Customer Reviews

Havahart 1078 Live Animal Professional Style One-Door Rabbit, Skunk, Mink, and Squirrel Cage Trap

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Length:: 0:06 Mins

We had a nasty case of "Squirrels in the Attic" not too long ago. We set up a few of these traps (slightly shorter version) with little more than peanut butter sandwiches and patience. For the next four days we put the bait out around the traps to allow them to get used to them. On the fifth, we set the traps with a peanut butter sandwich stuck to the trigger plate. The next day we bagged our first squirrel which was released unharmed 10 miles away.

I have only one complaint. It seems black birds like peanut butter too but thankfully they never triggered the trap. At first I thought the trigger plate wasn't going to be sensitive enough for the squirrels, but I guess you can't argue with results.

This trap works great once you make sure the trigger plate works and the plate lifts up enough to be triggered by a squirrel. I had to slightly bend the rod in order to obtain enough lift on the trigger plate. It worked when I originally tested it but after one encounter with Rocky (we named the squirrel) the plate did not release the trap door. After Rocky had 2 free meals of crunchy peanut butter I figured it out and Rocky was soon released in the park. Then there came Rocky II, III, IV and V. The trapped worked perfectly and I'm now Rocky free. The reason I'm giving this a 4 star rating rather than a 5 star is I had to make the minor bend in the rod before it worked correctly. It should have been correct before it left the factory.

I bought this trap to catch some squirrels that were eating all of my wild bird food. The trap worked well, the first squirrel was caught in a couple of days. The difficulty came in getting the squirrel out of the trap to release it. There doesn't seem to be a way to fasten the door in an open position so you can walk away and let the animal find its own way out. You have to hold the door open and tip the trap in a way that sort of "pours" the animal out. While this is not difficult with a squirrel, It could be a lot harder with something like a skunk.

We had to adjust the latch for the door to make it more sensitive, but it was easy and now it only takes a very light touch to trip the door. We even caught a curved-bill thrasher that ventured in to eat the peanuts we left for the squirrels!

This is an inexpensive trap to catch an occasional animal, but if you plan to do a lot of trapping I would recommend purchasing a trap that has a more user-friendly way to get the animals out of the trap.

I live within city limits -- in an area where squirrels flourish.

After reading many reviews I bought the 1078. A few of the reviews seemed to suggest that the trap had some kind of problem or was difficult to set. I disagree. The trap is well built, sturdy and easy to set. The spring trap plate mechanism presents no problems. I believe that priming the trap is what makes the difference -- here's my recommendation:

1)Place a strip of brown masking tape (I used 1.5 inch wide) along the floor of the cage from the entrance almost back to the trap plate.
2)Place a blob (1 inch cube) of chunky peanut butter outside the door of the trap, and smaller blobs spaced about 3 inches apart along the tape leading back to the trap plate.
3)using a wire, hang a small mesh sack (i.e. garlic packaging) filled with peanut butter from the roof of the cage behind the trap plate so that it hangs above the trap floor but also hangs behind the trap plate. The squirrels cautiously get into the trap and when they get to the sack, get aggressive trying to pull it down. They have to stand on the trap plate and when they do -- bang!

I've had the trap 6 days and have bagged 10 squirrels, no problems with the trap and -- 10 less problems than I had last week.

Length:: 0:32 Mins

Caught 2 squirrels in the first 12 hours. Keep the box it ships in. That way you can put the cage with squirrel back in the box for easy transport.

My trap works well and I caught 15 squirls within 2 weeks. I caught a huge Racoon who barely got into the trap and I couldnt shake him out either and a UGLY Opossom. The Coon and Opossom were very sedate and made no fuss at all. The Squirls on the other I had were very agitated. A few Squirls wouldnt go into the opening and figured a way to scrape the bread and peanut butter off from the outside grill. Smart Buggers!
The trap worked very well. Didnt harm any animals and I drove them to a park a mile away and released them safely. Opening the door was a safe easy operation with a animal inside. Great product. Peter

For weeks I stood passively by while squirrels ate my cucumber plants, all the ripe tomatoes in my garden (yep, only the ripe ones) and dug holes for homes throughout my small patio garden. I went on vacation for a week and came back to dead potted plants (they had pulled the water lines out as they romped through the garden), a hammock with critical support threads eaten through (guess they were lounging while nobody was home), and a cabinet full of sunflower seed shells strewn about. Okay, that was enough to set me in action. I bought the Havahart 1078, tied some peanut butter and sunflower seeds into a piece of cheesecloth and hung it from the top of the trap just behind the trigger pan. I placed it next to one of their carefully constructed holes and waited; but not for long. Within 15 minutes I had captured my first squatter. I covered the trap with a sheet, put it in my car, and drove down to a park to let him go. When I got to the park and picked up the cage, he wasn't moving and I thought, OMG he must be dead; he must have been so frightened he had a heart attack. But no, like a baby, he must have liked the car ride and fell asleep. With a little prompting he quickly fled. I returned home, and set the trap out again. I didn't even have to reset the bait because the first one never had a chance to eat it. Incredible! Again, within 15 minutes, I had nabbed #2 squatter. Same routine, off to the park and hopefully they have found each other... Great product!

