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Best squirrel trap?? (1 Viewer)

Fraulein ash

Fraulein ash

Woodpecker stalker
I'm so tired of the squirrels. We're going to order a baffle for our 4x4 post feeder station, but it's my understanding that these baffles are flimsy and the squirrels will eventually find a way around them if given the time. I would like to combat these squirrels with TWO methods...

The other day on my walk I saw a neighbor with a baffle around his feeding station and a cage-like trap underneath to catch squirrels in a humane way and release them back into the wild. See pic attached. I looked up about a dozen different traps like this on Amazon by various companies... and there wasn't a SINGLE trap where there wasn't a review stating the squirrels could chew right through the metal bars.


I need a HUMANE trap that the squirrels cannot chew through. There are at least a dozen that live in my roof and another dozen or so that live around my property elsewhere, so I have a LOT of work to do here. I can't have a squirrels ruin the trap the first day I put it out... ideas??
 

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I use a cone shaped baffle on my feeder poles and have absolutely defeated the Red Squirrels. They climb the pole but when they reach the baffle, they turn around and go back down. When they jump onto the baffle, because it is sloped, they just slide off. Just make sure that there isn't anywhere that they can jump from to the feeder.
As for traps, I use Havahart live traps. I've got a variety of sizes that I use for everything from mice to skunks to raccoons and have never had an animal chew through them and I've been using them for more than 20 years. At times I've had squirrels chew their way into the walls of the house and I've had to live trap them and remove them. I trapped 17 one summer. Please check the traps daily.
 
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snowyowl said:
I use a cone shaped baffle on my feeder poles and have absolutely defeated the Red Squirrels. They climb the pole but when they reach the baffle, they turn around and go back down. When they jump onto the baffle, because it is sloped, they just slide off. Just make sure that there isn't anywhere that they can jump from to the feeder.
As for traps, I use Havahart live traps. I've got a variety of sizes that I use for everything from mice to skunks to raccoons and have never had an animal chew through them and I've been using them for more than 20 years. At times I've had squirrels chew their way into the walls of the house and I've had to live trap them and remove them. I trapped 17 one summer. Please check the traps daily.
Click to expand...


The baffles I've seen for the regular metal poles are built much stronger than the ones that are made for 4x4 wood poles. I have only found TWO kinds that are made for the type of pole I have, and they are both made by the same company. The reviews for them both state issues with flimsiness over time, so this baffle alone cannot combat the excessive number of squirrels I have. :(

I am wondering if the Havahart traps I've seen reviews for on amazon where the squirrels chewed right through the bars were situations where the squirrels were left for extended periods of time. I imagine that if a squirrel were left there LONG ENOUGH, or if the squirrel was left in the beating hot sun and dying of thirst/hunger... perhaps these situations would make the squirrel fight harder to get out? I do not intend to leave the squirrel in such a situation for more than a few hours, tops. But I need to be confident that if I purchase a trap that it can hold the squirrel for a short while until we can drive it to the woods.

Online it states to take the squirrel about TEN MILES from your house... SERIOUSLY?? Why so far? Surely the thing cannot find its way home if it is over a mile away, right??
 
Havahart traps are great. They work, they're very humane, and there's no way a squirrel will chew through -- assuming he's not there for a week or so. Frankly though, I think you'd be better off figuring out how to deter the squirrels in the first place...unless you're prepared to make that drive - 10 miles or whatever - a few times a week, on an ongoing basis.
 
MeInDallas said:
Go look at these made by Havahart. Squirrels cant chew thru these cages. I have 2 of them, a small and larger one for possums. Look at the Havahart brand. They are much better made than the flimsy one you have pictured there.

https://www.amazon.com/Havahart-Professional-One-Door-Animal-Squirrel/dp/B000IHDRXM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1532219639&sr=8-5&keywords=haveaheart+trap
Click to expand...


