ecosystem. But many users of live animal traps are morally opposed to being required to euthanize a trapped animal by humane methods such as a gun or air rifle shot to the head or quickly snapping the animal's neck. Before purchasing this animal trap (or before using an air rifle for pest control), you should at least contact your local wildlife department to see whether it is legal or illegal to trap the particular species of animal you are targeting, if and where you can transport and release the trapped animal, and maybe also ask for suggestions of locations where you can bring the trapped animal. After being informed of your local laws, whether you choose to break the rules based on your own personal values and beliefs is up to you. If you are trapping and releasing squirrels, be aware that squirrels (and many animals and birds) can have very good homing instincts to return back to your property within a few days. Release the squirrel at least 5 miles away from where you trapped it; 8+ miles is even better. Do not just walk down your street with the cage and release the trapped squirrel a few blocks away. Put the cage in your car and drive for at least 10 or 15 minutes away from your home to release the squirrel at a park, field, or wooded area. January 2013 update: During three months of using this Havahart cage, I trapped 26 tree squirrels. Although, as mentioned, squirrels can return back to your home if you release them too close to your home, each of my squirrels was driven to areas near a large state park about 10 to 12 miles from my home. So with each trapped squirrel, I drove 30 minutes round-trip and released each squirrel at various wooded areas. It was a hassle to drive each of the 26 squirrels away from my home, but in the end, it was all worth it! While cleaning out my gutters last week, I also discovered how the squirrels were getting into my attic. A small section of flashing that normally covers a corner juncture of my roof had blown away, leaving a small opening where the squirrels were entering my attic to use it as their winter vacation hideaway. I could not see this small roof opening from any window or while standing on the ground, and it was not until I climbed up a ladder that I finally noticed the opening due to missing flashing. So along with trapping 26 squirrels, which included both squirrels living in my attic and other squirrels that came from surrounding areas, I replaced the roof flashing so squirrels can no longer enter into my attic. My attic is now permanently free from all the daily squirrel sounds that I used to hear during the past two winter seasons. :-) If you also have pesky squirrels living in your attic, along with using this cage trap to relocate squirrels, carefully check all areas of your roof to see how the squirrels are getting into your attic. The opening that leads into your attic may be accidentally caused due to structural gaps (which was how my roof had an opening) or squirrels can also chew through shingles and wood to create an opening that leads into your attic. Before you repair and seal the opening though, be very certain that there are no other squirrels still in your attic. If you cover up a roof opening so that squirrels are trapped inside your attic, they can cause great damage by chewing their way through wood or walls in order to escape from your attic. Another risk is if a mother squirrel is living in your attic with babies. Sealing up the roof opening can trap the babies inside your attic where they will all die. Although squirrels can have babies at any time, they usually have two litters during early spring (February through May) and late summer (August through October). So you are far less likely to encounter mother and baby squirrels in your attic during mid-winter and early/mid-summer, and those are great times to seal up any roof openings if you have squirrels living in your attic.

This trap worked very well! We caught 7 squirrels before we went on vacation for 2 weeks and thought we had gotten them all (didn't hear anymore scratching noises on the ceiling, or see anymore scratched holes through the laundry room ceiling; and neither did our house sitter while we were gone), so we hadn't put the trap up in the week or so we have been back. But now it sounds like the squirrels are back, so we are going to have to bring out the trap again. I am sure we caught more squirrels than just whatever one (or ones) was living in our ceiling. There were a few days where we caught one everyday. We would put the trap by our back fence. It was baited with a couple small pieces of bread spread with peanut butter and dipped in flax seeds. These were put behind the trip plate. Then I would spread the trip plate with peanut butter, making sure to scrape some underneath the plate. Then after the trap was in place, I dumped bird seed on the trip plate (to stick to the peanut butter), inside and in front of the trap. Then finally I would put a piece of the peanut butter/flax seed bread less than a foot outside the opening to the trap. We saw one of them get caught. He went in and out of the trap getting food a few times, but eventually did trip the plate. I was a little worried that the weight needed to trip the trap would be too great, but I also didn't want to set the trap more loosely (I would rather have the squirrel get away with a free meal once or twice instead of having the trap trip prematurely and only scare him away from ever going near the trap again). But this does not seem to be an issue. I set the trap normally (there are instructions on if you want to lessen the tension needed to trip), to maximum tension, and it was fine every time. Never once found the trap empty of food without a squirrel in it. So, 7 squirrels down and apparently more to go. This trap really does work well! Very sturdy, long enough so their tails don't get caught, and easy to set up and open again.

There was a possum living in our garage. I put cat food in a dish the first night but it didn't go for it. The second time I put some vinegar on the cat food and microwaved it a couple minutes. The house stunk, but it did its job... woke up in the morning and it was caught. Expect lots of poop. Put a towel over the top and possum stayed calm. Put a large Amazon box underneath so it wouldn't drip all over and took it outside. The problem however, was when I released it outdoors on our property (Required by law) I tried to latch the cage open so I could walk away and he could leave, but because the possum hid in the back of the cage where the trigger plate is, the latch was always triggered so the door couldn't stay open. I had to use a stick to force the door open which made me nervous that I'd get bit. It still wouldn't leave the cage so I removed the blanket to let him know he was outside in the open, left and turned the sprinklers on.. I peeked out 2 minutes later and it was gone. So great trap, but 1 star off for bad release system. Put some newspaper or cardboard underneath the trap to save some cleanup.

