Lòoking for an inexpensive coon trap with a possible rear release/bait door for high theft areas that will not break the bank.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Large

Coon are really tough on traps. Most of the cheap ones aren’t going to be tough enough for them. Can you trap them high, where theft isn’t an issue? Up where dogs can’t get into them we use body grips. We don’t get many coon on the ground. Some, but not many.

I've picked a few up at tractor supply for higher risk areas, but not just for Raccoons, other edge huggers. I'd much rather lose a 29.00 trap.

Tractor supply used to sell a cheap green trap. I used them at the place I learned at. They’d work with woodchucks, opossums and skunks. I had several raccoons tear the doors off. I don’t know if they have a better line. It’d be easy to reinforce the sides of a cage to make it stronger. I’m not sure what could be done for the door. Maybe you could epoxy hardware cloth around the edges and hinges?

Do you cover your traps? A contractor bag wrapped around it makes it look like a piece of trash.

We also have some large totes that we cut an access door in. The trap fits down inside the tote. I didn’t work that job, I don’t know how well they worked.

I like the tractor supply traps for coon when I need a live trap. I wrap them in black landscape fabric and anchor them with a few landscape stakes on opposite corners so they don't tip and get the door open. This method also works for skunks, but be warned if they do spray that landscape fabric it will smell forever.

I had a college girl call me a while ago, she had a TSC trap thought she had an opossum in it. Once I showed up I find the trap is in her room, she brought it in, thought it was her cat. She was going to transfer it to a carrier. Well it was covered in a blanket, and it was a good size coon. He had torn the door off, but the blanket had been drug into the cage. That was all it was holding to coon in the trap, the blanket. I got it out and euthanized it, cage , blanket ext was toast. She paid the service call and I threw all of it away. Morel of story don’t trust TSC live traps to coons.

wws

The minimum cage trap for just about anything is a Havahart and from what I've seen, the cages at places like TSC and some farm stores are a couple notches below that. They might hold a barn cat, possum, skunk or half grown coon, but an adult coon is probably coming out and once educated, won't be going back in. Used to follow the chicken forums and common complaint was they caught a coon in their Havahart and he got out. Now what? I also started with a Havahart and once found it 30 feet from where I left it. Upside down and empty. Was after a big boar. Either he got caught and rolled it that far, or just rolled it that far playing with the cage to get the marshmallows out.

Duke cage is probably the least expensive, capable trap for that type of duty. And stake it down.