Havahart X-Large 1-Door Humane Animal Trap for Armadillos, Beavers, Bobcats, Cats, Dogs, Foxes, Groundhogs, Opossums, Racoons, and Other Larger-Sized Animals - Humane Catch and Release - 1081

A raccoon I have been hand feeding decided to make his home in my attic by removing some flashing around an air duct. He had to go. This is my second Havahart trap. First of all, this cage is huge. Getting it inside, out of the box and setup was not that easy. The instructions are locked inside of the cage, so there is no way to view them and I could not determine how to open the cage. So, before I used it, I had to go to YouTube and type in Havahart 1081 and watch a short video, which really helped. After the 30 second video, no instructions needed. The raccoon was sitting outside the backdoor waiting for me to feed it. I got the cage ready and got my video camera. Before I was ready with the camera, the raccoon was already in the cage, eating cat food and the trap sprung. Less than a few minutes, I had accomplished my goal. The raccoon was safely caught and ready to be relocated. Ease of setup: Difficult because the instructions are locked inside of the trap. Once you know how to open and set it, it is easy. Ease of releasing the animal: Not easy and unsafe. There is no way to release the animal except for the way you set the trap, so you must stick your fingers through the cage where the critter is to release it. If you turn the cage on end with the door up in the air and the trip plate at the ground, the animal should slide/go to the trip plate end, then open the door carefully, set the cage down and move way. Build: Huge, heavy, cumbersome. This trap eliminates some flaws in other models that will allow the animal to easily escape. This unit is not easily turned over because of the size. There is a hook for hanging bait that is easily moved and enough space behind the trip plate to place food. If the bait is too big to go through the wire cage, then getting food into the long cage and behind the trip plate will not be easy. There is a double handle on top for lifting with a metal shield to protect your hand from an angry critter. Considerations: Once the animal is caught, you will need a truck to move the critter. It might fit in a large trunk area with the trunk lid strapped. I doubt it would fit in the backseat of a car unless the backseat is very spacious. The edges of the cage are sharp and rough and could easily rip car seats or cause injury to a person. Also, with an upset critter pacing back and forth in this cage, it makes it much harder to handle. One large, strong person can do it but it is not easy. This model works much better and is built much better than the smaller model. Setting it is much easier once you know how with much less chance of false tripping or failure. Be sure to read the measurements before ordering. It is as big as a moderate/large sized coffee table. Click Full Screen, X in lower right corner, for best view of video. **************** Update 7/31 **************** I have caught 13 raccoons, mostly babies. I have also caught the same squirrel numerous times (he knows I will let him go).

I guess it's too much to ask to have a metal product arrive without damage. The shipping boxes (plural) that it arrived in appear to be undamaged. But the trap/cage arrived pretty bent. See photos. It's probably still usable, and I'm pretty handy at fixing metal cages. But gees. Why can't the manufacturer insure higher quality? Here we are almost in the year 2020 and the human race cannot establish even the most basic of quality control or metal product durability. Until Havahart can get their manufacturing, materials, and quality control together... I cannot recommend this product. I mean... come on people. UPDATE: The animal ate the bait and didn't set off the trap several times already. The trip/trigger mechanism is too flimsy to operate correctly... even after fiddling with it ad nauseum. Im surprised Amazon allows this garbage to be sold. Alibaba, yes. Amazon, no. I have included some photos. One photo shows the bait was eaten (hanging bag) and trap not tripped. I've used bait in a bowl, bait on a plate, bait hanging from hook. ANOTHER UPDATE: The trigger design and mechanism are so incredibly horrible, that I replaced it with my own fishing line trigger mechanism. I had far too many critters stealing the bait and not tripping the floor-plate-activated trigger. I put bait sandwiched between two 5x5 inch pieces of hardware cloth (a metal mesh). The mesh held the bait. Then I hung the baited mesh from some yellow fishing line on one end, and attached the other end of the fishing line to the little metal factory-installed door lever that holds the trap door into it's spring-ready position. When the critter pulls on the bait (encased in hardware cloth) it pulls on the string, which in turn pulls the trap door lever holder, which releases the trap door to close. This setup is virtually fail proof now. I also cut the metal cage wire clips on the bait end (the side opposite the trap door) so I could access the inside of the cage without having to crawl my self up into the trap to place or manipulate the bait. With my modification, I could simply open up the bait end of the cage easily like a little door, and place the bait, then close the little door. I used some little key chain clips (see photos) to keep the newly created bait-side "door" securely closed when I'm not using it. I think I used 10 -12 of the key chain clips spaced about 2-3 inches apart on the cage. I'll attach some additional photos that illustrate my modifications. The little factory metal clips that hold the cage walls together are terrible, so I added some plastic zip ties for extra strength... including the hing of the trap door itself. With these $5-$10 worth modifications I made to it, the trap works well. I'm not going to give it more stars because its such a poorly designed product from the factory. I have caught a few critters in it since my mods.

