Customer Reviews

HDC 38875 2-Piece Humane Outdoor Live Animal Trap Set

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

We were having big problems with raccoons getting on our deck nightly and destroying flower pots, bird feeders, and anything else they thought might contain food. Got the two trap combination, as it was cheaper than buying the larger trap singly (?!?), and immediately set it out on the deck at dusk. The next morning I found the trap had been tripped externally (no 'coon), and dragged about 15 ft while being stripped of its bait (cat food). Changed the trap's location to a corner of the deck, placed a chair on the open side to prevent sliding and reach-ins, and reset it. Over the next four mornings I caught four raccoons, which I then spirited well away from the house. We have not had any raccoon incidents since. Be advised the trap door is spring-loaded, which traps better than gravity doors, but is more difficult to open when you want to release a scared and sometimes aggressive animal. Also be forewarned: trapped raccoons (and probably other animals) will seriously soil whatever the trap is placed on, and do they ever stink! Also, feral raccoons are a primary carrier of rabies, so use due care. Finally, be aware that you may not catch exactly what you intended. This happened to me years ago with a HavaHart trap (gravity door) when, instead of catching a rabbit, I caught a skunk. By slowing approaching the trap with an opened blanket in front of me (so the skunk couldn't see me), I used it as a cover, and was able to put the trap in my van and drive it away without getting sprayed. I then placed the covered trap down and slowly turned it over, allowing the door to open freely. I left the area for awhile, and the skunk was gone when I returned. The point of all this is, you can't release anything this way with a spring-loaded trap. The manufacturer would do well to incorporate a door opening lever or device which would allow the trapper to be at least reasonably clear during release.

Cats at the farm went semi feral before they could be taken to the vet for shots and neutering.The traps did their job and now the cats can concentrate on catching the abundant mice population we have after heavy rains in 2007.
I bought them for occasional use and for the money were a good buy for me.

After one use the trigger rod became bent. I am not sure if I did it or not, but it made it useless. I have tried to bend it back into place and it appears to work, i.e. pushing on the trigger plate closes the trap. I have compared it to what I could get at Lowes and Home Depot. The cost is comparable, if you don't have to pay shipping.

Price was good, but you get what you pay for.
I had to reconfigure the trip mechanism, too make it work, as it had too much play in it.

Well I think it took over 2 months sitting up in my attic to catch something, but it eventually did. I didn't know what was up there making all that noise. I thought it was a squirrel, but it seemed to be too big to be a squirrel. I thought it might also be a fox or something. That's why I got the combination of two traps and set them both.

I checked on the traps twice a day to make sure if one did catch something that it wouldn't die of lack of water or starvation. That got to be pretty tedious after a month, and I was considering just throwing in the towel and taking the traps out of there, but I just procrastinated.

Finally at 5AM one morning, I was sleeping and heard the unmistakable sound of a cage rattling around up in the attic (it was on top of some wooden beams, so it made it easier to hear in my bedroom). I immediately went up there, and sure enough, I saw that it had caught something.

Turned out it was a raccoon. Cute little guy, too. The bigger trap caught him. I used a trail of peanut butter crackers outside of the trap leading all the way inside of it. It might have helped that I put a plate of mixed nuts, raisins, and chocolate (melted) in there also.

I took him in the cage and released him at a nearby greenbelt, totally unharmed.

Before buying the traps, I was a little worried that the animals it caught might thrash around inside of the cage and hurt themselves trying to get out. The raccoon did do some thrashing. I could definitely hear it trying to get out. But it wasn't harmed at all. And he seemed quite well behaved when I got there. He even sniffed my hands and let me touch his paw without flinching.

Definitely worth what little money I paid for this. I'm really glad I didn't use some kind of pest control service, which might have harmed or even killed the raccoon.

The traps are bad quality. For the price, I'd expect heavy duty shopping cart type of traps. There are videos on pest mall's web site that shows you how to set the trap and how to release the animal once you catch them. You turn it over twice with your shoe and the door opens and the animal leaves.

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If you just want to keep some possoms or raccoons from tearing up your lawn and flower beds, then you can save a lot of money by buying $4 worth of red hot chilli powder and crushed red hot chillis and spread them around the ground. Repeat as needed.

The trap came as a set of two which I didn't need, but it was cheaper than most other singles so I got it anyway. The trap was NOT easy to set, I had to modify the catch with pliers before it didn't trip with a breath of wind. BUT, after all was said and done it worked for me, so I guess I will say thanks! Budget friendly if you don't mind tweaking it a bit.

I had a little trouble sitting it up due to lack of instructions but once figured out how to use it, I caught the cat in a little under 5 minutes (with the help of a can of sardines in the cage). I used the smaller trap to catch a kitten within 30 minutes. I shopped online for a while looking for the best price on one of these and this is certainly it. Product works great and thanks to it, two kitties are now in from the cold.

Sirs: That's right both traps worked a total of one time each I might add. I set the large one, caught a cat, went to set it again and the trap would not work properly. Same on the small one, worked one time then had to have hubbie work on trap. Needless to say I am very disappointed in this product. I need to use it right now but the thoughts of having to adjust the trap everytime I use it bums me out.

We bought these traps to catch some stray cats and transport them to a rescue organization. The first problem occurred when we tried to set them- they would NOT set. Every time we tried the hook came loose when we let go of the door. A little fiddling with pliers took care of that- the hook stayed put and the trap sprung as expected when tested. We put the trap out and it broke the first time a cat sprung it. The entire metal arm on the outside of the cage was bent out of shape and no amount of repair attempts could fix it. We weren't able to use the trap a second time. Big waste of money.