Live trap too small?

[Sjisty]

Both yesterday and today we found one of our live traps on its side, empty. There was a coon and a possum in two other traps. I did see a fox a couple of weeks ago but have not had any luck catching it. Any ideas - do you think maybe something big is turning the trap over to get to the bait? Do I need a bigger trap or a different kind of trap?

I'm pretty sure the fox is what has gotten several of my chickens during the daytime when they were free ranging, but I haven't seen him since that one time and so far haven't found anything that he wants to crawl into the trap for.

 

[Lollipop]

Could be the trap is too small, but more likely the predator you are catching is so rowdy it turns the trap over and the door opens. To remedy this, you can weight the trap down with a concrete block, or fasten it down to a big piece of plywood. I use an iron stake, like a horseshoe game stake and run it through the trap and into the ground. If you do that, position it to one side so it doesn`t impede the access to the bait or the action of the trigger. I also use a couple whole eggs as bait. Most predators will go for an easy meal before they head for a chicken. Once they taste blood or become trap smart, the problem increases. If you continue to have a problem, PM me. I have a solution.......Pop

 

[Cluckin'Along]

I don't know how small your trap is, but I have a friend who's father was trapping squirrels, but he would set the trap at night to catch them early in the morning, after discovering the trap upside down and empty for several mornings he decided to stay up and watch what happened. Turns out a rather large Raccoon was picking up the trap once a squirrel was caught and helping himself to an early morning buffet.... Is there a chance there is a large critter around doing something similar??

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

You can try staking the trap down, and putting it against a building or a tree so the trigger mechanism is sheilded

It's hard to get a fox to enter a box trap unless it's reaqlly big, so you may need to set some legholds for him