They are smart. I had trouble with them a couple of years ago and figured I would live trap them in a havaheart since they came at night and I didn't want to sit up all night waiting for the shot. It was an older version of the coon trap that I borrowed from a neighbor. I baited it with marshmallows and in the morning the bait was gone and the trap was sprung. I couldn't figure out what happened and that same thing happened for the next 3 nights.On the 4thnight I heard it trip (it was on the deck outside the bedroom) so I went out there and saw I had a big one. I went back to the house and told my wife to come and look at it up close and when we got out there it was gone??? She called me a liar and said I made the whole thing up. The next night I waited to watch what happened. The coon came to the trap got the bait and was trapped. It lay down on its back and reached its skinny arms up along side the inside door and pushed the second one up and ran out. I modified the doors that morning to have a locking latch come down when it sprang. I made it out of a coat hanger and finally caught him for good. I got 2 others before they were gone. I went and bought my own trap and the new ones have a built in latch almost the same thing as I made for the old borrowed trap.