Brilliant in its simplicity. We have had "someone" decimating our suet block holders for a week now. We set our new XL trap up last evening and at 4:00 this morning, caught the "perp", a raccoon. We relocated him/her several miles away and hope this solves the problem of the disappearing suet blocks. It is a perfect size for these larger raccoons and possums. Very pleased with it. One question though; what is the spare piece we found for? Big hook at one end and smaller hook at the other?

Had this one for about a month. I have another of similar size but it opens at each end and our wily raccoons learned to circumvent its purpose. This one is really heavier than I expected, can't accidently open even if tipped over and it does the job perfectly. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is there is no real protection for one's hands & arm if you are releasing a live animal. In my case I do not do live releases of the large raccoons here on the ranch. We are surrounded by forests and mostly we all live in harmony unless Mr. Coon and Brer Fox decide to consistently violate the peace. I don't like losing 26 laying hens and a couple of roosters over a week's time in broad daylight to either of them or their families when meadow voles and 8 inch silver rats are plentiful enough to satisfy their needs. But what really got me riled is when a couple of Mr. Coon's family started raiding the large humming bird feeder hanging off the back deck for the sweet nectar every night. So late in the day this new trap arrived I set the trap near where they raided the feeder, brought the feeder inside the house, baited the trap with a couple of sweet maraschino cherries letting a few drops of the juice drip next to them for extra scent and waited. By 9 PM I had my first coon and looking through the glass door saw that another coon was outside the trap trying to reach in for a cherry. The caught coon was dispatched immediately and carried to the forest to become part of the "cycle of life" as probable coyote food. Then I washed down the trap and re-baited. I adjusted the set hook to a lighter touch as the other coon looked a bit smaller. The next morning I found a squirrel in the trap instead of the other coon. That second night I caught the other naughty coon and it went the way of its brother. I must have bagged all the coons causing the trouble before they taught this feeder raiding to the many others around here. Now I know there are folks out there that are animal lovers and so am I--that is exactly why I moved to this beautiful country acreage but there has to be balance and safety. Raccoons here frequently carry Rabies and if they are emboldened enough to repeatedly come right to your door and not be frighten away by scent or sound of humans, dogs or even coyote urine sprayed about then there could be a big problem. It is best to be safe and humanely dispatch the animal. Fortunately I do not have to do this often but it is a part of living out in the country on large acreage and raising most of your own foods. Again if you intend to do live release of raccoon, fox, or anything with large teeth I do not believe this trap is for you even if you use heavy leather gloves. It is simply the way in which one has to open this type door that would allow the varmint to bite you on fingers, hand, or even the lower arm. But for those who do not intend live release this is the greatest trap I have found and I own several others.

We needed to catch raccoons who were getting into our bird houses stealing eggs.....and infant birds too. We have cameras in 3 of our bird houses thus track all of the happenings on a dedicated TV screen. It was heart breaking to see the parent birds work so hard to build nests, lay an egg a day then sit on them....only to have an "outsider" take their babies. We understand the raccoons are only hungry....but....we prefer they eat elsewhere. This 15X15 Havahart trap worked exceptionally well. Before I had the Havahart 11X13 trap and some how the raccoons escaped. The 15X15 ((with only one end open and a different closing mechanism))seems to have caught them all.....FIVE in one week.....one per night. We baited it with corn-on-the-cob. First night the little rascal(s) avoided the trigger pad by reaching over it (corn was all the way back in the cage) then taking corn about 3 feet away outside of the cage to devour. Next night I tied the corn to the back of the cage with string. First tied string knotted around the corn and next knotted the other string end to the cage. That way rascal could at least be comfortable eating it rather than manuvering to eat while otherwise tied directly AGAINST the screening. Someone later said maybe I should use wire. I thought of that but decided that may hurt their mouth. The string (size: a little thick) worked VERY WELL. ................all in all we are very happy with the 15X15 Havahart trap. The raccoon family has been relocated to a very large forest many miles away. We hope they are happy......:-)

This trap and large and heavy gauge steel! I have caught raccons, cats, possums, pet chickens and a pit bull trying to eat my chickens so far. THREE chickens were caught at the same time! This is a large trap! The only thing I dont like is how far the mechanism to shut the trap is. It is too close to the end of the cage. I just put a 16" piece of cedar picket in there. It is light and allows the animal to step on it earlier so they dont eat and run :). NONE of the traps at the stores are heavy duty steel like this. It is the best for me to use!

