home made traps. update+need ideas for second trap *several pictures*

[cupman]

So the other day I posted about a home made trap I was building and was looking for some advice, I got a lot of good ideas and I'm thankful for that. I also started a second trap today out of other recycled materials I had laying around. Because of difference in materials they aren't exactly the same but relatively similar in design.

Trap #1 (finished):

The door drops from inside the trap, like so

I used those child-protection things that you can buy to put on cupboards to keep the little ones out. When the door drops shut it latches onto the kiddie protectors on the inside of the cage, but outside the trap door so the raccoons cant pick at them (white things in pic #3)

Now here's where I need some help.. this is Trap #2. NEARLY finished if I could figure out a dang trigger that worked:

This is a little bit hokey because it requires a stick on the outside of the cage to hold the door up... that is just a temporary fix because I got frustrated and didn't want to work on it anymore today. I really thought I would save time by building a similar trap out of recycled materials but I'm thinking I should have just gone to home depot and gotten a couple things. What I really want help with is ideas for a trigger, how to make the hardware cloth trigger drop the trap door. The door is made out of different wood than the standard OSB, and it's a bit heavier which is the source of my problem.

It's supposed to work like this:

Any ideas on how to make my trigger drop the door would be great. Remember the door is heavy and my trigger is that little wimpy wire. I may need to end up replacing the trigger to do something more heavy duty but I thought I'd post this long thread and see what kind of creative ideas you guys might have. Thank you!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

How about an eye screw in the door, with a string (masonry twine) attached ( the light blue line) that runs back to a piece of heavy wire like a coat hanger. (dark blue line)

The brown square is a piece of wood for the wire to rest against under tension.

Cut the wire so it extends about 1/4 inch above the wood when the trigger is raised, and loop the string over it to hold the door open.

You can put an offset bend in the wire down lower to keep it from going inside the trap when tripped.
The trigger doesn't have to be raised very high to work and only has to move slightly more then the thickness of the string

It might help to have a little groove in the wood to keep it centered

A variation would be an "L " shaped piece of metal attached to the 2 X 4 nearest the trigger, with a hole for the wire to come through drilled near the short "arm" that sits vertically above the trigger.

That would look neater than the wood block

Anyway, I'm sure you see the general principle, and can figure out the logistics based on what you have to work with

If there's too much tension for the hardware cloth trigger to work without bending, add a piece of 1/4 plywood (or something) over it to stiffen it up

 

[cupman]

Man you're good at this Bear Foot Farm. I wish you were my neighbor or something. Thanks for helping out with trap advice again.

 

[aprophet]

A mouse trap at the back wall can be used as a trigger too you arrange it so when the mouse trap is tripped the door falls not trying to hurt your feelings but the reason most cage traps are made of wire is a Boar coon will shred particle board in fairly short order it should hold possums and skunks fairly well and small coon but don't be surprised if you walk up on it and it looks like a bomb went off some day

 

[cupman]

Quote:
Haven't run into that problem yet. Seems a bit extreme, half the chicken coops I see are made with OSB board and I don't really hear too many problems of raccoons ripping holes in the side of the coop walls to get chickens. Maybe you have mutant raccoons where you live.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
Haven't run into that problem yet. Seems a bit extreme, half the chicken coops I see are made with OSB board and I don't really hear too many problems of raccoons ripping holes in the side of the coop walls to get chickens. Maybe you have mutant raccoons where you live.

approximately out of 15-20 coon I catch 2-3 or capable of what I described just catch one over 25-30 pounds LOL also it don't hurt to use hardware clothe that is heavier then 19 gauge I had a friend that had coon peel the wire on his his run like a sardine can

I showed him how to finish the corners with 1X4 using them to cover the ends of the wire

 

[dainerra]

coons are pretty dang big around here too. caught a big boar coon last year that, honestly, I'm not quite sure how he squeezed himself into the trap.

 

[cupman]

It was a real pain screwing the eye ring by hand into the OSB board, I'm surprised a raccoon can dig through it. Are you sure you aren't mixing up OSB and particle board? I could understand a raccoon plowing through particle board with ease but OSB just seems a bit more sturdy. Maybe I haven't come across any 25lb raccoons yet.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

half the chicken coops I see are made with OSB board and I don't really hear too many problems of raccoons ripping holes in the side of the coop walls to get chickens

The difference is a coon trying to get INTO a coop will only devote so much effort.

A DESPERATE animal in a TRAP will do whatever it takes.

But as long as they aren't in there too long it should hold them​

 

[colebarnhart]

Quote:
I don't doubt it. One of the raccoons I caught bent up my metal trap, it was huge and felt like a dog when I picked up the trap. Surprised it fit, I had no idea they were that strong and could bend metal like that.