My Duke Model 1112 cage trap (12 x 12 x 28) has caught a few feral cats and lately a raccoon. IMHO the cage is extremely well made and I've got no fear that any animal it can catch will bust out. I do really regret that there's no way to access the bait area except from the front which is a very long reach.

I'm not a trapper. I'm a guy with a trap who has a few tips for other noobs, who are likely to find this Trapperman forum via keyword search. Except for the first item, these will be old hat to the real trappers here.

• if you're going to move the cage with the animal in it, first tie down the hog rings. On my first cat I just lifted the cage by its handle and started walking. What could go wrong? The two heavy hog rings were holding the door solidly closed, my hand was protected, and the cat wasn't coming through any of this steel.

I'd taken about two steps when the cat blew out the front of the cage and was gone. Which was impossible, because the rings had been down and were still down.

I was astounded and only figured out later what had happened during those approximately 2 seconds: The cat ran to the back of the cage, which caused the front end to jump upwards. When he bounced back to the front, that end now jerked down - faster than those big hog rings could fall. So when he hit the door an instant later, it just flew open; and immediately closed behind him. You would never think this could happen, but it did (and on my first catch!). The timing had to be perfect and by chance it was.

So now the very first thing I do is tie those rings down. I use nylon zip-ties but anything will work - it needn't be strong enough to hold the door closed, just to keep the rings down.

• To completely prevent tip-over, drive a rod down through the trap into the ground. Do this off to the side and away from the trigger plate. It's easy enough and much more secure than putting weights around the trap.

• I push the cage down into the ground a little and then cover the floor with similar dirt / leaves etc, so the the animal won't be walking on wire. I cut a piece of cardboard the size of the trigger plate, douse it with spray adhesive, and cover it with the same material. This increases weight on the plate, making it easier to trigger, but in all my use that's been a benefit rather than a problem. I believe this camouflage has helped get a couple of animals. I don't cover the trap though some people do.

• Bait stealing is when an animal is shy of stepping on the trigger plate so reaches over it and grabs the bait. You can prevent this by putting a cross-bar rod through the trap about 4 inches above the trigger plate. For the animal to get the bait now it will have to either reach under the bar or step over it, both of which are very likely to trigger the trap.

• Cats have extremely sensitive feet and I had a big one that would not step on the raised and slightly movable trigger plate. By reaching way in and dragging the bait out he did trigger the trap twice, but each time his hindquarters were still outside, the door couldn't close, and he could pull back and out.

For this cat I finally gave up on the trigger plate and left it flat and unengaged. I propped the front door open with a thin wood barbeque stick. From that I ran a dark thread out through the rear of the cage then back in to a wad of bait, with almost no slack in the thread. The bait was at the rear of the cage because I had to get the cat fully inside. Then for about 5 nights I moved "free" pieces of bait further and further back. Finally the cat went for the tied bait at the rear and this prehistoric approach got him.

A busy trapper would obviously not fool around with this, but this one trap and one cat were my only concern so I could spend the time; and it did work when nothing else would.

• I had to set and re-set this trap many times, so to make it easier I tied the two rings together with a cord. But I made this about 2' long so it couldn't possibly help a trapped animal to get out.

• Given the inconvenience of reaching the bait area, I attached a cardboard dish to an approx 2' stick and put the bait in that. It's light enough to not trigger the ramp and makes replacing the bait a snap; plus no mess there, which is even harder to clean up (when you have to) than it is to put bait in.

Bury your bait under the trap.
Or cut a hole in the bait area and make a door for that opening.

Putting bait under the trap is an option, though animals will dig under to get at it (one tried that, with the bait inside). But in my case it won't work because each time I move the cage I have to redo the camouflage of the trap floor.

Cutting this heavy steel wire and replacing a section with an equally strong door is more than I'm up for.

I cut a bar between two meshes out, above and behind the trigger plate, this makes a 1x2" slot you can drop food stuffs ,marshmallows etc to fall right behind the trigger plate, did the same to more easily stick a finger in to set the trigger rod.

I never had a coon turn the trap over and escape so never bothered staking it down, I do block the back and side of the trap in the bait area to keep anything from reaching through the side...

Instead of tying down the rings, can't you use a spring clamp right above them, or a vice grip, easier than fooling with zippy ties...

I made the same type of trap.
LOL Heard all kinds of stories of over turned traps , but never a story like yours .
I never ever used a " T " stake on any of my traps.
As far as baiting, I made 36 inch long traps, and it was a pain to get the bait behind the pan/ trigger platform.
I never liked adding a door to add bait, always figured it weakened the trap.
Have put bait under the trap under the pan, also just sprinkled dry cat food around the trap, and leading in to the trap.
Worked like a charm.
Once the coon gets some and gets the taste, they look for more, and follow the trail into the pan.
Trapped hundreds of coon, maybe a thousand and only one tipped over the trap, and I made the mistake of placing it on a hill side , sideways!
Love this type of trap, because it's always easy to turn loose a non target catch.
Especially a skunk.

That's impressive. Thanks for the remarks from an expert!

I did try spring clamps at first but mine weren't just the right size for the mesh and couldn't get a good hold. Clothespins might work, now that I think of it. I find zip-ties easy enough and they're for sure. I wouldn't try vise-grips because they'll tear the paint off the steel, which does rust wherever that happens e.g. in the hinges.

SMH That was in cage traps, only!
Trapped way more in footholds and body grips!
How long have you trapped? Inquiring minds want to know!

OH Wolverine, maybe Beset was just saying thanks.

Dang

Not like he said, that’s a decent year for an ADC guy or something.

LOL

If you put sticks and other stuff along the sides as part of the camouflage nothing can dig under the trap. At least that's how I do it.

Put your bait in soup can and then squees the top shut. Then you can bury it under the trap. Or you can just slide it into the trap. Or get one of those handicap grabbers to set the can in the trap.