I plan on using these to convert a portion of my chicken coop to a pigeon coop, item is made with really good quality and I am 100% sure it will function properly

Effectiveness:
Today is the first day I've used this Squirrelinator trap.  In preparation I also found a 3-ft square appliance drip tray at the local Habitat Re-Store for a few dollars, and use that to hold the sprinkled bait (whole peanuts plus some scratch mix), then I set the trap on top of that baited tray.

The trap I bought included the black plastic basin for drowning the squirrels.  I am a tender-hearted person but we are inundated with these damage-causing ground squirrels in our local area, so I hardened my heart and got to work.   I set the water basin about 100 feet away on a very level (VERY LEVEL!) patch of ground and filled it completely (COMPLETELY!) full of water.  (The basin is about 1.5 inches taller than the trap is.)

I brought a wheelbarrow close to the trap, with a pair of thick leather gloves and a pair of pliers.  The pliers are optional but they keep your hands from getting bitten while using the metal hooks on the doors, and keep your hands dry when doing other steps.

Once I locked the top door (find places to hook 2 layers of underlying bars and it's very secure) and opened the 2 side doors, I went away and returned 30 minutes later.  Bingo!  One squirrel.

I waited another 30 minutes but didn't get any more in the trap, though I knew they were all around.  So I went ahead and put the whole trap into the wheelbarrow (while wearing the gloves) and rolled it up to the basin of water.

Still wearing the gloves, I picked up the whole trap and set it into the water.  I also had a big 3' x 3' piece of plywood nearby, and immediately set that on top so I wouldn't have to watch.

I promise, PROMISE, it was only 20-25 seconds before everything was totally silent and the squirrel was dead.  I didn't want any possible reviving, so I left him in the basin for a full 30 minutes just to be sure.  Then I used some long BBQ tongs and the pliers on one of the side handles to lift the trap out of the water.

Then I used the pliers to unhook the trap's top door and the tongs to lift out the dead squirrel.  Then used the pliers again to lift the trap into the wheelbarrow, lock the top door and unlock the side doors, and roll the trap back down to the bait tray and start all over again.

I've done this 5 times so far today.  30-90 minutes to catch, 1/2 hour to make sure thoroughly drowned, and start again.  Four times I caught one, and one time I caught 4! Using the pliers for so many steps keeps my hands clean and dry, though of course I still wash them well when I go back inside.

I live on a small acreage, so to avoid attracting coyotes and bobcats overnight, I will put the bodies into a small locking metal trash can with a plastic bag liner, and add that bag to our regular trash on collection day.

I must emphasize that the water basin needs to be very level and completely full.  Otherwise the squirrel will be able to get his nose above the water level.  

This is a very effective trap and I highly recommend it.  Easy to set in a preferred location, no digging, no bloody half-dead creatures to deal with.  

We are having a particularly intense infestation of 'rockchucks' this summer. A rockchuck is a yellow-bellied red marmot, a close relative of that Phil character that is used to, um, predict the remaining winter in early February. While active, they decimate flowers and vegetables, so aren't desirable. We live very close to the edge of a National Forest, and while we recognize that we live in their territory, I'm more than happy to relocate the marauding garden terrorists back to those forests. Enter the live traps.

It took a few reads of the simple instructions to pick up all the nuances. The sheet is written for several related models, with different details for each. After those reads and some head scratching where hair used to grow, the actual setting up was fast and easy. I followed some internet advice, worth every penny I paid for it, as I selected a bait for our particular visitors. Nothing. Last evening at a neighborhood meeting, I found out that watermelon and cantaloupe rinds are favored here. We'll see how we do, hopefully better with the right bait.

The trap itself is easy to set up, and it's a size that should fit and hold our rockchucks. Perhaps as important, the size is just right to fit into a large garden-waste trash bag. That's essential before placing a scared animal in the back of the car for a ride back to a wilder place. Plus it will contain any excess pee and droppings that would otherwise end up in the car. It's a ten-minute drive or so to get them beyond any normal 'homing' range, no need to traumatize them unnecessarily.

Neighbors who use traps these speak highly of them. I will to after the right bait draws the several beasts who have been feasting on my flowers.

I'll update if the results are less than great.

