Homemade Coon Trap Idea
12-21-2010, 02:10 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 35
Homemade Coon Trap Idea
I'm wanting to trap coons at my parent's property since they had been in my deer corn all season & the only problem with coil spring traps is my parents have cats & they would prefer me to use live traps. I looked at live traps & they are going from $35 & up. I was looking to have 5+ traps so at that price it would get pricey quick so I looked into making something that might work.
Its just making a rabbit box larger to work for trapping coons. Anyone see any problems in making it 32inx12inx10in & putting wire fencing on the sides & possibly the bottom instead of wood so you could shoot through it?
Found this pic of a rabbit box, just make it larger for a coon?
Its just making a rabbit box larger to work for trapping coons. Anyone see any problems in making it 32inx12inx10in & putting wire fencing on the sides & possibly the bottom instead of wood so you could shoot through it?
Found this pic of a rabbit box, just make it larger for a coon?
Last edited by NCGHunter; 12-21-2010 at 02:20 PM.
12-21-2010, 04:08 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,834
Wait till you get a coon in that box!!!!!! He will shred it!!!!!!! I have trapped them in gardens only to have them drag everything in reach into the trap they could reach. They barely had enough room to move!!! A buddy took one of my traps and caught a cat food raiding coon only to place it in the trunk of his car to bring to me. BAD IDEA!!!!! When he got there the coon had everything he could get his paws on and drug it into the cage and destroyed it!!!! That and he may also open the trap door if you don't have a one way door with a door stop. Might be better off and buy a steel one or 2 and go from there. I used to do ADC (animal Damage Control) work and have caught 100's of coons. They still amaze me.
Last edited by SecondChance; 12-26-2010 at 07:33 PM.
12-23-2010, 04:52 AM
#3
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 35
Yea a buddy said his dad trapped a coon in a live cage he bought & it broke the weld holding the wire together in a few spots. I looked at some wire last night at Lowe's that was bent together instead of welded so I would think that would be stronger. I'm not worried about the coon breaking the 2x2 frame I'm going to make but would like the cage's wire to hold up as well.
But on the flip side, does anyone recommend a live trap that stores carry? I've read some negative reviews on the cheaper ones saying that they didn't last long & etc.
But on the flip side, does anyone recommend a live trap that stores carry? I've read some negative reviews on the cheaper ones saying that they didn't last long & etc.
12-23-2010, 06:04 AM
#5
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 35
Yea I've seen those & was wondering what is would do to a house cat if one was to get caught, would it break its leg or just pinch it? Or just use apples or something like that for bait so a cat wouldn't mess with it?
12-23-2010, 07:52 AM
#6
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: 30 miles from park city UT on 1,500 acres.
Posts: 884
Yeah the dogproof or coil spring traps are the only way to go with coons. You kind find coil spring traps on amazon.com for $5-$6 per trap or you can get the dogproof coon trap on Pcs outdoors ( http://www.pcsoutdoors.com/dukedogproofcoontrap.aspx ) for $12 I have tried those flimsy cage traps and they work for some animals but not coons. If you catch a cat thats just a bonus right? 
12-23-2010, 09:07 AM
#7
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 35
haha thats my opinion too but doing so could cost me deer hunting privileges there next season, really bad since thats where I did the best this season
So I've got to be careful with the house cats, good thing is that we haven't seen coyotes or bobcats on this property so I'm just going after coons right now.
So I've got to be careful with the house cats, good thing is that we haven't seen coyotes or bobcats on this property so I'm just going after coons right now.
12-26-2010, 05:37 PM
#8
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 35
Well I'm almost finished making one. Figured I had nothing to loose by making one & this was the most heavy-duty design I could cheaply come up with short of welding something. I'm thinking of putting chain-link fence on the sides & the bottom & solid wood on the back so the coon couldn't just reach through & grab the bait on the back. I used scrap wood I already had, if I build more I got a good idea of what I would do different. Even if buying the material I still figure to come out cheaper than having to buy a live trap cage. Haven't gotten a chance to set it out yet, probably have to wait until next weekend. If it works good then I'll definitely be building a few more.
12-27-2010, 05:31 PM
#10
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 35
Well heres the final product. I'm happy with how it turned out using scrap wood & free chain-link fencing. I can't wait try it out this weekend using marshmallows as bait. If it works then this will be the setup used when house cats are a concern, I believe I'll go with DP traps elsewhere.
