DukeTraps Heavy Duty Large Cage Trap

Great trap! After borrowing a friend's trap and having racoons beat it up pretty badly and escape, I ordered this as it is heavy duty steel, not wire - very sturdy! I have caught several large racoons without issue.This one also has the double steel rings that drop down to secure the door. Racoons are smart and they were apparently able to figure out my friend's trap mechanism and let themselves out. With this trap they would need 3 hands to get out as the rings are separate and would have to be lifted all of the way up and held at the same time to open the door. No way to escape. Also it's easier and safer to release the critter. Just roll the cage over and the rings drop and door opens! No need to get your fingers near the racoon. It's a little more expensive than some but well worth the extra $20 or so.

We have LOTS of pesky raccoons and destructive armadillos. I tried the conventional spring door traps, but big armadillos were wrecking the trap, often beyond repair, and escaping. And it’s tricky to release an enraged coon from them. Plus the trigger mechanism on a spring door trap is rickety and hard to set. These clever traps solve all these problems. They’re built like a tank - no armadillo or raccoon is getting out of one of these. The door works on gravity, not springs, and is absolutely foolproof. It’s a cinch to set, and the trip lever is very sturdy. Best of all, to release a live animal you can simply roll the trap upside down with your boot and it opens. Genius. I like the green coating, which is far less conspicuous when set in my yard and prevents corrosion. The coating and thicker bars of this trap also seem to prevent captured animals from injuring themselves. I have three of these traps now, set up over armadillo pathways. I have caught 7 armadillos (and 4 raccoons, even though I don’t bait the traps). The yard destruction is finally stopped! If you’re trying to catch feral cats or small raccoons the Hav-a-hart traps and it’s clones may be suitable. But for the huge armadillos we have in the south, or feisty raccoons, skunks, etc. you don’t want to get too close too, this is the only way to go. A great simple solution for the same (or lower) price than the rickety spring door traps.Update: I now have four of these traps and have caught dozens & dozens of critters, including some really gigantic armadillos and raccoons. Still LOVE it. I don’t even bother with securing trap to prevent escape by rolling over. Im sure it can happen, but it never has to me yet, even with some really big rambunctious coons & armadillos. Never leave any trap like this unchecked more 12 hours!Was surprised that it’s fast enough to reliably catch squirrels too, by setting the trigger on the very end to trip easily. Traps will rust where animals chew/claw paint, but with occasional touch up have held up well left outdoors for years now.

Well built with sturdy material, easy to usy and release of catch is simple.

This is a solid, strong trap. Typically if you want to release an animal you kick the trap over until it is upside down, the locking rings will fall and let the door fall open. Exit critter, stage right. Okay fine. But I don't want to do that with a skunk inside! I built a remote locking-ring lifter line and a second door-opening line with 3/8" aluminum extension rods, extension door lever, cordage, a 4' overhead boom, and pulleys. So from 20' away you: 1) first pull the locking-rings up, then 2) open the door. But it is a LOT of work to build and you have to keep all cordage at least 18" away from the cage at all times and places or the skunk will reach out and drag it inside, further locking the cage door closed! Yikes! Thankfully I didn't get sprayed during this R&D process. My traps were for armadillos so they were not baited, but skunks are equally dumb and just walk right in! Maybe someday there will be a selective AI-camera-based capture safeguard menu: cat NO, dog NO, squirrel NO, rabbit NO, o'possum NO, raccoon NO, skunk HELL NO, unknown NO, armadillo YES!

Jumped into cat rescuing since there has been a sudden rise of ferals near me. This is the first trap I've ever bought, and it's awesome. I haven't failed with it yet and have had some miracle catches with it.It's very easy to set! Even a 6-week old kitten can set off this trap. I've made a few trapper friends in the community who use the traps that start with a T and end with a bird, but they all think this one is super awesome and especially love the coating. They've started calling it a lucky trap, because I never fail with it.Tip: regardless of what you're catching, I would set it to a hairpin trigger, so the second anything steps on the plate, it drops immediately.Another tip: I use disposable aluminum mini pie pans for the cats. I place the back of the trap on the ground, I fill the plates with a little tuna or wet food, and then I go as deep as I can with my arm and plop it in. Lay the trap back down and adjust the plate from there through the back holes if you have to. I've also found kitchen tongs to be handy before I got a good hang of it without them.

After reading all the dismal reviews for the name brand traps I tried this Duke trap.It works perfectly. Comes completely assembled. Very sturdy. Nicely coated green wire mesh.Very easy to set the trigger.The gravity driven lock rings slide down when the trap is sprung and they work every time.You can even change the trap trigger sensitivity by placing the lock bar at center or above/below.Setting it above the center eliminates the chance wind will shake and set it off.

Within a week of getting the trap caught the killer of my chickens. See photo. Used the trap also to catch a cat that was hiding in my shop and would not come out on her own. She is ok now. Would recommend , works great!