----

Update after a few successful weeks of use --

Thanks to watermelon rinds as bait, 'Rocky' and 'Chuck' have found new homesteads to enjoy, several miles from ours. Neither seemed particularly happy to be in the trap, although each did manage to consume all of the rinds during their visit time. They each thanked me for the food and the rides by chattering their teeth as I gathered them up for the vacation trip.

A large lawn-sized leaf bag is just the right size to put the trap in for the rides in the car. It took a little careful lifting and sliding to get the trap into the bag each time. I'll be honest that I tried to do it all gently, but it proved more challenge than I was ready to suffer. The traps went on-end on the folded-out bag, spilling the guest into the bottom end long enough to pull the bag over the trap. Once the bag was tucked closed, safe to put it into the car. Quiet back there with the bag clocking the view. This wasn't a sightseeing tour, apparently; they must have misread the travel brochure. After several miles of forest service road, a pile of rocks seemed the perfect spot for a new rockchuck nation to spring up. Open the door, and the little guys hotfooted it over to the rock formation. Then almost immediately turned tail and hauled butt across the road and off into the forest. After all the love and care I'd put into choosing a new home for them...

The bags got tossed and the traps were thoroughly cleaned with the hose and brush. Ready for the next varmint attack and invasion. Rockchucks apparently go somewhat dormant in later summer and fall. The traps will come back out when they decide to come help harvest our garden veggies and flowers again.

More: The traps are shipped pretty much ready to use. They don't fold for storage, so be ready for the storage space they will use up. The traps themselves are constructed from plated steel wire mesh and sheet metal parts, and easily resisted the teeth and claws of the rockchucks. Still, I'm not sure they will last if left in outside storage over long periods. I suspect the wire will rust at the weld points given sufficient time and exposure. That probably wouldn't affect function, but appearance would suffer.

Hope this helps!

This humane animal trap solved my 2-year, increasingly annoying problem with cats invading my yard and leaving "little messages." This came to a head when they started clawing and shredding my mosquito netting covering a swing a couple months back, including spraying scent all over the cushions of the swing!

I had tried many remedies of pepper and other spices to no avail. I even invested in a gas-powered BB pistol and a sling shot, which neither had any effect because the cats were too fast and alert. It seemed as I tried more things, the problems only increased. The county animal control was contacted on 8 occasions to take care of this issue and nothing ever came of those complaints.

I finally decided to spend the money and get a humane trap. This one seemed to be of solid construction and would endure the weather. There were less-expensive traps available, but I figured this might be better to encompass larger pests if needed.

Within 3 days, six cats were captured, one at a time. County pest control was getting a bit put out that I kept calling them to come by and pick up these cats, but that's their job. I told them if they reviewed their records, they would find all the times I had called them about the problem which they did nothing to resolve.

I think I finally got rid of all the cats, because last night the trap remained empty. I had baited the trap with an empty, unwashed can of spam which had a very strong smell that had successfully lured the cats into their captivity. I knew the places the cats were entering my yard and placed the cage near those points of entry.

The cats I had captured were hissing, scratching, and biting, attempting to get at my hand. Fortunately, the handle is protected by a metal plate which kept their claws and teeth away from my hand. A couple of the cats had sprayed the cage; however, cleaning the cage was a breeze with just a garden hose.

The trap door mechanism has a simple gravity latch against a pivoting bar mounted into the door which prevents the captured animal from getting out by ramming against the door. Each of the cats definitely gave that a try, but the door held firm every time.

To open the door, you simply lift the latch holding the bar in position and lift the door mechanism. The door is held in the "open" position with an angled metal arm used as a "hook." The hook is attached to a plate used as a trigger for the door to fall when the animal puts any weight on the plate. As the door falls, the metal bar is locked in place by the latch against the bar so the animals can't get out until you left them out.

Using an unwashed can from tuna or spam is my best recommendation for cat bait since the odor is strong and attracted the cats during both the day and night. You would have to research to see what food would bait other animals.

If you're having the same issues with any pests (cats, dogs, squirrels, raccoons, etc.), I would highly recommend getting this cage. With few working parts and 100% metal construction, it appears this cage will last for years to come. I wish I would have tried this from the start!

