Defenders STV088 Rat & Squirrel CAGE Trap, Silver, One Size
Caring control of pets & wildlife
Cage traps from Defenders
Reliable, safe, and welfare-friendly Defenders cage traps come with a lifetime promise giving you complete peace of mind.
Rat & Squirrel Cage from Defenders
For quick and secure trapping of nuisance animals.
The Rat & Small Animal Cage trap from Defenders is ideal for capture and removal of rats, squirrels and other small sized nuisance animals from indoor and outdoor areas. It has a drop-door activated by a sensitive foot plate behind which bait is placed. The trap is fully assembled and ready to use with a protective hand plate and carrier handle for safe operation.
- Easy to set cage with positive spring-loaded trigger actions and protective hand plates.
- Long-lasting galvanised mesh design with external joints and no sharp edges.
- Suitable for indoor and outdoor use.
- Includes lifetime promise.
- Measures 36 x 14 x 16cm.
- Fully assembled and ready to use.
- Part of a comprehensive range of cage traps from Defenders.
Product Highlights
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|---|---|---|---|
Lifetime PromiseThe lifetime promise on all Defenders’ cage traps provides end-users with complete peace of mind. The traps are designed and built for years of reliable use, with an absolute commitment to animal welfare and user-safety. With heavy duty galvanised metal, durable moving parts and single-piece mesh construction. Defenders’ cage traps are well suited for use inside and out, year after year. | Made WellAll traps are designed and tested by pest-control professionals and use proven spring technology – tested to ensure no loss of power, even after years of use. | Welfare FriendlyUsed correctly, cage traps are a welfare-friendly way to remove nuisance animals from affected areas – both indoors and out – without doing them harm. External joints mean no sharp edges within the cage and each cage has been designed to allow maximum space for trapped animal. The hand plate also provides a sheltered area to protect trapped animals from the elements. | Safe to useAn efficient open-and-release mechanism on the trap doors allow for quick and easy operation. The strong carry handles with protective hand plate enables safe and secure transportation. |
Know the code
Whether trapping birds or animals, we advise users to be mindful of their legal obligations to comply with The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and to ensure that captured animals do not suffer.
- Position traps away from natural or man-made hazards and areas prone to flooding.
- It is good practice to check cage traps regularly for catches. Remove traps that can not be regularly checked.
- Remember: the welfare of all captured animals becomes the responsibility of the captor.
- For live releases: transport animals at least 3 miles from catch-site and release into a natural environment away from any obvious and immediate risk of danger or predators. Ensure there are adequate sources of food and shelter available nearby.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifetime promise | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Welfare – friendly | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cage size | 36 x 14 x 16cm | 96 x 34 x 39cm | 60 x 19 x 19cm | 44 x 19 x19 | 67 x 27 x 28cm | 98 x 78 x 53cm |
| Dimensions: | 36 x 14 x 16 cm; 880 Grams |
| Model: | STV088 |
| Part: | STV088 |
| Manufacture: | STV International |
Looks the pa
A bit tricky to set. Comes with no instructions. But I used one before so worked it out. Has not been successful as of yet. That’s fine I’m in it for the long haul with these pesky clever little scamps.
Sturdy trap, successful capture
Unfortunately we had a rogue rat get into our house after having our boiler replaced. I set up the trap and in the same night we caught it. The trap held it well, it was just a little noisy from it rattling during the night once the rat had been caught. I’m not one for killing living things so wanted something humane and it’s worked well. I didn’t find the set up too tricky and was able to set it before putting it down in the room we needed it in which was a bonus.
Good quality trap
This is not the cheapest live trap, but it seems well-made. I like the solid metal upper which offers a small amount of shelter from rain and sun for the short time between checking (though I would always recommend placing it in a properly sheltered area for humane operation).
The paddle is sensitive and the door shuts quickly. So far I haven’t caught the rat, but it takes time to catch the experienced rats as they are neophobic.
Works.