I just grabbed the first photo of one I saw on Amazon for demonstrative purposes. The Havahart traps have *dozens* of reports on Amazon where the squirrels chewed through the bars... so I am wondering if:

~They kept the squirrels in there too long

~The squirrels in different parts of the country are bigger/smarter

~They bought the wrong size of Havahart trap to cage the type of animal they were looking to trap (for instance, I think a small size would have thinner bars that would be easy for a squirrel to chew)


Can you tell me what size Havahart you have and also if you can bend the wires with your fingers or if they are strong/thick enough to where you can't bend them?
 
Here are the ones I have:

http://www.havahart.com/small-1-door-easy-set-trap

http://www.havahart.com/medium-1-door-easy-set-trap

I bought mine at Tractor Supply here in the Dallas area. I cant imagine a squirrel being able to chew thru these wires. I know they are really good at chewing things, but the only thing I can think of that they might have chewed thru, are these metal type clips that you see in the pictures on the back, and then theres one side that has them too. The cage is made out of one piece of solid wire mesh, that is folded into a square tube, and then the back square is fastened with said clips. Then the clips are where the two sides meet. It might be possible for them to chew on those over a period of time I guess. You would probably have to leave them in there for awhile to do it, and since they have nothing to do but sit in a cage and fight for their lives, anything is possible.
 
Fraulein ash said:


Can you tell me what size Havahart you have and also if you can bend the wires with your fingers or if they are strong/thick enough to where you can't bend them?
Click to expand...

And to answer this question, a small child could stand on these traps and they wouldnt bend. I could sit on one if it didnt have that big handle sticking up in the middle ;)
 
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Hi

Have you tried the feeders with the cages round the outside - I have had success with those?
 
Julie50 said:
Hi

Have you tried the feeders with the cages round the outside - I have had success with those?
Click to expand...


We have a number of "squirrel proof" feeders that "kind of-sort of" work. They aren't *completely* squirrel proof for long because the squirrels can chew their way into these feeders. I have found that the baby/adolescent gray squirrels can get through the bars in the cage-type feeders, as well as the adult red squirrels (yes, I'm ever so lucky to have BOTH types of squirrels on my property, lol). I am currently on amazon right now as we speak in search of a suet feeder with a cage to prevent them from stealing the suet.... that is pretty much our main issue right now as I have taken half the feeders down due to squirrels emptying it faster than I can fill it. I have noticed that *most* of the serious birders in my neighborhood have several methods combined to handle the *massive* amount of squirrel activity we have here.


I'm not sure if there are different measurements for these cage feeders? I really wish I could just measure these squirrels heads to see just how close together the bars need to be!
 
I have three Havahart traps, the very smallest size for mice and voles; the next smallest for squirrels and finally a bigger one for skunks or cats. I have caught small raccoons in the bigger size but for raccoons the next size up would be much better. I can't imagine any of the animals that I trap being able to chew their way out but if people say that they can I guess it must be true. I use BOS for bait in the traps. I've tried peanut butter but the sunflower seeds are more successful.
 
Fraulein ash said:

We have a number of "squirrel proof" feeders that "kind of-sort of" work. They aren't *completely* squirrel proof for long because the squirrels can chew their way into these feeders. I have found that the baby/adolescent gray squirrels can get through the bars in the cage-type feeders, as well as the adult red squirrels (yes, I'm ever so lucky to have BOTH types of squirrels on my property, lol). I am currently on amazon right now as we speak in search of a suet feeder with a cage to prevent them from stealing the suet.... that is pretty much our main issue right now as I have taken half the feeders down due to squirrels emptying it faster than I can fill it. I have noticed that *most* of the serious birders in my neighborhood have several methods combined to handle the *massive* amount of squirrel activity we have here.


I'm not sure if there are different measurements for these cage feeders? I really wish I could just measure these squirrels heads to see just how close together the bars need to be!
Click to expand...

You might try something like this.

http://lifelongfeeders.com/shop/

I almost got one of these before I found the ones I have now. They worked out so I stopped looking. These seem expensive though.
 