First off, the Rugged Ranch Rattr is well built and looks like it would last a long time. So for that alone it would get 5 stars.But... I did not get one rat with it since I started using it the middle of June (2.5 months of use). I have rat cams in the area that I have a rat problem that I check every morning. In the time I had it set I only saw one rat poke it's head into the doorway a bit and then back out. None of the others even gave it a glance although the 3 Gingbau Rat Traps that only catch one rat at a time were still catching rats. The reason I bought the Rattr was to be able to catch more than one rat at a time. But better to catch one at a time than none at all.After watching and evaluating the Rattr trap over the 2.5 months of use, I've come to the conclusion that I do not have enough rats to make use of this. I get maybe 3 or 4 rats a night (actual observation) depending on if any new litters are grown enough to be out feeding. If there are young ones, they are usually stupid enough to come out in the day or get caught with my snap traps as well as one of my Gingbau live traps. Were I live, there is plenty of food around because our neighbors have chickens, rabbits and other critters, so there is always food around. Our yard is more of an overflow for rats looking for less populated feeding areas, so they wonder over to feed off my bird feeders. So I don't think the rats are desperate enough or hungry enough to try to get into this type of trap where they have to work to open a door. My other traps have a big opening for them to walk in and trip the trigger, so that's a lot easier for them.So in conclusion, if you have a barn or feed lot or someplace that has lots of rats and maybe they are on the hungry side, this trap may work just fine. If you have only a few rats, fairly open spaces and plenty of food around for them to find, it's probably not going to work that well or work at all for you. I would have returned it, but unfortunately, to give it a fair enough test to see if it was going to work required more time than what is allowed for returns, so I'm stuck with it and I'll just put it away and stick to the traps that work.One thing that did work real well was the tube that comes with it that you are suppose to use to drown rats caught if you want to do that... except we used it to put our recycling cans and stuff in until we are ready to take them out to the recycling bin on trash day. We had been using boxes but they get soiled after awhile and have to be thrown away. The plastic bin works great and I can just hose it out. Although it wasn't worth the cost of the trap, at least we have gotten some benefit out of it. I don't like drowning the rats I catch anyway, to me it is too slow as it takes up to a half hour for some rats to drown. I'm not into torture even though I hate rats. I dispatch them much quicker with a CO2 pellet gun through the wire mesh. It's fairly quiet and kills instantly. Then I can dump them into the trash bucket and hose the blood off the trap and set it up for the next one.Nothing against the manufacturer, the build quality or the idea, it just isn't a good solution in my situation. I did make a modification to it though... I turned the handles around so they lay flat along the sides rather on top. On top they had a tendency to jam lifting up from how the wire was bent. Laying down the sides they don't seem to do that, plus less likely for a rat, should one be in there, to nip at fingers when picking it up (although I would have wore gloves). I could see where the one suggestion to remove the piece of wire from the pivot door was probably a good idea, but that piece is also part of the counter weight to close the door once the rat went inside. I think it would be to light to close as fast as it needs to to work right.

I first heard about this trap on Tuesday ... ordered this model on Amazon on Wednesday ... received it by noon on Thursday ... and set/baited it in place (SO easy) that afternoon. When I first checked it at 7:45AM Friday morning I already had my first Squirrel.

I released it (see below) far from my house Thursday late afternoon and reset/baited it the Squirrelinator trap back to its original location.

This morning (Saturday) it was still empty when I got up. But after a quick shower I looked again. I had gotten another and there was a 3rd Squirrel roaming around the trap very interested. That squirrel seemed to love eating one of the oranges off my tree right in front of #2. But after a bit more picking up scattered pieces of bait, he left.

I had breakfast and pointed out the trap to my wife, making sure she could see it from our kitchen. And guess what? Another squirrel was roaming about it. Candidly it's FAR more fun than watching TV car chases! Just as I got my binoculars totally zeroed in ... #3 gave into the Squirrelinator's temptations.
Talk about quick, easy, and efficient! So right now it cost me just over $25 per squirrel ($70 divided by 3) to get rid of them. I'd certainly have willingly paid that much for a Professional Trapper. So this device is a good value AND investment. And I fully expect to catch more and very quickly.