Live near fields and now have a rat problem! I had this trap in the garden but no luck catching them. After finding rats destroying the shed I put it in the shed. First night I caught one, very pleased. Can’t kill anything so took it to woodland and let it go. Caught three others after they nested in hedgehog huts by putting some old plastic traps in the doorway but th is trap will last and is well made. Hopefully I will catch more, fingers crossed!
Perfect for the purpose
Very well made, strong, sturdy and effective.
I have managed to successfully capture everything that was not supposed to be living inside the house!
Setting the trap is a little tricky due to short hook but a little patience gets it armed.
We heard scratching/rustling in our loft for a few days and, as we hate the idea of using cruel kill traps/poison which inflict pain and suffering on living beings which are just trying to survive in this world, we decided to try this humane trap and it worked a treat.
Easy to use, we baited the trap with cheese, apple and peanuts (thought we would cover all suggested rat favourites!) and placed it along the wall of the loft and within only a few hours we heard the cage rattling indicating a successful capture. We picked up the cage with Mr/Miss rat and put a towel over it and released him/her a mile or so away in a rural area. Would absolutely recommend this humane trap, it was easy/effective and best of all, no animals were harmed !
Cracking bit of kit, catching the enemy on a regular basis
Cracking bit of kit, catching the enemy on a regular basis now. The holes in the top are big enough to place an Air rifle against so the pellet can dispatch the furry blighters with ease
It works
Second night of putting it out and it worked. I set him free in some woods. They don’t like being trapped. It make a hell of a screaming noise when you approach them. Well recommended
Very effective, but do please watch for hedgehogs
Works as intended (I caught a squirrel within 2 days of first use), and there’s virtually nothing on it which should break through normal use. Hence, excellent value.
However, like other reviewers, I have unintentionally caught hedgehogs. If this happens, please just quietly open the trap and leave it alone for a while to calm down and wander off. Don’t handle it unless absolutely necessary.
Well built produc
Great product. Caught 22 rats with this. Easy to set up. Catches all sized rats from the largest to the smallest. Only downside is the smallest rats can escape through the hole where the hook goes. This is easily sorted by previously attaching a strip of cardboard on one side previously and securing it once caught if small. Just remember to relocate a few miles away or they can return.
5.0 out of 5 stars It works !!!!!!!
This has worked for me and still does. Easy to use and traps pests such as grey squirrels etc.
We have tried everything imaginable to deter grey squirrels from our gardens nursery borders. Unfortunately it came to using these traps. They catch squirrels well, even the larger ones.
BE VERY AWARE– it is illegal in the UK to capture then release a grey squirrel. They are considered vermin the same as rats. You must have a plan to humanely destroy them once caught, you cannot release them again. If you don’t agree with this, or aren’t able to carry out what you must BY LAW then this product is not for you.
squires
1st night just placed it in garden , nothing so covered it with a bin black bag , a piece off timber at the sides
peanut butter with a peanut on the the target , a nut in front off entrance , a squire 2nd and 3rd night ,
could off got another during the 2nd day but front gate stuck , so wd40 the runners . ( under bird feeder)
can’t believe it just set it again before i did this ,yeah got another one ..great my plants thank you
Amazing.... 3 rats in 4 days and now another 1
Fantastic product. I feel confident using this trap and safe taking the rat away. I’ve used peanut butter and it’s been a success. Would highly recommend!!!
I’ve since caught another. What a brilliant conTRAPtion!!!
Caught 3 in 3 days. Ignore the ‘bait here’ sticker. Ensure the bait plate is flat down and use a small oatmeal square eg bite sized to stop the metal arm that drops the door from springing all the way up. When the squirrels nibbled at the oatmeal square (I also use a small piece of biscuit once) that released the metal arm. A few dabs of peanut butter near the entrance and floor of the cage enticed them in.
Unfortunately although the product was, exactly as I was expecting The rats were far too clever to use it but I will keep it for smaller less clever rodents.
