Do you mount the trap horizontally?
I don’t really ‘mount’ the trap to catch the squirrel; only to unload it from the trap and then it is mounted on a nail and hangs vertically with a bag attached to catch the dead squirrel as it slides out of the tube when I release the snare. I just caught another this afternoon. I’ll post a picture next time I unload one.
Edit: But you can mount the trap on a tree vertically to avoid catching undesirable prey, like maybe stray cats (?) and it supposedly works well that way too.
I have been using Conibear for squirrel control. The caveat is that you will need fairly strong hands to set them.
http://www.amazon.com/Duke-Single-Spring-Muskrat-Weasel/dp/B0047EDBZ6
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JustAnne4 – how do you keep the bait in the trap if you mount i vertically? I may pick one of these up to add to my arsenal.
Good price but not good if there are dogs or cats around. Squirrels have been a big problem this year for me, possibly because of the mild winter. A bait that causes sterilization would be nice to have for long term control.
Here is the trap. I smear chunky peanut butter on the board and on both sides of the trigger pan inside. Then I throw some sunflower seeds around to bring them in. Supposedly squirrels are attracted to enclosures like this.
I don’t think the smeared peanut butter will go anywhere if hung vertically.
I drilled a hole on both ends of the board (shown in the foreground of the picture) for mounting when releasing the prey . You’ll see one screw in the side edge of the board around the middle and there is also one on the other side. That is where I hang the grocery bag (when hung vertically) so that when I pull the snare back the squirrel just falls right in the bag.
Great picture! I am going to pick one of these up today to try out. I like the fact that it masks the dead squirrel from prying eyes. That’s the only downside I see with the Kania traps.
I use peanuts in the shell, unsalted. I tie one to the trip bail with a twist tie, as well as placing more behind a screen in the bait compartment at the rear for a good smell. It really seems to lure them.
I happen to have a fence (squirrel highway) next to the peach tree they raid. So I mount it just below the top, with the opening angled down about 20 degrees. They smell it when they scurry by heading for the peach tree or elsewhere.
Yeah, you can see the carcass hanging out. Makes it easy to see from inside the house when it needs to be emptied. It isn’t ideal for the front yard, however.
To those of you using lethal traps how are you disposing of the cacasses? Does general trash exept that?
Our trash service never looks to see what’s in there, and they’ve never asked; I don’t think a squirrel/rat carcass is any different to the landfill than a leftover chicken or roast leavings.
A friend gives his carcasses to the university, which feeds them to birds; some people compost them, and some good recipes are available for those so inclined.
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Apple tree fertilizer.
Well, I capture them (dead) in a grocery bag as described above, and double knot the top and toss it in the trash. So I guess it gets ‘buried’ in the trash pits. When I used to use poison (warfarin or vitamin D) they would die someplace around and sometimes I would smell it rotting, ugh. So removing them for burial elsewhere is a better solution for me.
Anne, I had one of those tube traps but I never caught anything in it. It looks like the same design, but the latch seemed too stiff, it would never fire.
I have been using Kania traps for 6-8 years now. They are the most reliable method I found. I once trapped a bird and once a raccoon but other than that it has been squirrels only, hundreds of them. They need regular baiting as birds will steal the bait (they are generally too light to trigger the trap). http://kania.net
Hey Scott,
You are right. It takes time to see how to set the ‘hair’ trigger. I can’t set it in the garage and then place it out in the yard or sometime in that process it can go off. I made a little jig to help me set the trap in situ because I don’t have the hand strength of a man. I think the hair trigger setting skill is more important than the baiting and it does take practice. Might give it another try. You can’t have too many traps. 
Anne the tube trap rocks!!! I purchased one after reading this and have gotten a thief every day since it arrived! The trigger takes some muscle to set but so far it has worked like a charm!! Thanks for the awesome recommendation!
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My tube traps arrived today after Anne’s post. Going to set them right now, in fact. Now, if I can just figure out how to keep the birds out of my trees (too many trees to net), then I’m golden.
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Anne I looked more closely at your trap and it has a different trigger mechanism than the one I have. Mine I can set easily but it never goes off, the sqirrels would just steal all the bait. These newer ones sound a lot better than the old ones.
Here is how I set the Conibear trap next to a wood fence squirrel trail. BTW The neighborhood cats don’t walk on top of this fence.
I dispose of the carcasses in ziplock bags via normal garbage.
Anne it looks like something is nibbling at the food in the trap but they dont do it hard enough to set it off. Have you seen this? Found any methods to ensure it goes off?
Hmmmm. I think my biggest problem initially is learning how to set the hair trigger - finessing the trigger whilst using about all the strength I could muster to hold the spring down.
I smear chunky peanut butter in both ends so no matter which side they enter they will see the bait on the other side and pass over the trigger pan…
This may sound strange, but I wonder if we leave the carcass in the trap too long, the smell of death makes other prey leary. I know people have reported catching 100’s with this trap and that may not be a problem, but something to consider if they nibble and avoid entering. I haven’t set mine for a while and I need to get out there and do it.