Fyi, I've read a number of reviews that talk about what type of bait to use, its cost, and blah-blah-de-blah. I first threw a small handful of nuts into it. Then, given the fact that the squirrels were feasting on my citrus, I decided to go a little bit off their comfort zone. I added a small handful of Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal, scattering a few flakes around both of the trap's 2 entries.

They LOVE it. And it is really fun watching one squirrel in the trap inadvertently kick a flake or two outside of it to the next victim. So try using Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal as bait. I figured they might like it as much as me and they DO !!

A final note: While Squirrels are cute they are anything but nice. Watch some of the posted videos and you will witness very mean, dangerous animals that like to bite however "cute" you may think they are. Then think about YOUR kids or grandkids being out there wanting to "play" with or pet them. NOT A GOOD IDEA.

I even read that "relocated" squirrels (up to 3 miles away) can find their way back. And those that don't return only continue causing the same problems for their new neighbors as they did for you. So I thought about what I should do.

So I prayed on how I should remove them (permanently) from my yard. I sought the advise of my local clergy who suggested praying for their both our souls. And in the end he even baptized them for me. Whatever you choose to do, do the right thing for everyone.

Suggestion: Try to find a Squirrelinator that has a "basin". Mine did not have one but not a big deal all things considered. But the basin allows you an easy way to relocate your nasty squirrels however you choose without having a big mess in your car or pickup that is not easy to clean up. The empty shipping box is a good alternative.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Squirrelinator !! Good luck.

UPDATE AFTER TWO WEEKS:
22 Squirrels ... but I repositioned the trap at the corner of my driveway trying to catch a couple of them at the front of my house. The trap was on hard cement. And I got one. But after about 3 hours in the trap he was able to escape! I think it was because it was on that hard surface and the squirrel was able to get its paw under the entry and pry it open.
But I stand firm on how I rated it. 22 Squirrels in 2 weeks? WOW !!! I am So impressed !!!!! And they still love Honey Bunches of Oats for bait.

Don't rely on early Amazon customer reviews of this product. It has been "redesigned" (according to customer service) which I understand to mean "cheapened", and rendered more dangerous to release an animal than it was to begin with. The trap you receive is as pictured in the first of the manufacturer's images, but NOT as pictured in their last image which shows a live raccoon in the cage. When mine arrived, I realized an essential part was missing and, rather than return it immediately to Amazon, I called Havahart customer service to see whether they could just send me the missing part. They answered promptly and were courteous and helpful, and told me I wasn't missing a part, rather the part was "redesigned" out of the product, so they had no part to send me. The owner's manual that accompanies the current redesigned Model is for a former model which no longer exists, but bears the same model number. So, the owner's manual you receive does not describe the product you receive.The missing "redesigned" part (see photo of instruction manual) is #2 and #4, the "Door Loop" and "Door Lock Frame". You would use this part to grip and lift the door while simultaneously pushing back the door locking bale when trying to release the captured animal. It formerly served the function of guarding your fingers while raising the door, which was at best a two-handed operation. Without this part, releasing a frightened, pissed animal is now a complicated three-handed operation that keeps your hands dangerously close to the opening door.The manual says to put a "stick" (not provided) sideways under the door, through one side of the cage and out the other side, to hold the door open while the animal escapes. If you need three hands to simultaneously (1) lift the top latch, (2) push back the spring loaded locking lock and (3) lift the door, where do you get the fourth hand to simultaneously push a "stick" through the cage to hold the door open while you move far enough away to not get bitten?There is no provision in the current model equivalent to the missing "loop" and "door lock frame" to grab and lift the door, so you have to put your fingers UNDER the door to lift the door, directly into the animal's path of escape, increasing your chance of being bitten. It's obvious that no design consideration was given to owner safety while releasing the animal. The "redesign", if anything, exacerbated what was already a questionable safety issue for the purchaser.Look at the first "customer image" in the online Amazon reviews. It shows the destruction done by a raccoon to the door that then still included the sheetmetal loop/lock that is now "redesigned" out of the new model. If a raccoon (then) could damage the reinforced door of the former Model 1079, the same animal now could devastate the door of the new Model 1079 that lacks the sheetmetal reinforcement.I've owned four (4) Havahart traps in the last 30 years, and I gave 5-star reviews to three of them. Two stars for the current Model 1079 would be to over-rate it, and to ignore the dangerously cheapened redesign. This model reeks of cheap construction all around, and appears inadequate to contain an aggressive animal determined to escape. The owner's manual suggests you can use this trap to capture a "bobcat". Really? A large raccoon will damage it. Two raccoons working together could open the trap by simply pulling the locking bale out of the containment sleeves. The missing part formerly prevented this, but in the absence of that part, a second raccoon wouldn't need many smarts to release his buddy.If you have basic mechanical skills, some tools, sheetmetal and heavy wire, you can redesign the "redesign" to partly overcome the animal release safety concerns. You need a 1/2" dowel or 1/2" x 1/2" stick to hold the top lock open while you hook a piece of metal coat hanger through a hole in the door. This keeps your fingers out of the animal's path while lifting the door with one hand and pushing back the spring-loaded locking bale with the other. The same coat hanger wire can be made to hook the door up (avoiding the "stick") while you get your hands away as the trapped animal escapes. This fix won't reinforce the light sheetmetal door however. A big raccoon can still twist the door out of shape as it did in the first customer image. You could reinforce the door with an additional piece of sheetmetal or plywood, but why should the customer have to do this at all?It doesn't matter how well a live trap can catch an animal if it can't safely release it. I would not recommend the redesigned Model 1079.