Bought this to catch a squirrel which for the last couple of days had been digging up the garden and then climbing onto our house roof to presumably build a nest in the loft. No sign of any entry in loft so I placed this at the end of the garden where the squirrel is often foraging. I followed the following advice on line regarding bait. I placed a mixture of bird feeder peanuts and a few small pieces of apple on top of peanut butter on the metal bait plate at the end of the cage. I then placed a few more nuts halfway in and some more mixed in with bits of grass near the entrance. Then a few more about a foot away. Also smeared some peanut butter on the outside of the back of the cage.
Within 30 minutes the squirrel was sniffing found the cage a bit cautiously but removing the nuts placed outside. Another 20 minutes and it was halfway in and leaning forward to eat more placed in front of the baited plate. This slow process obviously gave the squirrel confidence. Within 90 minutes he went right in and tripped the lever and was caught.
I was so impressed. I thought I’d be waiting days or that it might be too clever to get caught.
I’m glad I followed the baiting advice. A few bits to lure it in so it can then come back for the crucial last bits on the plate at the end.
I can’t rate this highly enough. Speedy next day delivery too.
UPDATE: 2 days later (today) I caught 2 squirrels within an hour using same luring technique as above. They seem to treat it like a horizontal bird feeder!
Easy to set and well built. Mistakenly caught “Fatty” our slug eating hedgehog twice so now moved it to an out of reach place.
Caught three tree rats within a week using bird seed as bait.
Its durable, well made and it works well at a good price. More than happy.
Make sure you wear sensible glove when handling the trap to prevent infection or bites. Even when empty as whatever has been trapped may release body fluids if stressed.
I bought this after reading the previous reviews and although some were negative I think maybe some people expected instant results and were not patient enough. The trap comes ready assembled and just needs baiting. First day I baited with peanut butter as per some reviews and set the trap in the loft to catch some squirrels which have been nesting in the insulation. I left it for two days and although squirrels were all around it, they didn’t actually enter it (I have a wifi camera set up). After two days of watching squirrels literally all over but not in the trap I bought some roasted peanuts, the type still in the shells and re-baited the trap. Strike one after a few hours! Squirrel dispatched to a new life in the country. Reset trap and strike two after about 45 minutes. Squirrel dispatched to find squirrel number one. I reset the trap but it took about a day and a half before strike three! Third squirrel dispatched to rejoin family in the country. I have the trap reset now but haven’t heard any squirrels recently so I don’t know if the remainder have got wind of the trap or they have just moved on. All in all the trap does it’s job and for me it was worth every penny!
Dont believe the picture you only get one bit two
Picture misleading as you only get one trap but it is well made and very sturdy
Light weight and easy to use. Very sturdy.
This cage has not caught any critters in our loft, but it appears to have acted as a great deterrent , no more noises from the loft.
It really works
1. It worked – I caught a grey squirrel 2 days after it arrived.
2. At first the door would not open because a corner of the sheet metal lining was bent obstructing it.
3. Safety advice not obvious from instructions to hold trip bar lever firmly whilst baiting the trap.
4. Advice on bait for greys and how to get the bait to stay in place might be helpful if for example peanuts are used and how to lay a lure trail of easy wins.
5. Important: advice to prepare fully for the ‘despatch’ before hand – decide on the method and ensure equipment to hand before setting trap not apparent – to ensure minimum delay.
6. Greys are lightening fast and their hides are really tough – if a slightly smaller extra internal mesh side could be released manually to clamp the rodent to the opposite side of the cage to administer the ‘coup de gras’ it could speed up the despatch considerably OR instruct how to use some wire or cord to effect the same.
Brilliant!!
Captured and held a grey squirrel for hours! Also easy to set and open! Great!
Great for Squirrels.
Such a good trap for Grey squirrels. They just walk in after the peanut butter and the trap shuts tight.
Utterly brillia
I can’t believe I’m writing a review about this, but seriously this has completely transformed my garden. I’ve now removed about 6 grey squirrels and the birds are finally starting to come back. Wish I’d bought this years ago…
Advertised as two units, that's misleading. It is one unit only!
It is an effective unit, does catch rats.
I thought I was getting two units for 21.
