Things You'll Need:
- Sheet of 3/4 inch plywood
- 1 foot long wooden dowel
- 1 1/2 Inch wood screws
- 4 foot length of 1X1
- Table saw
- Sandpaper
- Power drill
- Several deep sea fishing weights
- Heavy test fishing line
- Measuring tape
- Three closed eye hooks with screw ends
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Step 1
Begin by cutting your plywood sheets up into the component sizes of lumber you will need. You will need three 3 X 1s, one 1 X 16, one 2’ 8 X 1’, one 1’ 1.5 X 1, and one 2’ 4 X 10.
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Step 2
Measure one 3 X 1s and firmly affix the wooden dowel crosswise roughly halfway down its length using wood screws to make the floor of the trap.
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Step 3
Stand up the other 3 X 1s long ways alongside the floor of the trap and fix them in place with wood screws to make the two long side panels of the trap. You should have a trough or box shaped U now. It’s important that the inside measurements of the box be a full foot wide and no less.
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Step 4
Use the table saw to cut the length of 1 X 1 into four equal sections that should be about a foot long each. Measure 2’ 7 inches in from one end of the box. Stand a length of 1X1 upright on each side panel and use the wood screws to affix them to the walls. Measure a little more than ¾ inch further down and place the other two 1 X 1s, screw them into place as well. These are the brackets which will frame the sliding door that will drop when the trap closes.
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Step 5
Sand the interior of the trap well, making sure to pay particular attention to the brackets. We wouldn’t want the raccoon to catch itself on a jagged splinter if we’re going to take the time to catch it humanely.
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Step 6
Close one end of the box permanently using the 1 1.5” X 1 board. Screw it into place on the side of the trap furthest from the wooden brackets. Drilling a few holes into this board would be a good idea to allow the raccoon to breath more easily and disperse the odor of whatever food you will place in the trap as a lure.
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Step 7
Sink one of the eye hooks into the remaining 2 4 X 10 panel about one foot from one of the narrow ends. Place it loosely one the floor of the trap, hooked end closest to the board with holes drilled in it. Make sure the entire board sits in the trap beyond the brackets. It should teeter over the wooden dowel in the floor. This will be the treadleboard, when the animal steps on it to get to the bait near the static end of the trap the board will drop and trigger the sliding door.
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Step 8
Create the top of the trap by screwing the 2’ 8 X 1 board onto the tops of the side panels. Make sure the brackets affixed to the side panels are not covered by the roof. Then sink another eye hook into the underside of the roof a few inches away from the brackets.
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Step 9
Drill a hole larger than the width of the remaining eye hook’s screw into the remaining board about an inch from the end, near the board’s midline. The eye hook should be able to sit in the hole easily and come free with a light tug. Slot the board into the brackets, hole downward pointing into the trap.
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Step 10
Tie a length of fishing line to the eye of the remaining hook. Run the line through the eye hook in the ceiling and tie the other end to the eye hook in the treadleboard. Slide the door up so that the hole in it is near the top of the inside of the trap and place the remaining eye hook into the hole. This may take a few tries as the fishing line should have no slack in it at all when it is placed in the sliding board. The tension of the line will keep the board raised. When the treadleboard is depressed by an animal inside the trap, the eye hook in the trap door will pull free and the door will slide shut securely.