Great trap. I have been having an issue with squirrels digging up my planters, peeing and pooing everywhere, and yapping away nonstop in the afternoon, sometimes for hours. They then tore up my $400 tent while camping. Then my $150 solo tent while backpacking. The final straw was when they tore through the screen to get into my office to find food (caught them in the act and had to kick what remained of the screen out so they could escape). Decided it was time to wage war.First I bought an electric trap (from one of the many Chinese-junk sellers here). When it arrived, I set it up and watched as three squirrels came, grabbed the bait, and either didn't get shocked OR clearly got a zap but managed to run away groaning/cooing in pain. Clearly, it didn't kill them.Then I bought some snap traps. One trap simply didn't go off. And then the woman demanded I take them down because the neighbor's indoor/outdoor cat sometimes prowls near where I had set them up.Finally I bought this trap. At the outset, I knew catching 25 squirrels at once (as claimed) was a far fetch, but if I could just do one at a time, I'd be happy.Upon arrival and setup, a squirrel came to investigate within half an hour (I watch obsessively). Unfortunately, it didn't quite work. Having all the bait in the middle allowed her to stretch her body in and grab the food while keeping the one-way door open, then back herself out. When she was spooked by some kids screaming/playing in the distance, I took the opportunity to change it up a bit. I closed up one of the doors and moved all the bait closer to that side of the trap, so that she'd have no choice but to venture further inside. When she returned an hour later, she walked right into the trap. After much fighting about whether to kill or relocate (me vs the woman respectively), we decided to... actually, I'm not going to talk about what happened after.After we did the mystery top secret thing with squirrel #1, I set the trap back up. Squirrel #2 ventured over a couple hours later. This one was a bit more difficult. I set it up the way I had w/ squirrel #1, but he really didn't want to use the door. He kept trying to gnaw at the trap from the outside, He was very wary of the moving one-way door mechanism and refused to enter. The day went by without a catch, so I changed things up that night. By "changed things up", I mean I added WAY more bait (peanut butter on saltine crackers). Today morning, he came by again and couldn't resist. After trying and failing at his usual chew-his-way-in tactics, he went straight for the door. Boom, mine. This guy was vicious though. He charged the edges of the cage towards my feet so ferociously that he could make the whole thing slide (on a concrete floor) a good two inches or so. And he was trying so desperately to chew his way out that he was bleeding quite profusely from the mouth. It was gleeful, and the woman threatened to leave me for how much evident pleasure I was taking in watching his agony. We fought some more, and again I won't mention what the outcome was for the squirrel.Squirrel #3 came by no more than twenty minutes after the trap was set for the third time. The problem with her was that she was too stupid to figure out how to get in the cage. No biting, no trying anything special. She just tried to shove her face in furiously through the bars. After an hour of this, she gave up and ran off. I modified the bait layout a little bit by making a little guiding trail from a couple feet outside right through the doorway, but she's still too stupid to understand what to do once she approaches. That said, she came back two more times, so I suspect she'll eventually come and figure it out.So, things to keep in mind:1) Squirrels might be large enough to grab bait from the middle and run off with it without the door blocking them in. Use better bait and place it strategically (near the corners, just outside of reach from the outside, is great too).2) Trapped squirrels might viciously attack the cage, so WEAR GLOVES.3) Some squirrels are legitimately too stupid to get stuck, maybe.4) Trapped squirrels might be LOUD! As in "oh crap, I hope this is legal and my neighbors aren't calling the police on me right now" loud. If this happens, throw the entire cage back in the box, squirrel and all, and they'll magically shut up after a minute or so.