Only one unit should be in the picture.
Please remove the picture with two units.
An instance of misleading advertiseme
works well
caught my loft squirrel on the second day of use
Ratty off to pastures new...
We bought this trap just over a week ago after realising the one rat we thought we had had turned into a family of four.
This appeared the best for value as well as the job compared to others and we have been pleases. The only evidence of anything we found that might harm a rat was a little piece of metal sticking up from the base that attaches to the trigger plate. Covered with blue tac and is now solved.
A little fiddly to get the trap set up on first go but then becomes a breeze. Cut the tag off the top or you will think the trap fails to hold the door in place. Don’t touch with bare hands as they avoid human scent. We followed other review advice and left it out sealed for them to get used to as they are fearful of new objects.
Push the bait (we used peanut butter) to the back of the plate to encourage them in far enough. We have caught one of the babies this morning and capture to release for us took under 10 minutes. We attached string to the front door push plate to be able to release him without getting fingers near the door. Popped the trap in a big really useful box and covered with a sack to darken it. Instantly stilled his distress. He was sat calmly when we let him go.
Babies can’t fit through the bars but little swine bank voles can after they stroll in for a snack and trigger the door! Sturdy, safe and easy to use.
Problem was a squirrel taking up residence in the attic, couldn’t locate how it was getting in and other preventative ideas had not worked.
Cage was delivered fully assembled with reasonably clear instructions.
The packaging was inadequate so the trap mechanism was a bit bent on delivery, a bit of re-shaping by hand (wearing protective gloves as some of the edges are sharp) fixed it.
Trap was laid on the attic floor. Other reviews mentioned that putting some weight either side or on top of the trap would prevent the animal pushing it over to get at the bait. Day 1, squirrel showed no interest. Day 2, squirrel turned the trap over and stole the bait. Almond and peanut butter.
Day 3 trap reset with weights either side. No interest shown.
Day 4 re baited with fresh sweetcorn. Squirrel captured after about 2 hours.
The trap looks a bit small, but in fact there is plenty of room for the animal. The squirrel went nuts in the trap and it was good that the cage was secured as damage might have occurred. Wear heavy gloves to prevent possibility of bites or scratches. If live release, attach cord to bottom of trap door, one foot on the trap, pull cord and trap in open.
Overall, a good bit of kit for the price and occasional use.
1 night 1 trapped squirrel
Bought this cage and caught the squirrel first night..and boy did it make alot of noise
Good for catching squirrels in the lof
Did the job to remove unwanted squirrels from my loft which were not put off by the usual deterrents
It's a rat trap, and you've been caught!
The Boomtown Rats song seems an appropriate title for this trap. We’d had a squirrel getting into our loft directly above our bedroom for several weeks before finally buying this trap. The noise – particularly at night – prevented us getting a good sleep, and we were worried about damage to cables etc.
I baited the trap with a good dollop of peanut butter and set it in the loft. About 18 hours (later – at 7am the next morning) we heard a sharp clang as the trapdoor shut and then rattling of the cage.
Gloves on, I climbed up into the loft and saw we had caught the squirrel. Carefully lifting the cage by the handle I moved it into a cardboard box. The squirrel calmed down when in the dark of the box. Another reason for the box is that the squirrel poos copiously when trapped and you don’t want that through your house or in your car.
We drove 3 miles to a park and (gloves on) opened the door. The squirrel sped away – hopefully never to return.
We’ve set the trap up again and will keep it up for a few more nights in case the squirrely we caught told his pals about the nice warm loft.
It’s a good trap and it works. It’s easy to set and, once the animal is caught, you can handle it carefully without fear of getting bitten (wear gloves though).
It's a rat trap, and you've been caught!
The Boomtown Rats song seems an appropriate title for this trap. We’d had a squirrel getting into our loft directly above our bedroom for several weeks before finally buying this trap. The noise – particularly at night – prevented us getting a good sleep, and we were worried about damage to cables etc.
