Havahart Small 1-Door Live Animal Trap, Safety Shield, Comfort Grip Handle

I had a chipmunk that was digging a hole next to my house, kicking little landscaping rocks into my grass, etc... and it kept making a mess so I decided it was time to deal with it. I picked this trap because the brand seemed to have a good reputation, and the size of the trap seemed ideal for something like a chipmunk. I saw some other fancier, larger traps have doors on both sides while this only has one door... so wasn't sure if it would be sufficient or not. Fortunately for me (not the chipmunks), it has been great. The trap comes packaged in a nice looking retail display box, which is nothing special, but did a sufficient job keeping everything intact during shipping. Having never used a trap like this before, I found the process of setting the trap slightly confusing for a few minutes. I didn't think the instructions were great, but watched a video online, and then it just made sense. Now I find it extremely easy to set it, and don't have to think about it at all. Anyway when I went to set the trap, I figured I'd put some nuts inside to attract the chipmunk. I actually was setting the trap with the chipmunk sitting 10 feet away watching me. I set it, stepped away, and literally within 30 seconds the chipmunk was inside and had been captured. It was shocking to me how easy it was. After that, I set the trap out with more food, and caught another chipmunk right away. Then I decided to skip putting food in the trap, and over 3 weeks I've caught 15 chipmunks. I never knew there were so many near my house, it was pretty shocking. Overall I am very pleased with this trap. It's performed very well for what I needed it for.

I've had this trap for about three days. The trap door has been tripped twice, first time the trap was moved around but no Squirrel inside. I reset it and put a 5 pound weight on top of it. The door was tripped again but still no squirrel inside. I think the problem is the trip tray is to close to the door so when it gets tripped the squirrel is not all the way in and is able to back out. I'm going to keep trying it for a few more days, but if I don't get some better results, I'm going to send it back. Most the other traps are of a similar design so I don't know if the would work any better. Getting a larger trap may be the way to go. If I actually catch one of the squirrels that enjoy hanging out on my patio, then I'll edit this review. I'm already editing this review, This thing actually trapped a squirrel, but not for long, he was able to force the door open and get out, now the trap is damaged, can't be used anymore, It really didn't work before the squirrel tore it up. Definitely sending it back!

These traps WORK. They are humane and do NOT harm the intruding animal. A little tricky to set up but once you get the hang of it, they are quick to deploy and do what they are meant to do: safely trap a small intruder without doing it any harm. Great value.

I've had quite a bit of luck with this trap. I've had problems with squirrels eating all the fruit off of my various fruit trees. They have this annoying habit of picking fruit, taking 1 bite, throwing it on the ground--presumably because it is close to ripe, but not there yet--and then repeating the process. I put this trap out last fall and caught 3 or 4 of them. This spring, I've caught another 3 in the last week. There are a few enhancements I think Havahart could make to make this product even better: 1) It is most common for me to see squirrels walking along the top of my fence, so I've set it up so that it hangs from a post with the entrance of the trap at the level of the top of the fence along the path they use. This works well, but the wire mesh on the bottom would really benefit from being much finer. As it is, I can put walnuts in the trap as bait and they can climb along it and reach in and pull the smaller pieces out. I deal with this by putting a cardboard lining in the bottom, but that has to be done just right so that it doesn't get in the way of the trigger and also so they don't trigger the trap from the outside inadvertently. If the mesh was finer, it would be a non-issue, either way. Also, since the trap is hanging, if you are concerned about being as humane to the critter as possible, I doubt it's very comfy to be stuck in the trap, waiting for me to see that you're in there with bare feet and a floor that is mostly holes. 2) The trigger mechanism relies on a rod that goes down the side of the trap. It is not hard for the squirrel to be trying to figure out how to get the nuts without going inside and to climb all over the outside of the trap first. While they are doing this, it is not hard for them to trigger it, again, with them not inside. I wish there was some sort of covering over the rod so that the squirrel couldn't accidentally pull on it from the outside and trigger it early. Even with these minor shortcomings, my capture rate is very high. As described above, I do have to go reset it from time to time, but that's quick and easy and usually the squirrel returns after not-too-long (unless that's a new one?). For the last week, I'd say I have to set the trap on average of twice for each squirrel trapped. One side note--I read online somewhere that someone suggested adding a bit of weight to the door by means of a couple magnets. I have only tried the trap with the added weight. I don't know if it would be less effective without. I would recommend this trap to anyone with squirrel issues.