Intro: We live on the edge of a large forested area and have all kinds of wildlife coming through (which is fine) but unfortunately some of them like to go live under the deck around the pool, which isn't cool as they'll gnaw on wood, wiring and plumbing. Plus the porcupines destroy pine trees. So, I have two other havahart traps, one small one for squirrels and a large one (12x12x36) ... both of which I have had for 3 years. With the large one I've caught over two dozen raccoons, porcupines, ground hogs and skunks. In two weeks time this spring I caught 6 porcupines that had moved in this winter. My recent attempts to get the big new groundhog have been going on for two weeks and I think it is because my trap is too small. So I decided to purchase a larger one, which means I will also be able to set two traps out. Trap 1081. --------- Arrived in its box, fully pre-assembled from Amazon in one and a half days. Which I was happy about as the email said it was going to arrive Wednesday May 2nd. The trap is pretty well made and looks sturdy overall, but unfortunately Havahart skimped on quality and/or quality control in a few areas: ( I will post photos to detail these ) - the rear panel is of thinner gauge then the rest of the trap. Experience has told me that is where the animals try to get out (not under the slanted part) and will pry paneling open, so if anything the gauge thickness of the panel in my opinion should match that of the rest of the cage - the clips holding the rear panel in are of the wrong size (too big), are not closed all the way ... and there should probably be at least half again as many clips. Again, from experience with my other trap, which I have had to reinforce. - there is a handle on the rear top end ... but not on the front top end? So you cannot carry it with two hands across the widest part or have two people carry it. If you buy this trap, you're quite likely looking to trap something big, which is going to weigh a lot and you will not carry it by the center handle. Again from experience with my smaller trap, where some critters have had me walking lopsided. - the center handle has a protective piece, keeping your hand safe, but the rear handle doesn't? - the handles are pretty thin and you will need to wear gloves whenever you move the cage with the trapped animal - the hook to set the door open is pretty small, smaller then the manual suggests as far as setting the trap with light pressure or heavy pressure. All you can do is heavy pressure. - there is some bent wire included to open the trap to release the animal, I'm not thrilled about that. My other trap has easy close and easy release with one hand. It seems with this trap they suggest you turn the trap over 90 degrees, unlock the door then fold the flap up. The door does open easier on its side then when it is right side up. I may employ a small leash so that once it is unlocked I can stand away a little and pull the flap open to let the animal out. I prefer to have my hands away and be a few steps back. Many times the critters hunker down away from where your hand is trying to open the cage. A little extra distance is a good thing. Prior to deployment, to counter the loose back panel, I did tighten up the rear panel with 16 loops of #14 gauge copper electrical wire. Cut a section of wire and twisted it like a twist tie and then trimmed it off. I would suggest other people getting this trap to do the same. Clips that are loose with only three per side (two corners, one in the middle) will open up farther when a determined critter is fighting to get out. All in all not a bad trap. I hope it will serve me well for several years. Just a bit disappointing about the above details. For the price, from supposedly the #1 manufacturer of these things, they should have this thing solid all the way around, without a thinner end panel nor loose clips that the homeowner needs to correct. That thinner gauge panel is just cost cutting and not using proper clips nor closing them tight is just sloppy. If you can have all the other clips tight where pieces meet; why not those on the rear end? And, judging from other comments and reviews, this has been going on for years. I still have to figure something out for the front handle, and may slip some old garden hose over the other ones. It is no fun trying to carry to 20+ critters by a wire handle.

Although this live trap has a very good design/lay out. After I researched read some reviews watched a YouTube video or two I ordered one it wasn’t inexpensive but I thought hey you get what you pay for boy was I wrong upon receipt I wanted to set the trap and start using it due to a bad problem with racoons. Immediately I discovered that the trap door triggering mechanism was cut short and didn’t fit right causing it not to function correctly which made it very hard for the trap door to close, so I tried to modify it a little hoping that would make it usable unfortunately I couldn’t make it work. Then while working on it trying to figure out some way to use it I started noticing where they crimped these rings around the corner cage wasn’t crimped very well at all so after thoroughly examining the unit I took pictures contacted the manufacturer sent them the pictures with my explanation of displeasure and they apologized and refunded my money in full although I still have the trap, they told me to keep it. I offered to send it back but they told me to keep it, so I’m hoping if you order one it’s assembled correctly and not like the one I received. Again a good design just put together badly, however the Have a heart company took care of me and I’m pleased them,

Récupérer des chats sauvage que ne cesse de se multiplier très bonne cage!

If you need to catch a large cat (or a small/medium size dog) this is the brute to use. It could really do with an opening panel at the rear of the trap to assist in tele a sing the prisoner but that would probably increase the cost. Very quick operating trap door so no escape.

Works Great - The Coons are gone

Très bonne qualité et efficace 2 blaireaux et un renard...

The mechanism is just not working. Tried for hours. Open the trap and hope the animal will trigger it....