Very easy to use. We’ve caught and released six squirrels so far!

I bought this trap from Amazon Warehouse Deals, it was marked used like new I wish new products came to me this perfect. I was expecting some wear and tear, to my surprise it was immaculate, I saved some money which I used to purchase some squirrel bait. Don't listen to some of the other reviews which tell you to adjust the inner workings of the Havahart 1078, they work just fine. I used to live in New Orleans and trapping is a pastime down in the bayou maybe I learned from that. Anyway I had a major squirrel problem, 2 living in my house, and a neighbor who feeds them 24/7. These squirrels ate better than me and my family, my neighbor would not stop her feeding routine so I might catch the right varmints. They lived in the space between the vinyl siding and the roof overhangs at least they were outside but so was every other squirrel. So I had no other choice but to thin out the herd, not an easy task when their bellys are full thanks to my lousy neighbor. My instincts as a avid hunter and fisherman took over, location and bait. I observed the squirrel's travels to and from their feeding grounds, I remembered their short cuts and place the trap accordingly. The bait which I chose was a combination of many squirrel delicacys peanut butter, cookies, shelled nuts, and the feast of resistance cheetos. You don't just throw it in the trap you need to place it intelligently. Get a net bag like the ones garlic come in, hang it from the top inside of trap secured with 0.5mm galvinized wire or twist ties, easy on easy off, load net with cheetos and smear with peanut butter place it behind the trap plate. Also get a 1LB deli container lid punch two holes near the edges thread 0.5mm wire through so you can secure it to both sides of trap easily with the help of a small pair of needlenose pliers. Bait lid with peanut butter stick some loose nuts in it and a piece of cookie place behind trap plate and under net bag. To help lure them in don't spread bait around the exterior of your trap, take a piece of masking tape place 2 inches in trap smear with very little peanut butter, just enough to stick some crumbled cheetos to it. With this technique I proceeded to eliminate 17 varmints, including the ones I needed to get, it took that many for me to catch the right ones. The trap worked like a charm setting it is simple, you can even set it with a hair trigger by touching the plate a bit when set, don't forget to place a weight of some type on top of the trap to keep it steady. This trap took a beating and still works like new, I never had one for that price work so well. I named it the Squirrelinator, 17 squirrels and counting, takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Oh and by the way I have plenty of squirrel tails to tie my trout flies with while I enjoy my Cajun Squirrel Gumbo!

Needs some modifications to function properly... You need to make sure the trap door doesn't rub on the cage, I had to take a hammer and to one side of the cage so that the door actuated properly. I picked up some flat wheel weights from my tire store to put on the compression plate so that it would actuate properly. First couple of time the critter walked right out because the plate wasn't sensitive enough. Once modified, it functions well....

So impressed with this trap, that I want to write to the manufacturer directly and just thank them! This trap comes fully assembled, easy instruction on how to set and release, it really could not be much simpler. If you have an issue with an squirrel or anything similar on your property this is the trap you want! Backstory time, we have had a squirrel or two or three we really have no clue but they chew through our outdoor extension cords all the time that go to my workshop and I'm just so incredibly mad about them destroying my electrical that I had to get this trap. I used one of these 25 years ago as a youth trapping all type of forest critters that I knew it would work so I finally pulled the trigger and got another new one. I just got this trap YESTERDAY, I baited it with some Trail Mix and this morning I caught my first squirrel! I put it in the car and drove it to the neighboring county and released it in this really nice neighborhood. Kidding, but I did drive it far away and released it into the forest. I came home smiling and reset the trap not thinking anything of it, and within a couple more hours I caught my SECOND squirrel in the same day! Now I'll get rid of this one, reset the trap and shoot for THREE today! If that happens, I will come back and update this post and vouch even further for this. You get the idea though, this is a good trap. I noticed when releasing the animal into the wild, when you open the door, just wiggle the trap a little and the animal will kind of run out not looking back. The first squirrel ran right up a huge tree and looked at me from 50 feet up, then started hopping branches trying to figure out how to get back to my house to eat more of my extension cords again. Trail Mix seemed to be the ultimate bait for squirrels that I've found and it worked better than anything! Highly recommended! Good luck!

I have two other traps from Havahart. One larger (Raccoon 1 door) and one smaller (small rodent 2 door). Both work without an issue. I bought this for squirrels after reading user forums to see how to bait it to ensure a catch. I caught one of the destructive males that have eluded me for some time, but this trap definitely has a design flaw. Just like the larger (Raccoon) trap, this has a door with a lock bar mechanism that keeps the door locked after slamming shut. Unfortunately, the 2nd spring on the door is so strong that the lock flies out BEFORE the door can shut and therefore the tab on the top that holds the lock bar is still raised. The result is that the lock bar just comes flying out of the unit where is serves no purpose and the captured animal can (and did) easily push the door open and exit, which is exactly what happened this morning with my first time use with this trap. With all the other quality and design issues mentioned, I don't know if I will order a replacement. Perhaps once and if it fails like this, I will go to another manufacturer, but view my video and see for yourself what happens. The lock bar should not come out of the trap like that. (Sorry that the video is rotated 90 degrees. I didn't know how to correct that).