The Mystery of the Iron Cage
- Thread starter Searock Fan
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Hey, I intended to answer this earlier, sorry. Due to the design of our house there is no way for me to get into the part of the attic they have made their home. I've put some bate in an adjoining part of the attic thinking they might have a way to squeeze into it, but no dice... they didn't touch it. Everything is set up for tonight. Trap set, cookies with honey out, game cam set. Now, if the possum has enough smarts not to try again maybe I'll get lucky and catch a coon.
Just wondering. Good luck. I hope you trap the little boogers.Hey, I intended to answer this earlier, sorry. Due to the design of our house there is no way for me to get into the part of the attic they have made their home. I've put some bate in an adjoining part of the attic thinking they might have a way to squeeze into it, but no dice... they didn't touch it. Everything is set up for tonight. Trap set, cookies with honey out, game cam set. Now, if the possum has enough smarts not to try again maybe I'll get lucky and catch a coon.
It's 11:08 pm. About a hour ago we were in the family room and I heard a sharp noise out on the patio. I turned on the lights, grabbed my flashlight and went outside. I noticed the trap had sprung so I went around to the side to see what was inside. There, staring back at me were two little black eyes in a black and white stripped face. A skunk! I moved fast to put some distance between us. Now the problem of getting him our without getting sprayed. After some thought I got an old plastic drop cloth and covered most of the trap with it, then using a pole with a hook on the end I lifted the door and away he ran. He was small and probably young. Fortunately he did not spray.
I took the trail cam inside and viewed the videos. I was surprised not to see the skunk but instead the racoon casually eating my cookies one after another, and to my amazement he went completely inside the trap, ate more cookie, turned around and left without tripping it! Amazing, That's some crafty coon. After that there was s short clip of a neighbor's cat paying a visit then the skunk.
Ok, coon, you want to play hard ball. Tomorrow I'm putting the trap in a new local where the possums and skunks can't get to it, The trap will be on the roof of the patio near where you get in the attic. And I think I'll put a nice gob of honey right in the center of the pressure plate. Let's see if you can lick the honey off without springing the trap this time. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter....
I took the trail cam inside and viewed the videos. I was surprised not to see the skunk but instead the racoon casually eating my cookies one after another, and to my amazement he went completely inside the trap, ate more cookie, turned around and left without tripping it! Amazing, That's some crafty coon. After that there was s short clip of a neighbor's cat paying a visit then the skunk.
Ok, coon, you want to play hard ball. Tomorrow I'm putting the trap in a new local where the possums and skunks can't get to it, The trap will be on the roof of the patio near where you get in the attic. And I think I'll put a nice gob of honey right in the center of the pressure plate. Let's see if you can lick the honey off without springing the trap this time. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter....
Last edited:
My money is on the racoon eating the honey, then carrying the trap down off the roof and putting it by your back door.
I have trapped 3 possums, two ground hogs, but no racoons. Racoons are hard as hell to catch. They are easier to just shoot with a high powered pellet gun. So are ground hogs. My problem with trapping ground hogs is that i drive them for an hour out to the WMA, and in a few days the SOBs are back. So, I just shoot the SOBs.
Local law enforcement suggested the pellet gun, because you can fire then within city limits. Mine set me back just a measly $150, and one of the best investments I've made in pest control. Cages, baits, etc... cost me way more.
I currently have squirrels in my attic. I have used large rat traps to some success, but just killing 3 or 4 hasn't cleared them out entirely. I still hear them bouncing off the walls all night long.
Local law enforcement suggested the pellet gun, because you can fire then within city limits. Mine set me back just a measly $150, and one of the best investments I've made in pest control. Cages, baits, etc... cost me way more.
I currently have squirrels in my attic. I have used large rat traps to some success, but just killing 3 or 4 hasn't cleared them out entirely. I still hear them bouncing off the walls all night long.
7:15 am. It's daylight now and I just checked the trap. Didn't catch anything last night. I can tell by some items near the trap that I had a visitor but the honey is still in the trap. I had intended to move the trap yesterday, but after reading about "coon huntin" on the web I l left it where is was. Seems coons get used to it being in one place and as they steal food from it over and over again they sometimes get careless... and wham! I'm determined to catch him without harming him, then he's going to get a nice ride to a huge wooded park, complete with creek, where he can make a new home. Tonight I'll try again.
I would think squirrels would be out of the attic during the day and this time of year there shouldn't be any little ones in the nest. If you locate where they're getting in and block it you might solve the problem. If any is still inside you should hear them and you could try again.
My problem is that they come in through the basement, and then work their way up through the walls. I have asked a few guys for quotes on blocking the entirety of the house up with wire, but they all come, do some math, and then leave without giving me an estimate. It may just be cheaper to have the basement finished off, but then we would have a giant room with only five feet of headspace, ha ha.I would think squirrels would be out of the attic during the day and this time of year there shouldn't be any little ones in the nest. If you locate where they're getting in and block it you might solve the problem. If any is still inside you should hear them and you could try again.
