Building a Low Pressure Humane Animal Trap

7/28/2019 Building a Low Pressure Humane Animal Trap

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-low-pressure-humane-animal-trap/

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Building a low pressure, humane, animal trapby starslayer on June 6, 2013

Table of Contents

Building a low pressure, humane, animal trap .........................................................................................

Intro: Building a low pressure, humane, animal trap .................................................................................

Step 1: 1. Bill of materials ....................................................................................................

Step 2: 2. Assemble base frame ...............................................................................................

Step 3: 3. Form the box ......................................................................................................

Step 4: 4. Attach mesh screens ................................................................................................

Step 5: 5. Put the back on ....................................................................................................

Step 6: 6. Begin construction of the front door .....................................................................................

Step 7: 7. Build front door ....................................................................................................

Step 8: 8. Build the locking mechanism ..........................................................................................

Step 9: 9. Build the teeter system ..............................................................................................

Step 10: 10. Optional improvements ............................................................................................

Step 11: 11. Put everything together ............................................................................................

Step 12: 12. Catch your critter, and release safely. ..................................................................................

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Intro: Building a low pressure, humane, animal trapI had a problem, I had a whole family of squirrels in my garage, I like squirrels- they are cute, and generally friendly. I don't like them in my garage.

I don't blame them for wanting to be in my garage, it is pretty awesome in there, but it is a problem; they chew on electrical wires, poop, and there is also no food sourin the garage. So they had to go.

I can borrow a commercial metal animal trap, but the issue is that I encountered right away was that the pressure plate in one of those requires a bit more force then asmall squirrel. So I was quickly able to catch mommy squirrel, but none of her children. This is bad, now I have a bunch of baby squirrels in my garage, no food, and nway for them to get out.

I needed an animal trap that could be triggered by the minuscule weight of a baby squirrel, and hold them securely until I can release them.

Step 1:1. Bill of materialsTo build this trap you will need:

Main body:4x 2x2 cut to 1.2m4x 2x2 cut to 35cm2x board cut to 1.2m long, 35cm wide2x Screen mesh 1.2m long 40cm widescreening (cut to fit when complete.

Door:1x board cut to 55x40cm

2x 2x2 cut to 30cm2x 2x2 cut to 35cm4x 1x2 cut to at least 20cmsmall bungee cord

Teeter trigger1x 2x2 cut to 1.2m long2x 2x2 cut to 35cmrope

Tools required:Jig SawDrillHammerNail gun/staple gunBrad nailerround file

Consumables required:Roofing nails2in screws3in nails2in brad nails


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Step 2:2. Assemble base frameAt this point you will assemble two rectangular frames, be sure to pre-drill all holes, those 2x2s will not take a screw directly and the wood will split if you do so.

Step 3:3. Form the boxAttach the boards to the top and bottom of your frame, forming the box that will be the basis for the rest of your trap.


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Step 4:4. Attach mesh screensAttach the mesh screen to the sides.

I used the roofing nails, as they slightly overlap the edges and hold everything well in place. You could use staples if you have them long enough, or put another 1x2 otop and screw that down (again be sure to pre-drill)

Step 5:5. Put the back onUsing the thin screening cut to shape for the back of the cage and attach, I used a mixture of roofing nails and staples to hold this in place (the staples into the plywooboards because they will not split it, the nails into the 2x2s)


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Step 6:6. Begin construction of the front doorThe front door is a 'guillotine' style- don't let that scare you, the idea is it closes when the animal is nowhere near the door itself, and the trigger mechanism takes a lot the weight off the door, so while it shuts with some speed (somewhat slower then gravitational acceleration) it does not have a lot of force behind it.

Step 7:7. Build front doorMake a cut into the front door to leave a 'notch' just at the top line of the trap when the door is closed. Make the exposed part of the notch slightly wider and taller then

1x2.This is where the lock will engage when the door drops


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Step 8:8. Build the locking mechanismIn order to hold the door down once it has closed some sort of locking mechanism is required, this simple setup is to carve a small notch into the back of a 1x2, in whicbungee cord will sit trying to push it forward against the door. When the door comes down the notch we put into i t will become exposed and the lock will engage, you wneed to pull it back in order to unlock the door.

Step 9:9. Build the teeter system

The teeter is basically just that, a teeter-totter that holds on one end the trigger mechanism, and on the other the door.

Take a single 1x2 and notch it.

Cut a larger then 1x2 hole in the top of the trap.

Build up 2 2x2s vertically from the trap, and place the .5in metal rod through them and the teeter bar.

Tie both ends of the teeter bar to the trigger and the door respectively.

Step 10:10. Optional improvementsWhile your sawing away at the back of the trap in order to put the trigger mechanisim, you might want to make a nice big lockable panel so that you can more easily pbait inside.

The trigger meachanisim as provided is very gentle, so the animal only needs to brush it in order to set it off, but it only covers part of the cage, tiny critters may goaround it, so enclosing it in a screen while depressed will increase the surface area of contact that the animal may brush it from.

Alternatively placing a 'flap' pressure plate way at the front of the cage leaning up against the trigger mechanism should assure that sufficient force to dislodge it is

created by even the smallest lightest critter by the time they get to the bait.

Finally you could build a 'reverse teeter' hooked up directly to the bait, basically, assure that if the weight of the bait changes negatively, the trap triggers. The downsidto this is that the animal may be on i ts way out when the trap finally triggers, and getting the balance exact may be difficult, but it assures that if the animals has gone fthe food it will trigger.

Carry handles would be nice as well, or you could reinforce the teeter mech so that you can carry it by that.

A 3d printed trigger notch, and rim- would really improve the sensitivity by assuring that you need far less lip to catch the mechanism then the rather coarse wood willallow for. Milled trigger mechanism would be similarly effective.

Similarly 3d printed, or bearing sliders on the door would make for a more smooth closure.

Step 11:11. Put everything togetherOk, now we can put everything together


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Step 12:12. Catch your critter, and release safely.Set it up with some bait, and wait.

Wear gloves when moving the trap, your fingers may look tasty/threatening to the now caged animal.

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Building a Low Pressure Humane Animal Trap

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