I baited the trap with a good dollop of peanut butter and set it in the loft. About 18 hours (later – at 7am the next morning) we heard a sharp clang as the trapdoor shut and then rattling of the cage.
Gloves on, I climbed up into the loft and saw we had caught the squirrel. Carefully lifting the cage by the handle I moved it into a cardboard box. The squirrel calmed down when in the dark of the box. Another reason for the box is that the squirrel poos copiously when trapped and you don’t want that through your house or in your car.
We drove 3 miles to a park and (gloves on) opened the door. The squirrel sped away – hopefully never to return.
We’ve set the trap up again and will keep it up for a few more nights in case the squirrely we caught told his pals about the nice warm loft.
It’s a good trap and it works. It’s easy to set and, once the animal is caught, you can handle it carefully without fear of getting bitten (wear gloves though).
Requires work
The cadge is good at first after a few captures of animals the bate area of the cadge begins to go out of shape so the animal can get food without being traped, bate area of the cadge Requires adjustments
Strong constructio
Excellent. Trap worked within twenty minutes of putting in place with tasty morsels inside. Very happy with purchase as it’s well built, easy to use and will last.
Best on the market.
I purchased this product a few weeks ago.It was to replace the Gingbau trap I purchased last year. I was tempted to re purchase the Gingbau trap but it was a little flimsy and if you caught a squirrel and it was in the trap for about 30 minutes it causes so much damage by gnawing through the wire sides and in doing so jumps around and breaks the trip plate. I did in fact catch three squirrels and one rat in about five weeks. However, I had to throw the trap away as it was beyond repair.
This year the squirrels’ are back in force. Digging up my lawn and removing bark from the trees. Not to mention the huge amount of expensive nuts and seeds meant for the birds.
So I purchased the defender.
Wow what a difference. Three squirrels caught in the first morning.Eight over a nine day period. These were not the red lovely tufty ones but the grey vandal ones. This is the chefton tank of the trap world.
I have not seen a squirrel for over a week and have only filled my seed holders once this week.Not every day as previously. Worth ever penny. The trap remains undamaged and as good as the day I received it.
Best on the market.
I purchased this product a few weeks ago.It was to replace the Gingbau trap I purchased last year. I was tempted to re purchase the Gingbau trap but it was a little flimsy and if you caught a squirrel and it was in the trap for about 30 minutes it causes so much damage by gnawing through the wire sides and in doing so jumps around and breaks the trip plate. I did in fact catch three squirrels and one rat in about five weeks. However, I had to throw the trap away as it was beyond repair.
This year the squirrels’ are back in force. Digging up my lawn and removing bark from the trees. Not to mention the huge amount of expensive nuts and seeds meant for the birds.
So I purchased the defender.
Wow what a difference. Three squirrels caught in the first morning.Eight over a nine day period. These were not the red lovely tufty ones but the grey vandal ones. This is the chefton tank of the trap world.
I have not seen a squirrel for over a week and have only filled my seed holders once this week.Not every day as previously. Worth ever penny. The trap remains undamaged and as good as the day I received it.
Trap works well
The trap repeatedly catches rats that are skulking around the perimeter of the house. Well worth it. The awkward bit is getting the rat out of the trap to despatch it – tricky
Paid for itself
I had something running through the cavity walls in my house making loads of noise!
I set this up in the loft with peanuts inside and outside the trap.
Day 1: peanuts outside the trap gone not triggered
Day 2: peanuts inside the trap gone not triggered
The next day I put Peanut butter on the trigger plate
Day 3: nothing
Day 4: THE BIGGEST RAT I HAD EVER SEEN!
I released it a few miles away in some forest/shrubland
My house is now silent and I love it. Simply by catching this rat it has paid for itself.
I have however reset it with more peanut butter – 3 days later still nothing.
Amazing
Excellent produc
Had squirrels in our loft, set the traps with peanut butter and 24 hours later caught one of the squirrels, re set the traps and 24 hours later had the second one
These traps are simply and humane allowing you to release the caught animal away from your property or dispose of them should you wish
Product is excellent highly recommended buy with confidence
Grea
Worked fine once I cut the cable tie that was holding the bar to set the door and caught my furry friend and set him free in the countryside
Only caught hedgehogs so far.
