Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house

This is a repost from many moons ago. I've updated it somewhat and the
system has worked so well that there are very few critters left, and
a lot more birds. This will probably start up the "pets rights" fiasco
again. Sorry. For those of you who are tired of seeing me repost this
thing once a year, keep your cats inside.


WARNING: The following is a VERY long posting dealing with the long time 
problem of removing both wild and domestic critters from your back yard.
Reading it may create heat in the collar area of irresponsible pet owners.
   

    We don't let our dog run around free, he stays locked in our yard.
We don't let our goldfish out at night. Checked the bottom of your pool  
recently? O-)  Why should we have to provide for someone else's pet?
Why should someone else's pet drive our dog and the neighbors nuts at  
3 A.M.? You would think that when most of us living in the cities are 
forced to reside very close together, some common sense and courtesy
would prevail. Right. Well, that is another discussion. It isn't your
pet that should feel the wrath irritated neighbors, is it?

    Because of this, I have been trying to find a way of either training
intruders to stay clear or remove them, with a minimum of cruelty. I
don't want the fleas, diseases, or rabies shots that go along with
wildlife in the backyard. When I'm ready for a big dog or wild critters
running around I'll move to country. For years, in two different
houses, I have been putting up with other peoples pet cats. I have tried
many chemical, a few mechanical, and two electrical experiments to try and
convince the animals that my yard is not their sandbox or depository for
dead "toys". The air guns, after the cats learn about them, only work when
they see you opening the door to shoot them. The chemicals only work until
the cats either get used to them or cover them up! The mechanical scarecrows
only work about a day until the cats figure them out. The electrical
training devices only work a couple of times. (I didn't know cats could clear
a six foot fence from a standing jump.)   

     Awhile ago, we started having problems with not only wild and 
domestic cats, but we had a couple of rats, and just for variety, o'possums.
When the weather got cold outside, the zoo would move to our backyard and
steal the dog's food from him. He is very small and knows to keep his   
distance from the wildlife. Of coarse the barking starts and I had to get
up, usually at 3AM, and go out and break up the party so we and the neighbors
could get some sleep.

    Now the answer you have been waiting so patiently for...... buy a wire
cage trap. I got mine over four years ago. So far---> 14 possums, two rats,
2 birds, and 16 cats. Two of the cats were recaptures, they got out of the 
holding pen while waiting for pickup. Yes, I let the birds go.

    Its GREAT. The cats get picked up by the county animal control people,the
rats get put away by the air rifle and leave via the garbage can. The possums
go down to the Humane Society to get relocated.

    I'll describe my trap and what is good about it. You can then decide
for yourself what your requirements are. For cats, placement is important.
I built a shelf in the far fence corner about 4 feet off of the ground to 
keep the dumb dog from getting into it. The fences around here are 6 ft.
solid redwood slats so they are the main avenues of travel for all the 
critters. The height of the cage is an advantage. The animals feel safer
when they are higher and near an escape access. The cage is about 3ft.
long, by 1ft. wide, by 1 ft. wide. It has solid steel doors at each end
that trip in unison. The top is solid steel also. The rest is steel screen
with about 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch mesh. The dual open doors and the screen 
give it a more open feeling making the animals more likely to enter. The
trip pad is in the middle of the trap. I usually will open both doors,
one of which is on the very edge of the platform, making it useless for
entry but giving the feeling of openness when entering from the other end.
The bait should be put at the "useless end" of the trap, forcing the critters
to step on the trip plate in the middle on their way to the food. The bait
should be firmly placed so they can't stick their paws through the side
and pull it towards them. I just put the bait on a flat plastic lid and
place the trap on top of it. The bottom is mesh so they can still get at 
it but it won't move and it is easy to rebait by just picking up the whole
trap. I also put a lid with water in it for them under the screen.

    Buy a trap that is one size larger than you think you need. The one
I have seems to be fine, even for the large o'possums. If you get one too
small, the larger animals will be wary of it. If you want to catch very
small critters, such as field mice, just buy some small mesh steel screen
and tie it around the cage to keep them from going through the standard mesh.
You can bend, file, and adjust everything on the trap either by hand
or with a pair of pliers. This way you can set the trip mechanism to
a hair trigger release, the doors to zero clearances, etc. This was useful,
especially the first day, as I mail ordered it and it had to be readjusted
slightly after whatever delivery service had finished "aligning" it for me.

    Since everybody seemed to like the dogs dry food, I tried that as bait
first. If you have a few days worth of patience, this works for cats and
possums. The rats and birds liked strawberry jelly the best. (So did the
ants.) If you want to see your investment in action, almost immediately,
with cats, use a $5.00/tin of imported tuna fish. No flames, it was a
gift, I like dolphins too. It was just handy at the time. When starting
the baiting, make sure that any other food and water sources in the area
are eliminated if possible. Feed the dog only as much as he can immediately
eat. Pick up his bones that you gave him last week and he has strewn all
over the yard. The rats and the possums liked the bones. Cover the gold-
fish's tank. (ie: the rat's local watering hole.) 

    When the critter is trapped, move the whole cage to some shade or 
shelter where other animals can't harass it. If it is going to the
animal control "shelter", give it some food and water. If it is going
to die or you are going to release it somewhere else, do it quickly.
 
    While there are some out there that will find that I'm being cruel
no matter what I do to rid myself of your pets, I'm always open to
suggestions. I'll even deliver your cat or dog back to your house for 
you if you promise I can watch you get a full series of good old fashioned
rabies shots. 1/2:-) Now THAT is cruel!   
 
    The brand of trap I bought is a HAV-A-HEART (or HART). There are others
that are very similar. I looked at them in hardware and farm supply stores.
The best price I found by about $10 was mail order through Caballa's,
a hunting, fishing, camping type catalog. 
The addr:

Caballa's
812 13th Ave.
Sidney, Nebraska
           69160

orders 800-237-4444

8-5 Mtn Time

Mine was Havahart #3, DA-27448-036, 36"x11"x11" 



    I think it was about $46 for shipping, handling, and "alignment".



Sweet Dreams,
Good Hunting,

Trapper Bill