How to Live Trap a Squirrel
How to Set Up the Trap and Choose the Best Squirrel Bait
Squirrels can be fun to watch, but they can also be a nuisance if they are getting into your bird feeders or worse yet, your house. The most humane way to get rid of the squirrel is to use a live trap and relocate the squirrel. In this article I will tell you how we successfully trapped twenty-two squirrels in two months using a live animal cage trap.
The first step is to purchase a live animal trap. We use a Havahart 1030 Rabbit Live Animal Cage Trap. Prices range from around $25 to $40.
Place the live trap on a flat surface in an area that you have seen squirrels travel. We place our live trap at the bottom of our bird feeder.
For the squirrel bait, we use an empty peanut butter jar. You can also use an empty plastic water bottle that has been cut in half.
Fill your bait container with one or two handfuls of sunflower seeds or bird food with sunflower seeds. The instructions for the live trap recommend using peanut butter as bait, but sunflower seeds are a lot less messy and we have found sunflower seeds to be even more effective than peanut butter.
Most live animal traps will have two doors. We have found that tricky squirrels are able to steal the bait off the bait pan without triggering the trap if the squirrel has access to open doors on each end. Therefore, I recommend keeping one of the doors locked shut.
Place the container of bait at the end of the trap with the closed door. This will force the squirrel to enter the cage from one end and step on the bait pan as it heads for the container of bait at the other end. Remember to engage the trap so the open door will close when the squirrel steps on the bait pan.
Make sure to keep a close watch on the trap so you don't leave a squirrel in a trap for too long. Never set the live trap if you are not able to relocate the squirrel within a few hours.
When relocating the squirrel, you should drive at least three miles away to prevent the squirrel from returning. Make sure the place you drop the squirrel off is a safe environment for the squirrel with shelter, food and water.
When trapping live animals, check with your local government to see if you need to obtain a permit.
Published by Julie Lind
Julie Lind is a piano teacher, mother, composer and a writer. View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentHave a Heart traps are great.
You come up with such good article ideas, Julie -- well done! I hope your summer is going well :)
Susan