How to Make a Turtle Trap

Turtles are, for the most part, harmless. They tend to hang around ponds and streams, and will stay there as long as there's a food supply and some nice thick vegetation to hide in. If you have kids, turtles can be pretty entertaining. If you find you have snapping turtles on your property, though, you may be concerned that your children will get hurt. In this case, it may be time to trap and relocate the turtles, or if you have small, harmless turtles, you can trap them and keep them as pets. There are several different kinds of commercially available turtle traps, but with a little work, you can build your own.

Things You'll Need

• 4 large pieces of barbecue grill grating
• 2 small pieces of barbecue grill grating
• Plastic zip ties
• 2 metal springs
• 2-liter soda bottles
• Bait
• Rope

Instructions

1. Make a simple box out of the grill grating. Use the large pieces and one of the smaller pieces to form an open box, connecting them securely with the zip ties. You should have five sides on your box.

2. Create a trap door for the sixth side of the box using the second smaller piece of grating. Use your zip ties to anchor it in place along the top edge, but leave it loose enough that it will swing in and out of the trap.

3. Push the trap door a few inches into the box, and attach the springs to the bottom edge of the door, connecting it to the bottom of the box. This will create an angled door for the turtle to go through.

4. Attach the 2-liter soda bottles to the side of the box. They should be filled with nothing but air. These are your floats, and will allow the trap to stay at the surface. Any trapped turtles will need to be able to keep their heads above water so they can breathe. Make sure you use enough bottles that the trap will stay partially above the surface of the water.

5. Bait the trap. Hang the bait inside the trap on a hook, and then secure the trap door. You can use pieces of raw meat or fish. Place the trap in a spot where you've seen turtles before--either near the edge of the pond, or in the bushes along the side of a stream. Use the rope to tie the trap to an object on land so that it doesn't float away. Be sure to check your trap every day so that any turtles in there can be relocated before they run out of food.

Tips & Warnings

• Check your state's game laws to make sure it's not illegal to trap and relocate turtles or keep them as pets.

• If you trap a nuisance turtle, it's important that the turtle gets relocated at least 5 miles from its original location, or you may find that it returns to its former home.