Over the years I've read multiple posts about traps being knocked over, preds grabbing bait by reaching through bars, preds avoiding the trigger release plate (treadle), and `unknowns', e.g., `must have been a little mink...' escaping from closed traps. In addition to increasing the useful lifetime of a havahart the following might save you some time and decrease your overall frequency of predation, i.e., trap baited and set more often than not.
Yes, dogs are good, electric fencing is better. If these are not options, or you expect to free range with decreased frequency of overall predation (you can't keep preds from coming, but you can sure knock down the density in pred. heavy areas, i.e., where the chickens are...), then these mods might be useful.
We started using the single door model 1079 (20"x10"x12" - the length of the new version of the model is 32") back in `97, long before the chooks took up residence. Something was attacking our outdoor cat and eating its food. It (they) was also tearing up Cassie's Southern Nocturnal Flying Squirrel feeders.
Greenhorn that I was I simply placed the baited trap on the front deck, what could go wrong? The following morning a pred was in the trap. However, the raccoon had managed to move, drag the trap (from the inside) approx. eight feet across the deck (pooping and urinating all the way - mixed in with the dumped, uneaten, tuna) where it was brought to a halt by a 50ft. coil of extension cord. The raccoon managed to pull a sufficient length of cord into the trap, through multiple gaps, chewing and twisting, wrapping it around itself, to such a degree, that it was unable to move (I had no problem taking a clean shot).
Swabbing the deck, getting the coon out of the trap, etc. took over an hour, what a mess.
It now takes around ten minutes. In the following shots the havahart bought in `97 for $31.99 is used (a few bent bars from bullets - don't use hyper-velocity .22LR's use cheap ammo), it has seen continuous service and remains functional (just removed a raccoon from it this morning).
Our usual setup for all three traps. Use a 30-40lb `paver' on top to keep trap from being tipped over, I use 2"x2"s running along edges of bottom, this prevents the vermin from digging too much vegetation soil up and into trap and allows waste to fall through bars.
This is for the cage smart and long armed beasts that will try to dig under and/or reach through. Or, if you wish to disguise your trap with a fabric of some sort and don't want to find it pulled inside the trap with the vermin: (a 14" pair of bolt cutters will make short work of cutting the hardware cloth and UV resistant cable ties can be used as fasteners).
The `standard' (model 1079) havahart is easy to modify using 1/2" hardware cloth. Cut three 24"x12" panels for the top and sides and a single 12"x12" for the back (trap is 10" wide, the addtional 2"'s allows room for trigger release arm to work properly). Adjust measurements to your trap(s) dimensions:
To double the chances of getting vermin to set off trap use a length of 12-16lb. test fishing line and use it to suspend bait through the top of trap. Tie the line off on the trigger release arm of the trap -fish hook through eye on connector will also work (either the pred steps on treadle or pred pulls down on food, either will trigger the door). Try a `chunk' of bait that is just short of being heavy enough to set off the trigger release (a `gulp' chicken leg for example). Suspend the `leg' from a small fish hook on a leader. This can be slipped into position with a stick, through open door, and the the line pulled up through bars from outside of trap -
The pics below show where to attach (the nylon cord is for example only):
To increase treadle size, but not have to alter baiting (like a can of dried catfood), take a flexible plastic divider from a notebook/date book and use a short piece of duct tape to attach to trigger plate/treadle. Vermin's wt. will push down the plastic, and the plastic sheet will just curve up over the can (whatever is used to increase trigger plate size make sure it isn't so wide, or angled, that it will catch on the bars of the sides of trap:
Yes, dogs are good, electric fencing is better. If these are not options, or you expect to free range with decreased frequency of overall predation (you can't keep preds from coming, but you can sure knock down the density in pred. heavy areas, i.e., where the chickens are...), then these mods might be useful.
We started using the single door model 1079 (20"x10"x12" - the length of the new version of the model is 32") back in `97, long before the chooks took up residence. Something was attacking our outdoor cat and eating its food. It (they) was also tearing up Cassie's Southern Nocturnal Flying Squirrel feeders.
Greenhorn that I was I simply placed the baited trap on the front deck, what could go wrong? The following morning a pred was in the trap. However, the raccoon had managed to move, drag the trap (from the inside) approx. eight feet across the deck (pooping and urinating all the way - mixed in with the dumped, uneaten, tuna) where it was brought to a halt by a 50ft. coil of extension cord. The raccoon managed to pull a sufficient length of cord into the trap, through multiple gaps, chewing and twisting, wrapping it around itself, to such a degree, that it was unable to move (I had no problem taking a clean shot).
Swabbing the deck, getting the coon out of the trap, etc. took over an hour, what a mess.
It now takes around ten minutes. In the following shots the havahart bought in `97 for $31.99 is used (a few bent bars from bullets - don't use hyper-velocity .22LR's use cheap ammo), it has seen continuous service and remains functional (just removed a raccoon from it this morning).
Our usual setup for all three traps. Use a 30-40lb `paver' on top to keep trap from being tipped over, I use 2"x2"s running along edges of bottom, this prevents the vermin from digging too much vegetation soil up and into trap and allows waste to fall through bars.
This is for the cage smart and long armed beasts that will try to dig under and/or reach through. Or, if you wish to disguise your trap with a fabric of some sort and don't want to find it pulled inside the trap with the vermin: (a 14" pair of bolt cutters will make short work of cutting the hardware cloth and UV resistant cable ties can be used as fasteners).
The `standard' (model 1079) havahart is easy to modify using 1/2" hardware cloth. Cut three 24"x12" panels for the top and sides and a single 12"x12" for the back (trap is 10" wide, the addtional 2"'s allows room for trigger release arm to work properly). Adjust measurements to your trap(s) dimensions:
To double the chances of getting vermin to set off trap use a length of 12-16lb. test fishing line and use it to suspend bait through the top of trap. Tie the line off on the trigger release arm of the trap -fish hook through eye on connector will also work (either the pred steps on treadle or pred pulls down on food, either will trigger the door). Try a `chunk' of bait that is just short of being heavy enough to set off the trigger release (a `gulp' chicken leg for example). Suspend the `leg' from a small fish hook on a leader. This can be slipped into position with a stick, through open door, and the the line pulled up through bars from outside of trap -
The pics below show where to attach (the nylon cord is for example only):
To increase treadle size, but not have to alter baiting (like a can of dried catfood), take a flexible plastic divider from a notebook/date book and use a short piece of duct tape to attach to trigger plate/treadle. Vermin's wt. will push down the plastic, and the plastic sheet will just curve up over the can (whatever is used to increase trigger plate size make sure it isn't so wide, or angled, that it will catch on the bars of the sides of trap:
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