Easy to set up but needs to pinned down with peg. Only caught three hedgehogs so no harm done to them.
I thought they should be hibernating
Paid for itself
I had something running through the cavity walls in my house making loads of noise!
I set this up in the loft with peanuts inside and outside the trap.
Day 1: peanuts outside the trap gone not triggered
Day 2: peanuts inside the trap gone not triggered
The next day I put Peanut butter on the trigger plate
Day 3: nothing
Day 4: THE BIGGEST RAT I HAD EVER SEEN!
I released it a few miles away in some forest/shrubland
My house is now silent and I love it. Simply by catching this rat it has paid for itself.
I have however reset it with more peanut butter – 3 days later still nothing.
Amazing
Excellent produc
Had squirrels in our loft, set the traps with peanut butter and 24 hours later caught one of the squirrels, re set the traps and 24 hours later had the second one
These traps are simply and humane allowing you to release the caught animal away from your property or dispose of them should you wish
Product is excellent highly recommended buy with confidence
Caught the 3 grey squirrels it was bought for in 3 days
Bought to catch the 3 grey squirrels gnawing our fruit tree and the bird feeders hanging in it. Easy to set-up and sturdy. I wore gloves to minimise human scent and put a few bird peanuts on the bait tray and left under the tree; first catch within 3 hours of setting up. 2 more catches subsequent days. Hopefully that’s the last of them and the birds can return to dine as intended.
Positives:
– Sturdy & gnaw proof. Don’t think there is any way an occupant could escape even if it tipped the trap over
Negatives:
– Not sure why the picture shows 2 traps, I found this a bit misleading.
– Have to lift & hold door to release occupant – this was time-consuming and uncomfortable when I caught a hedgehog in error and had to squat on the floor holding the door until it decided to uncurl and trot out.
A strong trap, well made, of good quality. You have to remove the plastic tie wrap on the opposite side of the door opening. Also, the flap that moves up and down where you place the food needs to be moved to be under the small retaining support on the side of the cage, on my trap the flap was on top of the support, which prevented the trap from functioning properly, as only one side could be pushed down. To fix this, if your flap isn’t free to move up and down, you put your hand inside the trap and push and slightly flex the flap at the bottom to get it underneath the support – after this it is ready to use. See image uploaded of the flap and support in correct position.
Placed the trap with a few salted peanuts on the feeder flap, and some nuts leading up to it and slightly inside to attract the squirrels – a few hours later, one squirrel caught and disposed of, next morning 2 more squirrels were also caught – no more squirrels in the attic – super happy at how quick and easy it was to solve.
Update – my squirrel population was actually much larger, I caught 16 Squirrels over about 2 weeks – nothing but praise for the Trap – also a tip, sometimes the flap on the mechanism where you bait, gets a little stiff because of friction between the flap and the swinging arm, just clean the edges so it is free – also you can adjust sensitivity by bending upwards the edge of the flap that contacts the arm, this will make it less sensitive. Also, my flap became very stiff all of a sudden, to fix this, look underneath the flap and make sure the spring wire is central in the fixing at its base…..
Caught the 3 grey squirrels it was bought for in 3 days
Bought to catch the 3 grey squirrels gnawing our fruit tree and the bird feeders hanging in it. Easy to set-up and sturdy. I wore gloves to minimise human scent and put a few bird peanuts on the bait tray and left under the tree; first catch within 3 hours of setting up. 2 more catches subsequent days. Hopefully that’s the last of them and the birds can return to dine as intended.
Positives:
– Sturdy & gnaw proof. Don’t think there is any way an occupant could escape even if it tipped the trap over
Negatives:
– Not sure why the picture shows 2 traps, I found this a bit misleading.
– Have to lift & hold door to release occupant – this was time-consuming and uncomfortable when I caught a hedgehog in error and had to squat on the floor holding the door until it decided to uncurl and trot out.
