Havahart trap not trapping coons.

123RedBeard said:

If it is a really big coon ... It's butt is not letting the door down far enough to catch the latch, then it just backs out ... Or, maybe a second one is trying to get in at the same time, and the door doesn't close all the way before they decide to leave ...

I have a Duke Dog-Proof trap on the way, just because it sounds interesting, and I don't even have chickens yet, but figure when you need it, no time to wait for shipping ... Also ordered a few different sized body grippers ... Something is climbing up inside my rain gutters ... Time will tell what try's to come out!

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Coons have short front legs but long hind or back legs. This means that Mr. Coon goes around with his butt stuck up in the air. Because the door on the Have-a-Heart trap is cankered backwards, this means that a big old coon will get slapped on the backside by the trap door before it locks. This will result in the coon backing out of the trap, but much the wiser about traps.

I forget who, but someone here reported trapping a coon in a live trap that was sitting on a 50# woven plastic feed sack. To make a long story short the coon got a hold of the feed sack and pulled the whole sack through the 1 inch square openings into the trap. Folks, that takes dedication, leg power, and a grip!!! Don't sell a raccoon short.

YESSS! I finally got my first coon. What i did was i left a few marsmallows in a trail into the trap, then i took a fish that i had coaught the other day and ziptied it to the back of the cage, then i poured a little bit of chinken broth in the cage. My guess is he was really working to get that fish and when the trap went off we was way at the end of the trap so his but didn't get in the way. Now my question is now that all his friends saw him in the trap last night does that mean they are going to stay clear?

There is one way to find out, isn’t there. Keep setting the trap. As you’ve seen you don’t always get a coon every time you set the trap. Be persistent.

Some raccoons and other animals do become “trap smart”. They learn to avoid a trap. But the majority do not. They’ll still go after that bait. I expect you will reduce the number of raccoons visiting over time.

But as I said earlier, you are not going to totally solve the problem by trapping raccoons. Even if you get all the ones that are visiting now, there are others in the area that will move in once the territory becomes available. It’s a good think to remove the ones that are now visiting. That reduces the pressure on your coop, plus raccoons can do other damage, especially if you have a garden or they might get in your trash. It may be months before another one moves in. But your best defense for your chickens is a strong coop. You need to keep putting them inside the coop until they learn to go in on their own.

Congratulations, by the way. It’s a good feeling isn’t it?

Congratulations!

One down ... Thirty to go ...

Those raccoons are smart, but your smarter, just be persistent!

I guess i will keep setting the trap every night the same way i did last night. I have cement poured around the coop so they wont dig anymore and i put some better latches on the doors.

I tried the live trap first to catch whatever was destroying my chicken flock. The only thing I have ever caught in the live trap is a stupid chicken and one bunny, lol. I saw the Duke trap on line and tried it. I use the larger marshmallows and bam! I caught 8 raccoons in as many months. I too had never trapped anything before.

Again, this will just catch them with their hand trapped in the cookie jar. If you use this trap, you have to be prepared to shoot what you catch, because there is no way you're going to get a wild animal out of this trap alive without getting hurt. The trap itself is very sturdy and frankly, I cannot squish the spring without using a screwdriver for leverage. However, it's not hard to figure it out and once you get the spring moving, it's not difficult to set. After using it a few times, I soaked it in vinegar and water, then shot a little WD-40 into the spring mechanism. Good as new!

My chickens are inside 6' tall chain link fence panels with poultry wire from the ground up to about 3'. The racoons were scaling the fence and coming inside to help themselves. I just grabbed a hose clamp from the garage, ran it through that loop at the end of the chain and clamped it to a fence post. Whatever you chain it to, the raccoons will not be happy and will thrash around when caught.

I hate having to trap them, but my other options weren't working. This trap has definitely paid for itself many times over.

Glad you found the marshmallow trick. I take an empty tuna can, and drill 4 holes in the bottom. I then use zip ties, and attach the tuna can inside the cage. This makes it so the coons can't move it around, or make it slide to the edges so they can get it without going inside the cage. Then I take 5-6 large marshmallows and stuff them in the can so they can't fall out, again, making the coon go in the cage to get them. Finally, I use 3-4 tent stakes to secure the trap to the ground, so the coon can't move it around while struggling inside it, or trying to get the marshmallows when first investigating it. Works like a charm everytime.

I finally got sick of trapping coons, so I put up an electric net fence. That solved the problem for good. The coons can't bother my chickens or the coop anymore.

My neighbor had this problem. He finally staked the trap down as they would simply dump the bait out and secured a can of cat food with punched holes in it (to let the small out but not get dumped) after the trip in the cage. One by one...blam in the am.

Good luck. I have been busy trapping skunks. I had one wipe out 18 softball sized chicks in 3 days. I've killed 8 since March! But the HavAHart is working!

Not sure how it got the door open, but ... It didn't stick around!

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