Help with Hav-a-heart trap.

I have shot four woodchucks this year, and I am experienced in smoke bombs. I need to get them out of my barn foundation which of course is porous. I am a regular here so I already have all of the information on all of the methods. I got a have a heart trap and am having trouble getting the trigger to the right sensitivity to work. I have of course followed the instructions that came with it. I have noted and corrected an interference problem. Yesterday the bait was taken and the gate tripped but no resident. Have you found a way to tweak these so that it will trip when it is supposed to?

One tip I learned from an old trapper was to put a small rock (I use chunks of limestone maybe 3" square and half an inch thick as they're flat and stay in place well) on each door, which helps them close a bit more positively. The added weight also puts a bit more pressure on the trigger mechanism and helps prevent nuisance trips. Make sure they don't interfere with the door hold-shut catches. Also, putting some bait UNDER the trigger--not much, just a few slivers of melon rind, for instance, will help ensure the woodchuck spends time in the center of the trap where they're most likely to be caught when it goes off, especially as they often set it off by reaching under the trigger to get the goodies.

Often the trap is tripped by contact with the linkage outside the trap. The target animal will try to get at the bait by pushing against the outside of the trap tripping the trap by moving the linkage.

Put some bait near the trip pan under the trap the extra effort an animal goes to,to get at the bait they are more likely to trip the trap.

I put a dab of synthetic high temp grease on the little trigger hook.
Drop of turbine oil on the pivot points. Look at your clearance for
the trigger aand the ground or grass. Had to lay a board down once.

(quoted from post at 16:09:11 07/23/18) I have shot four woodchucks this year, and I am experienced in smoke bombs. I need to get them out of my barn foundation which of course is porous. I am a regular here so I already have all of the information on all of the methods. I got a have a heart trap and am having trouble getting the trigger to the right sensitivity to work. I have of course followed the instructions that came with it. I have noted and corrected an interference problem. Yesterday the bait was taken and the gate tripped but no resident. Have you found a way to tweak these so that it will trip when it is supposed to?

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My trap has tripped several times like that; bait gone and no coon. It about drove me nuts trying to figure it out. I often caught a small coon, but never a big one. Then I happened to watch videos on YouTube and see big coons getting very violent in the trap and actually raising the door and escaping. I know that raising the door seems physically impossible, but a violent coon going nuts actually got a foot under the door and out it went. I bought a new trap and that is catching them....so far.

Now, I don't know if a woodchuck gets as violent as a big coon, but maybe that is happening with your trap?
LA in WI

Wasn't a Hav-A-Heart brand trap, and was a raccoon instead of woodchuck, but we watched a good sized raccoon actually flex the trap enough to where it could squeeze out. Once gone, the trap looked as though it was triggered prematurely -- but we SAW IT IN THERE! We were dumbfounded with how much flex that stupid trap had.

Have never tried another of those type live traps since!

I know you know,,,took this new picture last week. They only sell them by the piece, not by the case. Everytime I drive past the place it is time to pick up another $20.oo worth of them. I intend to stock up for whatever may come. You never know what the fools will regulate. Impressive box of 100 hog bombs only one month old.

Are they smoke bombs or what?

I replaced a Harbor Freight trap with a Hav-A-Heart, ran into it at a local tractor supply. Bad decision, going to scrap the Hav-A-Heart and hope I can get another HF trap as good as the one I had. It not only was made out of heavier wire it had a back door for access to the bait and to remove the critter. Not having the back door was something I didn't notice in the store or I wouldn't have bought it. The back screen is made out of such week wire it wouldn't work very well as a door.

Haven't been back to HF to see if they still have the trap, something I really need to do.

They make a WHOLE lot of sulphur smoke very fast! Suffocating amount of smoke very fast. You can use a couple of 30 min. road flares too but they burn for 30 minutes as where these are maybe 5 min. Same plus amount of smoke. Trouble is trying to find someone that sells them.

I just run a hose off my 4 wheelers exhaust into the hole 60 sec. later nite nite seams to work every time .

As I said in the initial post the barn foundation is very porous. In order for smoke or CO to work there needs to be some retention and concentration of the smoke or gas. which requires a fairly good closure of both ends of their hole. When the smoke and gas can exhaust freely through twenty openings in the wall, no way it will work. As I said in the OP, I am experienced in smoke bombs.

Showcrop: I would bet your trap is letting the ground hog out. The big ones can bend the light duty Have-a-heart trap. I gave up on those lighter duty cheaper traps. The best I have found is the Tomahawk Professional traps. The one I have is over 15 years old. I know we have caught well over 500 raccoons in it. In the spring and fall we often catch one a day for weeks at a time around the silage bags. Usually get a couple of ground hogs each week all summer long. They get into our stand pipes on our tile lines.

Best bait for ground hogs is Cantaloupe. The riper the better as the smell is stronger and will help cover your scent. Also use latex or rubber gloves. If you work on stuff and have had grease on your hands they will smell that and not go is the trap as well. Rub some of the fruit on your gloves helps too. I also never kill anything in the trap. They will smell the blood and avoid the traps. With the rear door they will come right out so you can easily shoot them just as they clear the trap. I just use a 22 Ruger pistol. With a little practice you can hit them in the head most of the time.




The one I have is a 10 inch by 12 inch with a rear door. I gave around $80-90 for it and they are around $100 now. It has been worth every single penny in my opinion.

Here is a link to the company's web site with the model I have: http://www.livetrap.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=30066
Tomahawk live trap.