My fenced-in condo neighborhood has many mature trees and the number of squirrels has skyrocketed. They are destroying the landscaping by digging craters to bury and dig up acorns and chewing off bark and new growth of trees. Seeking a solution, I read many of the positive reviews before ordering this project. It arrived quickly and I have put it to use on days it hasn't been raining. Wasn't sure what wet squirrel smells like and don't want to know. Many used peanut butter as bait but I decided to try half an ear of corn just laid on the floor of the closed end of the trap just past the trip plate. Our squirrels are used to corn as a dietary staple as one homeowner insists of feeding them adding to the problem. So far, I've trapped and released 6 squirrels with the same ear of corn - three just yesterday! I read that someone had quieted the squirrels by draping a sheet over the cage. I used black landscape cloth that was handy and it has worked like a charm. Much less scary to carry when in place too. One squirrel kept up the chatter even after I started to drive but it also quieted eventually when I tried playing classical music :) I also used the another person's hint of keeping the box the trap arrived in for transport. Wearing heavy suede work gloves, I carry the trap, draped in fabric, and drop it in the box already in the back of my Subaru. I've taken my squirrels to river and lake front properties with lots of trees and miles away from homes. I set the trap on the ground keeping the fabric in place covering the cage except for the door which I've faced away from me and towards the trees. I admit that my heart rate ramps up as I don't want to get bitten when I open the door which catches a tad as others mention. I pull back the top release and put a long screw driver through the bend to hold it back before pulling up the door. The squirrels have shot straight out like their tails are on fire!

I'd whole-heartedly recommend this product. I'd also mention, I'm a single woman so ladies - you can use this too!!

We have a serious gray squirrel problem. This trap is working effectively.

When I first got it, the box recommended using peanut butter as a bait. I tried some JIF, caught one, then nothing for weeks after. But since then I switched to using a walnut half with a little organic peanut butter drizzled on it (ingredients: peanuts.) This has worked MUCH better, I'm now catching one roughly every two days. I set the trap in the morning, and if there's no squirrel by the time I get home, there usually is the next morning.

The door is springloaded and locks into place when it snaps shut; no matter how strong the animal is, they won't be able to force it open. I do have to put a weight on top of the trap, so the animals don't move it around (and get the bait without going inside). Put the bait roughly equidistant between the back corners and the trigger plate, so they can only get to it if they go inside.

There's a little shield plate at the carrying handle so the animal can't bite you when you pick it up, but you can also pick it up by the edge at the door end and they can't reach you there, either.

Simple but functional and effective. Much safer than poison or guns, and perfectly legal. I will buy the same model again if anything ever happens to this one.

This trap worked very well! We caught 7 squirrels before we went on vacation for 2 weeks and thought we had gotten them all (didn't hear anymore scratching noises on the ceiling, or see anymore scratched holes through the laundry room ceiling; and neither did our house sitter while we were gone), so we hadn't put the trap up in the week or so we have been back. But now it sounds like the squirrels are back, so we are going to have to bring out the trap again.
I am sure we caught more squirrels than just whatever one (or ones) was living in our ceiling. There were a few days where we caught one everyday. We would put the trap by our back fence. It was baited with a couple small pieces of bread spread with peanut butter and dipped in flax seeds. These were put behind the trip plate. Then I would spread the trip plate with peanut butter, making sure to scrape some underneath the plate. Then after the trap was in place, I dumped bird seed on the trip plate (to stick to the peanut butter), inside and in front of the trap. Then finally I would put a piece of the peanut butter/flax seed bread less than a foot outside the opening to the trap. We saw one of them get caught. He went in and out of the trap getting food a few times, but eventually did trip the plate. I was a little worried that the weight needed to trip the trap would be too great, but I also didn't want to set the trap more loosely (I would rather have the squirrel get away with a free meal once or twice instead of having the trap trip prematurely and only scare him away from ever going near the trap again). But this does not seem to be an issue. I set the trap normally (there are instructions on if you want to lessen the tension needed to trip), to maximum tension, and it was fine every time. Never once found the trap empty of food without a squirrel in it.
So, 7 squirrels down and apparently more to go. This trap really does work well! Very sturdy, long enough so their tails don't get caught, and easy to set up and open again.