raccoon's escaping live trap?

[aldar]

anybody have any idea how a raccoon can keep getting out of a live trap? This has been going on for a couple weeks now. bait the trap, check it in the morning. trap is sprung, door is closed and latched but no coon. I tried putting chicken wire over the latch area; same result. put a slightly heavier sring on the door, did'nt make a difference. the trap is wire mesh and measures 30"x12"x10"

[ncsurveyor]

is the bait missing?

[aldar]

yep, just about every night it's gone. I had also set up my trail cam and know that there are 3 of them coming into the garden to raid it.

[Bogmaster]

 Tie the bait securely in the back of the trap.Also make sure they cannot reach through the back of the trap.Make it so they have to work hard to get the bait.
 What brand of trap is it and what type of trigger?
 Tom

[Bogmaster]

 Another thought,I like a 36 inch length for coon cages.A 30 inch may not be long enough for a real large coo.
 You might also try placing the bait in the back ,with the trap sitting over it.In this cast you must stake the trap down well.Makes them really have to work to get the bait.
 Tom

[aldar]

not sure of the brand name, or even if it has one. it was an internet chinese special. it's built almost exactly the same as a Havahart with a trip pan trigger. I was wondering about the length myself, but I did have cam pics of one of the coons inside the cage one night with the other 2 looking at him. the next pic and all three were gone.

[SHOOTALL]

Had that problem , it was a dog that was to long to get caught . He tripped the trap , door fell on his back , he finished eating bait and backed out . Got larger trap and caught dog 4 times before he got the idea . Last time left him in trap until he wouldn't want to return .

[ncsurveyor]

they don't call them bandits for nothing.

Make sure you have the trap weighted down with blocks or stakes so it cannot be shaken or moved.

Wire the bait in a soup can toward the top back, this way, Ricky will have to make sure he's all the way in to reach it.

I'm not sure of your exact locking mechanism, so if you got a picture you can post, or a link to the site, we may be able to give more suggestions to keeping him in jail.

Are you in the city?  Do they stop by at a regular time?  I'd wait and busta cap if it was predictable.

[aldar]

I've been setting the trap inside the garden which is fenced off with chicken wire.  I'm sure their coons although I did catch a possum once. critters are climbing over the fence to get at sweet corn. the locking arm is just a U shaped wire attched to the door. when sprung, this opens up and is caught by a L shaped hook on top. pushing on the door from the inside only pushes the U bar up into the latch. in order to open the door you have to lift the latch, then push the U bar down onto the door, and lift. I'm totally stumped on how their getting out. only thing I can possibly think of is the trap might not be long enough. when sprung their tail might still be hanging out the door?

[Bogmaster]

 Aldar,a coonhas motre than its tail hanging out there,could be hitting the larger coon on the lower back.
 Tom

[chipmunk]

I like to consider myself fairly good with live traps. I have gone into areas where my friends have set traps for weeks without a coon and managed to get 5-6 coons in 1 night! A few hints:

First make sure the trap is well "tuned."  Bend metal as required to cause the trap to have a hair trigger. 

Next, take peanut butter, mix it with whatever they have been eating (sweet corn in your case) and SMEAR it all over AND UNDER the pan.  Smearing it means that they will have to work to get all the bait out of the trap.  IMHO, putting the bait in a can or similar is the equivent of getting a fast food order "to go."  They just carry it out the door.

Then set the trap and brush it in well.  I mean really brushed in.  Just enough openings for the coon to go in and the trap to work smoothly.  I like to make a cocoon of twigs and branches and then cover that with either leaves or grass.  Whichever looks more natural for the area the trap is in.  The idea is to both make the trap look more natural and to keep the coons from reaching in the sides of the trap and setting it off.

If your trap truly is to small, I know a trick for that one too.  This one comes with a story:  The first time I ever used a box trap was when I was little.  There was a bunch of stray cats living behind my dads office and they needed to be taken to the pound.  My dad gave me a box trap he had borrowed and set me loose.  I added some chicken and set it out back.  I watched through the back door of the office as a cat walked in, set off the trap and backed out!  I reset and another cat pulled the same trick.  I now know the reason was that the trap was too small.  But it doesn't matter because that's all I had to catch them with.  After some experimenting I set 2-3 bricks on top of the door and rigged the trap with a hair trigger.  When the next cat walked in he set the trap and tried to back out but the weight of the bricks forced the trap closed.  I had trapped my first animal!  Over the rest of the day I caught 15 cats.  14 of which went to the pound.  The last one (read: the smartest one) was much tamer then the rest so we had it neutered and it lived out back of the office as a semi wild pet for many years!

Try these things and I bet you'll have one in the morning!