Squirrels x 3 Caught in 2 days (update 16 Squirrels in 2 weeks)
A strong trap, well made, of good quality. You have to remove the plastic tie wrap on the opposite side of the door opening. Also, the flap that moves up and down where you place the food needs to be moved to be under the small retaining support on the side of the cage, on my trap the flap was on top of the support, which prevented the trap from functioning properly, as only one side could be pushed down. To fix this, if your flap isn’t free to move up and down, you put your hand inside the trap and push and slightly flex the flap at the bottom to get it underneath the support – after this it is ready to use. See image uploaded of the flap and support in correct position.
Placed the trap with a few salted peanuts on the feeder flap, and some nuts leading up to it and slightly inside to attract the squirrels – a few hours later, one squirrel caught and disposed of, next morning 2 more squirrels were also caught – no more squirrels in the attic – super happy at how quick and easy it was to solve.
Update – my squirrel population was actually much larger, I caught 16 Squirrels over about 2 weeks – nothing but praise for the Trap – also a tip, sometimes the flap on the mechanism where you bait, gets a little stiff because of friction between the flap and the swinging arm, just clean the edges so it is free – also you can adjust sensitivity by bending upwards the edge of the flap that contacts the arm, this will make it less sensitive. Also, my flap became very stiff all of a sudden, to fix this, look underneath the flap and make sure the spring wire is central in the fixing at its base…..
Does the job
Had to make a few adjustments to make it more sensitive but when I did I caught 2 squirrels I 3 days, sturdy construction, very happy with i
Very straightforward to use but very sensitive
We had a couple of squirrels living above the ceiling in our loft conversion. I caught both within 24 hours using this trap.
The mechanism is very sensitive – the first time I put it out, heavy rain triggered it. However, with a pair of pliers it’s easy to tweak the door hook and/or the edge of the bait platform to make it slightly less sensitive.
I washed it before use, as others have suggested, to remove any lingering human scent, and used peanut butter as bait. Caught the first one within a couple of hours of setting it, having placed it at the base of our tree. I didn’t wash the trap after catching the first as I thought any squirrel scent on it might help.
Both squirrels now enjoying a new life in woodland a few miles away.
Excellent product.
Very straightforward to use but very sensitive
We had a couple of squirrels living above the ceiling in our loft conversion. I caught both within 24 hours using this trap.
The mechanism is very sensitive – the first time I put it out, heavy rain triggered it. However, with a pair of pliers it’s easy to tweak the door hook and/or the edge of the bait platform to make it slightly less sensitive.
I washed it before use, as others have suggested, to remove any lingering human scent, and used peanut butter as bait. Caught the first one within a couple of hours of setting it, having placed it at the base of our tree. I didn’t wash the trap after catching the first as I thought any squirrel scent on it might help.
Both squirrels now enjoying a new life in woodland a few miles away.
Excellent product.
Brilliant trap
This trap was brilliant, set it really easily and had a rat by the morning, then easy and safe to carry and easy to release the rat far far away in the wild -other reviews had helped with how to do this simply- i stood on it with one foot and used a stick to push the door bit open – super simple and super quick and rat left keenly. very good strong product, easy to set and release and easy to clean.
Improved model
This cage is a slightly improved version of the one we’ve had for 10 years and it is a lot more robust than the goldy-looking ones which are purported to be a double catcher (though I doubt this happens often in practice due to the nature the beast). However, one must take care to set it on a flat surface and we found by experience that very small rats can escape if they are persistent enough and find the gap in the door where the hook connects where the gap is slightly bigger than the surrounding cage. Overall, a good choice.
Improved model
This cage is a slightly improved version of the one we’ve had for 10 years and it is a lot more robust than the goldy-looking ones which are purported to be a double catcher (though I doubt this happens often in practice due to the nature the beast). However, one must take care to set it on a flat surface and we found by experience that very small rats can escape if they are persistent enough and find the gap in the door where the hook connects where the gap is slightly bigger than the surrounding cage. Overall, a good choice.