MrBJones said:
Havahart traps are great. They work, they're very humane, and there's no way a squirrel will chew through -- assuming he's not there for a week or so. Frankly though, I think you'd be better off figuring out how to deter the squirrels in the first place...unless you're prepared to make that drive - 10 miles or whatever - a few times a week, on an ongoing basis.
Click to expand...

Ok... so I just bought the exact same trap that was recommended in this thread, the Havahart Small Easy set #1083, despite the DOZENS of reviews on Amazon stating that this trap is NOT sensitive enough to trigger the door closing mechanism.

These Havaharts DO seem very durable... but that's no longer my issue, my concern is: will these squirrels trigger the door to close and are there methods to ensure that they do??

I honestly cannot even imagine why they'd tell you to bring a squirrel 10+ miles from your house, that seems laughable to me!! A squirrel surely couldn't cross that many roads and run that far, or even really be able to navigate direction like that... right?? And aside from that, wouldn't he *prefer* to live in the woods, where he *belongs*?
 
Fraulein ash said:
Ok... so I just bought the exact same trap that was recommended in this thread, the Havahart Small Easy set #1083, despite the DOZENS of reviews on Amazon stating that this trap is NOT sensitive enough to trigger the door closing mechanism.

These Havaharts DO seem very durable... but that's no longer my issue, my concern is: will these squirrels trigger the door to close and are there methods to ensure that they do??

I honestly cannot even imagine why they'd tell you to bring a squirrel 10+ miles from your house, that seems laughable to me!! A squirrel surely couldn't cross that many roads and run that far, or even really be able to navigate direction like that... right?? And aside from that, wouldn't he *prefer* to live in the woods, where he *belongs*?
Click to expand...

When I got my smaller one, it was just like you said, not sensitive enough. The way you fix that is get a pair of pliers, and very oh so gently bend the rod that holds the door up to where its more sensitive. The situation is very easily fixed. It is sturdy enough and durable enough to accommodate such a bend, you will see when it arrives. It might not even need a bend at all, my larger one did not. It might work perfect out of the box.

I drive down to the end of my street, cross over the main road thru the light, and pull over to the side of the road where the woods begin. Its a huge patch of woods. When I release them they run right into it and dont look back, and hopefully never come back.
 
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It always amuses me to see people discuss their illegal activities on a public forum.

It is against the law to relocate squirrels: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/81531.html

While it is highly unlikely that you would be caught, I have seen it happen. I witnessed an individual releasing a groundhog at a local wildlife conservation area. He had the misfortune of doing it at the precise moment a wildlife conservation officer was driving by. It didn't help matters that we were in the midst of a significant rabies outbreak.
 
Fraulein ash said:


I honestly cannot even imagine why they'd tell you to bring a squirrel 10+ miles from your house, that seems laughable to me!! A squirrel surely couldn't cross that many roads and run that far, or even really be able to navigate direction like that... right?? And aside from that, wouldn't he *prefer* to live in the woods, where he *belongs*?
Click to expand...

In my experience, these critters have a pretty good homing instinct and cover a fair amount of ground when necessary. Expect them to be home to greet you when returning from dropping one off.
 
jmepler said:
It always amuses me to see people discuss their illegal activities on a public forum.

It is against the law to relocate squirrels: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/81531.html

While it is highly unlikely that you would be caught, I have seen it happen. I witnessed an individual releasing a groundhog at a local wildlife conservation area. He had the misfortune of doing it at the precise moment a wildlife conservation officer was driving by. It didn't help matters that we were in the midst of a significant rabies outbreak.
Click to expand...

I'm not openly discussing how to set up a meth lab or how to murder my neighbor... I honestly had no idea this was illegal. My neighbor with the trap I talked about in one of my above posts is a judge... when I asked him about where he releases *his* trapped squirrels, he talked about his experiences very "matter of fact", with no mention of it possibly being illegal or needing a permit.

Glad I could "amuse you" :t:
 
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