I gave 3 stars because it is sturdy but the solution to release the door is not effective

I have an ongoing problem with squirrels “robbing” my bird feeder. Regardless of the baffles, the configurations I use, etc. or the design of the feeder, they figure it out. My current feeder is “squirrel proof” with a spring-loaded perch that will close… I also have a baffle below the feeder. No problem, the squirrel jumps over 6 feet straight up, gets on top of the feeder and hangs upside down eating all of the bird seed. The choice is to refill the feeder every month or so or ever few days… A friend of mine had an exterminating business and I asked him. He said to get one of these, put some peanut butter on cardboard and slip it toward the end of the trap. Set the trap and forget about it. Within two hours one of the squirrels was in the trap. My friend said you have to relocate them a good way away and they’ll come back. I relocated two of them about a mile or two from home, but it seemed one of them (somehow) came back. I relocated that one about 25 miles away while going to a nearby town on business later that day. He’s not been back… We have another bird feeder of the same type, same configuration and the same baffle in the back yard. Those squirrels either haven’t figured out how to get to the feeder or are just content to eat what falls from the feeder on the ground. The trap isn’t expensive, but is well made and it simply works. Having the smaller size trap prevents getting cats, raccoons, etc. but it works very well on squirrels.

This will be the first review I've ever written on Amazon and, sadly, it is not a positive one. I purchased the Havahart 1026 trap because it appeared to have great reviews from Amazon customers. However, I ran into a technical issue with it for which I was unable to receive an answer from Havahart. The options on their toll free telephone are not applicable to the issue I am having. In selecting options at random just to reach an operator, I was put on an interminable hold. This has consistently been the case. I quickly learned that you cannot count on any real support by telephone. Over the seven-day period since receiving the trap, I also sent two emails to Havahart through their website, as directed by Amazon for customer support. Neither have been answered, so I am simply going to return the trap for a refund. For those who want to know what the issue is that I am referring to, the following is the email I sent to Havahart: I am having a very difficult time trying to attach/connect the base of the trigger rod to the trip plate in order to arm the trap. No matter how I position it, it does not do what is supposed to do. There was no paper insert containing instructions included with the trap and the instructional diagrams on the box the trap came in were rubbed out and unreadable because the box was not wrapped when it was shipped via UPS. I went online to find instructions and found a video you produced but, unfortunately, the camera quickly cuts away just when the positioning of the trigger rod to the trip plate was being illustrated. It was so fast, that you cannot see how the trigger rod’s base is lined up or leaned against the rod for the trip plate in order to arm the trap. Can you possibly provide me with a clear diagram or a video that illustrates how these two metal parts are to be connected or aligned in order to hold the trap door open until it is tripped? I really don’t want to have to send the trap back through Amazon stating that it did not work for me. Thank you for your help with this.

I had a problem with my trap, trying to trap young, feral kittens, so they could be caught in time to be adopted after being socialized. it appeared something had happened in manufacturing that twisted the trap door to where it didn’t quite close each time. I notified Amazon who notified this awesome third-party seller, Max warehouse and they immediately helped me! I’m 74 trying to save these kittens and from the picture I sent them they saw what I was telling them. They’ll give me an immediate refund. These people are my favorite! I rarely use third-party sellers, but I can recommend these people because they have a heart! Thank you again, Max warehouse!

Bought to handle a stoat.. caught many rats as well

Crappy

I'm not sure why a company that claims to have been making traps for over 80 years would engineer such a problematic trip mechanism into this trap. As others have noted, it's very difficult to get just the right set so that it will stay open, but trip when required. Being a clever guy, I overcame the problem with a toothpick, or sliver of wood, but why should I have to modify the mechanism? In any event, the first squirrel was caught day 1, so the trap works when set up well. I filled a plastic bottlecap with peanut butter and double-sided taped it to the trip tray, preventing any possibility of a grab and dash from the squirrel. I gave 4 stars because my expectation was that at this price point, I would likely have to accommodate some kind of deficiency and in the end, to do so was fairly straightforward.

This trap is perfect for smaller animals and works great. It's very easy to set up. The largest animal that you can trap I would say is an adult grey squirrel. If you catch anything bigger then it would be too squished in the trap which would be mean towards the animal. The style of trap door makes it easy for when you release the animal in a new area - they just run straight out and don't turn around towards you.

Very effective and works great to catch the chipmunks