Live Traps Information
The first live box trap was marketed around 1925, designed to capture an animal without harming it. Live traps come in different models of varying sizes and are the safest way to rid your property of an unwanted skunk, raccoon or other animal and keep it from tipping over garbage cans or attacking pets.
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Uses
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Live traps are typically used in urban areas where the likelihood of unintended catches is high. Live traps are also used by animal control departments and pest control professionals to remove or relocate unwanted animals without injuring a pet or other unintended catch.
The Box Trap
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The box trap is the most common live trap. Box traps are a galvanized wire mesh box with a door at one or both ends and a trigger pan on the floor in the middle. The doors are propped open with a catch and closed by force of gravity when the trigger pan is stepped on. A box trap can catch one animal at a time and is typically used to catch small to medium-sized mammals. Box traps are manufactured in sizes suitable for animals ranging in size from mice, squirrels and chipmunks up to large dogs.
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Bird Traps
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Several companies manufacture live traps designed for birds such as pigeons. Bird traps consist of a wire mesh cage like a box trap, but instead of a trigger and a door they have funnel-shaped entrances that a bird can enter but cannot exit. These traps are typically set on tall platforms and baited with bird seed or grain to attract birds.
Specialty Traps
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Live traps are also made for other animals, such as fish and turtles. Fish traps are similar to bird traps and are typically used to catch small fish such as minnows. Turtle traps are similar to box traps except that they have a spring-loaded door so that they work even upside down.
Multiple Catch Traps
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Often referred to as colony traps, multiple catch traps are designed to catch more than one animal at a time. Usually used to catch rodents such as mice, rats, squirrels and muskrats, multiple catch traps have a spring-loaded door that automatically closes and then resets while keeping the animal trapped inside. One model of live trap is designed to catch up to 15 mice before it needs to be re-set, using a trigger pan and a spring-loaded rotating drum to flip the mouse into a storage area when it steps on the trap.
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References
- Photo Credit raccoon image by antoine perroud from Fotolia.com