Quiet as a BB gun.
Deadly on varmits.
Highly recommended.
Deadly on varmits.
Highly recommended.
Living one block from the PD, I do not agree that these are as quiet as a BB gun, ha ha. Or a pellet gun. Just chambering a round will have the blue and reds in front of my house in seconds, ha ha.
My high powered pellet gun, merely sounds like I opened a carbonated beverage.
For suburbia... this may be a better option. I've dropped ground hogs from more than 200 feet. But sure, further out into the country, I'd opt for a real rifle.
I took 7(!) baby skunks off our property this past summer and I live right in the middle of a medium sized city. It took about two weeks and three long drives. Our neighbour discovered they were so easy to trap you could just throw a plastic bin on top of them. All the neighbour kids kept saying how cute they were. My poor puggle got spayed right in his face and in the mouth. His breath smelled like skunk for over a month. The mother is still around the neighbourhood but there currently aren't any skunks on my property. Just a lot of rabbits.It's 11:08 pm. About a hour ago we were in the family room and I heard a sharp noise out on the patio. I turned on the lights, grabbed my flashlight and went outside. I noticed the trap had sprung so I went around to the side to see what was inside. There, staring back at me were two little black eyes in a black and white stripped face. A skunk! I moved fast to put some distance between us. Now the problem of getting him our without getting sprayed. After some thought I got an old plastic drop cloth and covered most of the trap with it, then using a pole with a hook on the end I lifted the door and away he ran. He was small and probably young. Fortunately he did not spray.
I took the trail cam inside and viewed the videos. I was surprised not to see the skunk but instead the racoon casually eating my cookies one after another, and to my amazement he went completely inside the trap, ate more cookie, turned around and left without tripping it! Amazing, That's some crafty coon. After that there was s short clip of a neighbor's cat paying a visit then the skunk.
Ok, coon, you want to play hard ball. Tomorrow I'm putting the trap in a new local where the possums and skunks can't get to it, The trap will be on the roof of the patio near where you get in the attic. And I think I'll put a nice gob of honey right in the center of the pressure plate. Let's see if you can lick the honey off without springing the trap this time. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter....
Wow, impressed to hear that this was a solution at that distance! Thankfully I don’t have to worry about that! These cuties just sleep on rocks at our house
Last edited:
This thread is hilarious.
Grown men gettin' all out-smarted by a buncha furry little critters.
It couldn't be EASIER.
Really.
Just getcha one of these gadgets.
100% effective. Absolutely, positively, unconditionally guaranteed to get rid of every last critter on your property without exception:
Grown men gettin' all out-smarted by a buncha furry little critters.
It couldn't be EASIER.
Really.
Just getcha one of these gadgets.
100% effective. Absolutely, positively, unconditionally guaranteed to get rid of every last critter on your property without exception:
Marshmallow, yes.
I have mucho experience live trapping coons.
Marshmallows suck them in every time.
"He Tasks Me. He Tasks Me, And I Shall Have Him!"
Update: Last night the trap was set again with a gob or honey on the pressure plate. This morning I want outside and found the trap had not been sprung. What I did find was the honey was untouched, and about 3" away from the honey, right inside the trap, somebody had taken a dump! Wish I had set the game cam up so I knew what it was. This whole thing is starting for remind me of an Elmer Fudd cartoon... and I'm Elmer. It ain't over yet.
Update: Last night the trap was set again with a gob or honey on the pressure plate. This morning I want outside and found the trap had not been sprung. What I did find was the honey was untouched, and about 3" away from the honey, right inside the trap, somebody had taken a dump! Wish I had set the game cam up so I knew what it was. This whole thing is starting for remind me of an Elmer Fudd cartoon... and I'm Elmer. It ain't over yet.
This has been one of my favorite threads. Good luck."He Tasks Me. He Tasks Me, And I Shall Have Him!"
Update: Last night the trap was set again with a gob or honey on the pressure plate. This morning I want outside and found the trap had not been sprung. What I did find was the honey was untouched, and about 3" away from the honey, right inside the trap, somebody had taken a dump! Wish I had set the game cam up so I knew what it was. This whole thing is starting for remind me of an Elmer Fudd cartoon... and I'm Elmer. It ain't over yet.
The weather forecast calls for severe rain, storms and cold starting tonight and through tomorrow. So I'm calling a cease fire till things get better. I don't want to catch something and have it suffer out there. Hopefully by Friday it will be back on.
You may have a sensitivity issue. I'd make sure to spread some Vaseline on the latch that releases the trap door. It may be "catching" in your case and not springing when the bait platform is perturbed. I prepare a little bait tray with peanut butter and nuts out of aluminum foil and I secure this to the platform using wire so that it's impossible to mess with the bait without springing the trap. Lube up the release mechanism and make sure it's resting at the edge of the catch so it's a "hair trigger".