I live in the city so live traps are the only option. Had raccoon problems last few years digging up my yard. Last year I bought a hav-a-hart cage trap. Caught 2 small ones right off then nothing, but the marshmallows were always gone. Got creative and tied them up to make it commit and ended up with a large male which proceeded to mangle the trap and pan. Straitened it up some but couldn't catch the last one which was also quite large, assuming female. Then it disappeared, they seem to only come around in the fall. Tried the cage again this year but no luck so I built a couple box traps from extra lumber. 12x12x36 but they won't go near it, won't even touch the marshmallows scattered 4 ft away. Did manage to get 1 Opossum. Camera shows them walking right by it all so I'm guessing it's the female and she's wise and teaching this years offspring not go in them also cause there are 3 in one picture. Would building a bigger box and changing the bait to maybe corn or something work or are they just not going in any box? I also had peanut butter on the triggers and coon attractant bait in the boxes. Thoughts or experiences.

You think a big coon mangled your havahart, wait untill you get one in those wooden boxes!

I’m assuming that when you say digging up your yard they are after grubs. Skunk and coon are notoriously hard to bait into a trap when grubbing. So I developed this method in running my ADC business to deal with them. If they are trap shy it still should work.
I would surround the major area of damage with 1”x8”x10’ boards stood on end. I used 1/4”x 15” rods to prop up the boards. At strategic points I placed Safeguard double door live traps. I ran the boards up against each side of the one end of the trap at the door’s edge. The rest of the trap was inside towards the area of damage with the other door open. I usually cut up grass to cover the bottom of the trap. No bait. No lure.
It was a “positive control” (aka blind set).
I caught all my grubbing coon and skunks that way. Many many hundreds of each.
Single door traps will work. But they need to see all the way through to make them think it’s just something they can walk through.
In all my years of ADC work I didn’t use bait but rarely. Was catching over 150 skunks a year with positive control. And countless coon. In all situations, not just grubbing.
Of all the groundhogs I ever caught (100’s), I never baited one. Nor chipmunks.

I actually had to build a box around the cage trap for transportation purposes. Funny to see pictures of people walking around casually with a caged raccoon. I couldn’t get within 5 feet without them going crazy

Pre-bait some dps, for a couple days.

Catch them all, and then put them in the live trap.

dps? Dog proofs? Rather have them dig for grubs the damage they’d do in one of those. I live IN the city of Portland, only live cage traps are legal. I’ve got dogproofs, footholds and conibers I use at my property, not an option, cats everywhere

Area is 750 sq ft and I’ve placed them on there route.. maybe I’ll try changing bait to herring and put them right in the yard

Do what he said, don't argue with a pro. Funnel them into a see through live trap.......jk

Just thinking, that’s a lot of lumber. Maybe I misunderstood the “standing on end” part. On a budget so if can’t do it cheaply I’ll just let ‘‘em dig

Maybe stake it off with cyclone instead of lumber, I would assume it has to be tall enough to they can’t just crawl over. Those live traps are spendy at $200

If your in the city like you said you gotta remember their not starving and won't just eat anything you give them all the time. It like don here in the sound where there's no hard winter usually ad. They don't have to pack on the pounds so it's usually better to blind set them. Vs up north where all you need is a hand full of anything half edible.

Anyhow a two door design might be better with just some kinda trailing scent though it but idk

They used to at least eat the marshmallows, going to put one of them in the yard and throw some anchovies at ‘em and see, got the camera so will know if they just ignore it. HD got 4’ x 100’ safety barrier could maybe use that for the corral then build a bigger box trap open on both side with the trigger in the middle and high enough so when they walk through their back hits the trigger.

Tuna cans
Cat food cans

dug in flush with the Ground

in the cans place bait choices

feed them a few days molasses coated Mmellows
cat food
etc....any bait

when you add the Double door traps (walk through)
bury the cans in a line a foot apart leading to the door on both sides . hang a bait basket in the inside center , wire cage bait basket.

Tuna cans
Cat food cans

dug in flush with the Ground

in the cans place bait choices

feed them a few days molasses coated Mmellows
cat food
etc....any bait

when you add the Double door traps (walk through)
bury the cans in a line a foot apart leading to the door on both sides . hang a bait basket in the inside center , wire cage bait basket.

Marshmallows are a marginal at best choice for baiting raccoons which are not hungry.
Try diced Granny Smith apples, grape jam, and use a 50/50 mix of honey and imitation vanilla extract to squirt around the vicinity.
I commonly trap areas where the racoons are never hungry, and will walk right up to a DP, sniff it and walk on. I changed up to the diced apples, jam, and honey/vanilla squirt and nail them regularly. The areas which I had refusals had no real source of anything sweet, so they committed to the dessert I offered. Should work the same in a cage unless they are cage shy.