Please read further down for my night-by-night story & an empath's first-time experience with the drowning method. (The trap worked but I was only able to set for one night before the rats destroyed it.)Preparation:1) Location & presentation are key--We placed the trap against the barn wall in a high traffic area with a LOT of rat droppings & manure.2)The trap is too exposed so we kept it slid in the box, just cutting the end of the box off on the side with the entrance. (Rats feel safer entering an enclosed space.)Nights 1 & 2:1) The trap door was zip-tied open.2) The trap was baited with a scoop of sunflower seeds.RESULTS: No action--no droppings & no empty sunflower hulls. But it was new & smelled odd (to a rat) so I figured it may take a few days for the trap to be accepted. (Location/position is a common problem but I knew that wasn't the issue in this case.)Nights 3 & 4:1) Trap door still zip-tied open.2) I swept up the copious rat droppings in the area & sprinkled them in the trap through the top so it would smell like them.3) I decided that, although they LOVE sunflower seeds the seeds do not have enough scent to advertise their presence. So I added a scoop of the horses textured sweet feed which has a strong, delicious smell.RESULTS: Two scoops of feed (1 sunflower & 1 sweet feed) were completely gone! Empty seed hulls & a new layer of fresh manure were all that remained.Night 5:1) Zip tie removed--trap set!2) Baited with a scoop of sunflower seeds & a scoop of aromatic sweet feed since those worked great to draw them in the last two nights.RESULTS: Checked the trap 4 hours after dark (didn't want to leave rats all night, terrified & possibly fighting/injuring each other). There was at least a dozen and a half rats inside!HOWEVER . . .Although the concept is good, the design & construction has some flaws. There is a narrow dead-end section next to the entrance. The rats shoved themselves, tightly packed, into this section, smothering & panicking. Then they started escaping while I filled the pan with water to drown them. One rat was caught half way through the wire & stuck out too much so I couldn't set the trap in the pan of water to kill it. While we tried to get the live, terrified rat unstuck (while not being bit!) more started squeezing out next to it again & eacaping. We realized the rats had pulled back a poorly welded wire & created a row of larger holes. Some could fit through these holes but bigger ones got stuck. I had to poke a stick through the bars to rap them with to keep them back from that area so more couldn't escape while my daughter kept trying to deal with the stuck rat. She eventually had to dispatch a stuck rat with garden shears & it pulled out easily through the larger hole they made once it's body was relaxed.A NOTE ABOUT DROWNING:I have had rats & mice as pets so seeing them terrified & the situation with the stuck one wasn't easy. Dealing with the stuck one unfortunately drew out the whole scary time for all the other rats. The thought of drowning them pained me but I can't just go dump this many rats in someone else's field to be a problem for them so killing was really the only sollution.Once the stuck one was removed I set the trap in the included pan filled with lukewarm water. They started to swim & I had to turn away. My daughter check on them just a minute or so later & said they were pretty much all dead. I walked over & there was already no more movement: their struggle was over. I was relieved that the drowning was over so quickly & believe it was a faster & more humane death than being caught by our cats. So, while I still don't like killing any animal, I am much more at peace with the method than I thought I would be.I will contact the company for a replacement trap right after posting this review. If they send a replacement & it holds up, I will gladly give this trap 5 stars. For the price, I should certainly be able to get more than one night of trapping out of it & it should be sturdy enough to hold up against it's target species.