Gonna do my best to keep this going but let's hear some tips or trick on using these things. Here's a few of mine:

-PAINT YOUR CAGES: I paint all mine with a flat brown Rustoleum and even I have a hard time finding them sometimes. Of course this has no other benefit other than hiding them from people.

-BAIT PROPERLY: Some guys say to put some bait in a hold dug under the trap but this poses a few problems. Cats, fox and even coon can dig under the cage and get at the bait. If you don't have your cage securely stablized, what ever your trying to trap can knock them over or at least off your bait hole. Try suspending your bait from the top or rear of the cage using wire. If they have to fight the get the bait free, there's better chance all that fuss will cause them to step on the pan.

-STAKE YOUR CAGES: Well that sounds bit misleading but what I do that helps get rid of any wobble you WILL get if your trap isn't on completely flat ground is I take a piece a piece of 24" rebar I cut myself and just hammer it in through the top and down through the wire mesh floor. Use a couple if you want and you can also use your regular trap stakes of course.

-USE A STEPPING STICK/STONE: Use this especially for cats and fox. Just set it in front of the pan. When trapping fox or bobcat, also cover the floor of the cage with either dirt or long grass from thee area in which you trap. Just up to the pan is necessary.

-USE CHAIN: Some folks roll their eyes but I use a 6-8' piece of chain and a master lock when setting on most public land. Seems the deal with theft is if someone sees something out in the woods, no matter if they even know what it is or even have any use for it, thee may steal it. When confronted they usually say things like, "Oh, I didn't know it belonged to anyone. I thought it was just trash someone tossed out here". Make it all that much harder to steal. With the high cost of these things, it pays to take an extra measure against theft.

So..... whatcha got?

Great tips, thanks. I would be targeting red fox. What is the common or best size cage for them?

-Paint the pan white to attract coons at night.

(A good idea when trapping where the public isn't going to see or mess with your cage.)

-Make a 2nd handle at the rear of the cage, out of cable threaded through the bars. This helps greatly if you have to transport something live, just throw a tarp over the cage to protect yourself from coon scratches, and pick up the front of the cage and the back by the handle. Sure helps you lift and carry it while full.

This is good when you need to transport them somewhere to dispatch, like out of a city.

Tip #1:
Push the bottom of the cage into the dirt and grind back and forth, like a reverse dirt sifter. The object is to bury the wire floor of the cage. I may think about putting my paws on wire. Dirt is natural.

Thought #1:
Trap odor - debate worthy topic - may attract or repel? Maybe neutral (no odor, clean trap) is best.

Lugnut - I've not had much success catching red fox in cages - caught one fox in 25 years. Have not experimented that much. Try a very large trap, pre-bait, set around big hay bales, use a mouse squeaker, etc. This needs a research pioneer!

Good stuff guys.
monstertom, i like that idea but when I set my coon cages, if it's on dirt i move the cage back and forth to kind of dig it in and cover some of the floor. By the looks of the other thread you posted with your fir, I may try the plywood bit next year. Nice job.

As far as odor, none of my traps hold more fur as the ones that have had skunks "poorly dispatched" in them. Maybe it kind of "seasons" them? I do however paint early so they have all spring and summer to sort of air out from the paint fumes. As the season goes on, the more animals I catch that make a mess in the cage, the more consistent my catches are.

I was thinking about making a heavy canvas cover made specifically to fit my cages. Something where I'll have enough reaction time if a skunk sprays while I'm moving the cage. Also, the heavier and stiffer the material the better. I've had more than one over sized beach towel shredded when left over a caged coon over night.

Well I took some smaller 7x7x24" traps and cut holes in them. The holes are big enough for a rat or squirrel to get out of so I patched my holes. This also poses the problem of how to get a pole in there so I figure I could move the cage to water or cover and run hose from my trucks exhaust pipe to the cage. Any advice?

Also, I am gonna build my own traps this summer and it's all pretty straight forward. I just have to get an idea of how to make a spring door on it. Any suggestions?

Also, Yancy and another fellow who isn't on here make and sell from what I can see is a very nice and effective cage trap. Gonna pic one or two of those this year also. You guys going after cats with cages should do the same if already haven't. I'll let Yancy chime in on his cages for contact info and all that good stuff.

Where do I get chloroform or ether?

Very nice. Care to share your set up? What kind of cage trap is that?

Could you go into a little more detail on this? I've set a live trap for raccoons a few times and failed each time.

I tried a can of tuna and a can of sardines wired to the back of the trap and then tried a can of sardines wired to the bottom of the trap with the trap staked down.

Not sure if the problem is me or the trap (the trap is a cheap Harbor Freight one).

I have built a few Cage traps & mine have a small troft across the back to hold the bait. When I am trapping Coon I use the Cheap dry Cat food & smear some peanut butter in back & throw a few Large marshmells in for sight. I have no trouble catching Coon this way, might want to give it a try, it works.

I had a couple harbor freight cages but noticed on one that when the pan was completely bottomed out, the door still didn't budge thus giving the coons a free meal. Check that out first. I've caught more with just an opened c an of sardines in the back of the cage.

Ah, yes, I forgot about that. Kinda give them a trail to follow to the back of the cage.

Anyone know where to get GOOD, AMERICAN MADE 1x1" wire for cage making?

Just curious if this is a common trigger mechanism on other cage traps. Can't find the make or model this one is.





Finally, I add this to use as an anchor point and an extra handle when I got something heavy in the trap. Yeah, I realize it won't take much to get around that to steal the trap but I had to try something.

on some of my live traps i put under bridges on backroads and put an ear of corn in the back. I put a aluminum name tag on the trap so people know it is mine along with my number. I have had none of them stole YET. I only have 4 cages but i cought somewhere aroud 20-30 coons in them.

Not to hijack anyones thread but pictures would great it would be great to see pictures of everyones live traps and how they are made, to help us guys(and girls) that might be interested in making one since season has ended here.

they've held up for me but are they along the quality lines of say a Havahart or are they more like the Tomahawks?