What do you guys use rear release doors for? Over the years I've been given a number of traps with back doors. Outside of giving a

trapped animal another possible way to escape the cage, and can't figure out what good they are. The first thing I do is

take some clips and make them solid. I transfer a lot of animals in a year but I've always used the front door. Am I missing

something?

They are easier to bait. The front door traps I have are spring loaded. JMO.

They are easier to bait. The front door traps I have are spring loaded so it makes it easier. JMO.

All of my front doors are spring loaded too. When I set them I either drop or toss the bait inside. I'm not energetic enough to go to

the back, unlock the door, throw in the bait, close the door, and lock it again. ( Besides, if I have the option, the back of the

cage will be pushed against a tree or building so they can't get at the bait from the rear )

Transfer mostly. Lifting front door to transfer, results in occassional escapees. I'll transfer like species into one cage if I don't have enough cages to reset. Then it's also easier to put a cage full of 'whatever' into CO2 chamber and put them down all at once.
You can also set cage at a deck, etc with back door open. When animal goes through it, it trips door and can't get back in. Only works for first animal out though. I especially like them for squirrels. It's hard to transfer a squirrel by opening a front door.

Okay, I guess I could see your point. I rarely transfer squirrels because I rarely run out of cages. When I do run out, I transfer to

repeater cages. I should probably make a clip of how I transfer. It's pretty simple and I can't see where a back door would help.

I use them for one way doors also. Remove the back door pull the spring loaded bar outside the cage zip tie some wire on the bar and done. I also like them for releasing non target skunks. I have had raccoons unlock the door, but never had one get out. I use them when catching a cat is likely, customer can release with ease saving me an extra trip.

There is no such thing as a non-target skunk. I don't think I've ever had a customer that wouldn't pay for an accidentally caught

skunk. Come to think of it, not many want cats released either. I am trying to picture what the skunk is doing while you're unlocking

and lifting that back door. I'm thinking that all back doors are not created equal. All of mine rattled around and were locked by a

very flimsy spring clip.

I have Paul. If you sell it right. My dad actually wanted a couple brought back to the property to keep the rats down. I killed a dozen skunks in a month or so then his rat population went,way up

I was not aware that skunks kept the rat populations down. What do they go, stink them to death?

Stinkin em is like marinating, then the eat em

They will also kill rattle snakes, kind of like a near sighted klutz mongoose

I think your rats must be the near-sighted ones. They're twice as fast as a skunk.

Nope, they eat the young. Mice too.

I grew up in Kansas during the 1940s and 50s. Many of the local farmers kept a skunk or two in the barn along with a couple of cats. At milking time, the skunks would join the cats to drink milk from a pan put out by the farmer. The skunks never attempted to spray. Between the cats and skunks, mouse and rat populations were kept in check. I suppose the skunks ate quite a few insects too.

Ron, aren't insects the main menu for at least the country skunks during the summertime? I remember my dad cutting into skunks with

the hay mower and actually baling one in a hay bale once. I recall farmers telling us the skunks where the best thing for the grain

fields because they ate so many grasshoppers. My dad always had at least a dozen cats in the barn. ( And twelve dozen mice. Laziest

bunch of cats you've ever seen. Not all cats are good mousers )

Paul- Back then, the farmers knew how to maintain just a couple of cats around the barn. I had a pet spotted skunk which I had descented. I was working construction in a small town near Russel Kansas. I lived in a hotel and left my skunk with the lady hotel owner while I was at work. One day, she took the skunk for a walk in her garden while she did some weeding. The skunk ate some poisoned grasshoppers and died before she left the garden. She felt terrible about it.

Yes, skunks love grasshoppers and many other insects and grubs.

The skunk does eat many insects but small rodents maintain him year round when no bugs are to be found. If it wasn't for that scent bomb he would be a very good friend under your stoop. Unlike a feral cat who can climb anywhere and eat all your songbirds etc.

We use and prefer rear access door traps for a couple of reasons. Primarily for baiting convenience and animal transfer and trap cleanouts as needed. Other solid build traps are ok but difficult to bait especially the longer traps and we have had escapes due to mismatching an open extended front door trap to a guillotine door style holding cage. Most of us have had this happen I am sure over the years.

Hence the rear access door is a good solution for many reasons. We have not had any animal escapes due to a rear release door to my knowledge. I do know you must make sure that you replace the access door and secure the retaining clip after a transfer and baiting once again or you will only have a walk thru trap as a friend and competitor found out one time.

He didn't replace the rear door doing a flying squirrel job. He set up the job with a few new safeguard squirrel size cage traps he had just purchased with rear access doors. He baited them and forgot to replace some doors after set up and couldn't realize why he wasn't catching any squirrels in a placement area he thought he should have.

I went into the attic one day with him to see if I could help figure out what was happening. What I found was he didn't replace the sliding rear door from a couple of traps lying on the insulation a short distance away from the traps. I said you know it would help a little if you would replace the doors after you bait your traps. We had a little laugh that day.

Bob, I guess I see myself more as your forgetful friend or even Harrison Ford who is my age. Failing to put the door back on a cage

or crash landing a plane on a golf course sounds just like me.