Best Bait to Use in Live Traps - Havahart.com

Do you want to get rid of your nuisance animal with a live trap? Using a live trap is a safe, effective means of removing a problem animal from your property. First of all, you need to know how to bait the trap to effectively trap the animal! In this video we discuss the best way to bait a live cage trap. Different types of animals prefer different foods as bait. Bait is the way you target which animal to trap, so you don't risk finding a different species in your trap once it is triggered! Find out which type of bait to use in your live traps with this helpful video!

Depending on the type of critter you are trying to catch, you will want to set the live trap with different tasty bait that will attract them and lure them into the trap. For example, squirrels enter squirrel traps if they are baited with nuts, berries or seeds. Nocturnal animals respond well to fish, apples and white baits such as marshmallows or eggs.

Have a groundhog problem? They love cantaloupe! Bait your cat traps with catnip, fish or meat. Let the animal have a taste of what is inside by scattering bait outside the trap as well. This lures the animal into the trap to find more bait. Also, instead of placing the bait on the pan, it is a good idea to dig a hole and bury the bait under the pan. This gives the animal more time to trip the trigger. Then, whoosh! The door will close and you'll have your animal, all ready to be relocated to a new area.

Learn more about what animal problem you may have and what baits to use with Havahart®'s Critter Library!

[alinfrancheskakruz]

*Great little pot... works well **enjoyable.fishing** recommend it’s the one Con:I only wish you could buy the center extension separately to make the trap longer. I will not buy another whole trap for it. I'll just make my own.*

[ccdogpark]

I'm curious where you got this mis-information from ?
Call me crazy, but since many animals find food based on its' scent.
I would go with peanut butter even if I did not already know that
peanut butter is a favorite food of many small animals.

I have used the Havahart EZ-set # 1083 to dispose of 300 grey squirrels since
June 2014. The *** 1-door *** EZ-Set traps save me time in 3 different ways:
1) They are much easier and faster to set.
2) they are also much easier to bait because you just put the bait behind the
trigger plate, instead of trying to balance the bait on top of the trigger plate.
3) I don't have any false alarms any more because the 1083 is NEVER set off
by small birds. It takes a 1 pound animal to set off the 1083 and almost all
grey squirrels weigh at least 1 pound. That is important if you are not home
to keep checking your traps. You will never catch a squirrel, if the trap is closed
for hours with a small bird inside.
I used to use a 1030 for squirrels but since I bought 2 of the EZ set 1083 traps,
I stopped using the older model trap. Plus the 1030 is a longer trap, so I would
need to use a larger size tropical fish tank to drop the 1030 into.

Home Depot and Lowes do not stock the 1083 but I was able to get them
online for about $35 via Amazon
WRZ
Delaware County, PA

[MrRoundel]

OK, I'm impressed. I set the trap in an area where the ground squirrels come to grab fallen bird seed. I put some hulled sunflower seeds in a little hole that they had dug, put the trap over with the trigger door over the hole, scattered seeds a foot outside the trap, and some directly underneath. Less than 2 minutes later one of the ground-diggers was devouring the outside seed. As I watched, I wondered if the trigger was set too light, as it wasn't holding easily during the EZ set. 2-3 minutes later the little bugger took a step in. I think the mere rocking of the cage when he stepped in set the spring off and the door swept him in for the catch. Seriously, it was less than 5 minutes before I had my first live one. The worst part was driving to the wild area to let it go. School was letting out and traffic was nuts. If only I could teach the squirrels to eat traffic that is nuts. ;-) I hope it makes it. I didn't have the heart to shoot the little things, but it was a discussed option. If I get a few more, I should be able to avoid the nuclear option.
So, you guys at Havahart make a very functional product. Cheers.

[garrywhite]

You da man bro! Thanks for the helpful info 👍

[carolburnett]

please tell me what to put in my trap to trap frogs.

[pbullman]

For squirrels, use a combination of cashew and almond nuts. I caught a couple of
squirrels last month. They had dug over 15 holes on my beautiful green back yard lawn. I like squirrels, but these two were just lawn destroyers. Prior to this, I had
never had trouble with squirrels. Anyway, the two of them are now digging holes on the big green lawn in the sky. Oh, and by the way, these Havahart traps work really
well.

[Vampyra]

I own 3 Havahart traps and have had to make my own pans inside to hold the food because it's too easy to steal from the footplate. Also if you use marshmallows the holes in the side of the trap are so large raccoons steal them through the sides of the trap without going inside. I wanted new parts for one of my traps and Havahart was not easy to get parts for. You have to contact someone there and tell them exactly what trap you have before they will help you. No parts are online you can buy.

[ccdogpark]

You can only catch large numbers of grey squirrels during specific times of the year.
They prefer acorns to peanuts or peanut butter, so if there is an oak tree anywhere nearby,

you probably wont catch many grey squirrels in the fall when acorns are plentiful.

They have an insatiable appetite for acorns and will ignore peanuts when acorns are available.

I've tried vacuuming my yard of acorns but that is a waste of time because many more

fresh acorns will fall within 24 hours



In the winter, they are not active in northern climates and leaving your trap set outside

is usually a waste of time and energy, unless it is an unusually warm day.

I have my squirrel traps in very close proximity to my bird feeders

and that is probably why they are lulled into a false sense of security.

They probably think with all the birds chowing down relentlessly,

they have discovered the best free banquet in the neighborhood.



In the last 6 years I have disposed of over 470 grey squirrels but

I get most of them in the early AM in the spring and summer.

If you are a late sleeper leave the trap outside over night and

hope nothing steals the bait during the night.

If you rise early, put the trap out at sunrise.

Once it gets too hot outside they retire for the day.

I seldom catch any grey squirrels after high noon.



if you ever buy another squirrel trap, go with the Havahart model # 1083

EZ-set trap. That is the best trap for grey squirrels by a wide margin.

But you have to buy it online. Lowes and Home Depot do not stock that trap

for some crazy reason.

WRZ 2022-02-09

Delaware County, PA

(metro-Philadelphia)

[HavahartBrand]

Thanks for the question! The best baits for mice and rats are: bread and butter, small nuts, cherry pits, oatmeal, gumdrops and sunflower seeds!

[IvanStarling-kgei]

My 9 yr old grandson has caught some crawfish. He is so determined to catch and eat, but I have him release them back.

[donaldwatters]

Have weasel problem. What bait should I use for live trapping?

[ViperstudiosNG]

I like to put the bait in one of those cage bird feeder things.

[anasara]

I do have a question when it comes to foxes how do I live bait trap a fox?

[TracFone-jhzx]

Bait for have a heart trap; they are partial to raw macaroni, hard dogwood, and pancake mix.

[CarneRojo]

How do i keep stray dogs away from my trap without repealing other animals?
The dogs keep flipping it over until the food falls out.

[emokiddXhotemorage]

aye bro check out some duke dog proof trapping videos alot of them thats all they use

[surefckitupguy]

can you trap marmots with this method as well?

[joelmontgomery]

Yeah but it's a hook system cage I have

[hondatrxex]

i caught my nabors cat using marshmellowes...

[deanholbert]

r u sure that marshmallows will work???