Havahart Small 1-Door Humane Live Catch and Release Animal Trap for Squirrels, Weasels, Chipmunks, and Other Animals - Humane Catch and Release for Small Animals - 1026

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 have 2 traps like this. The older one works great. This design, which is newer, gave me fits. It is harder to set because there is a rod that comes off (my other trap had it attached), and the opening is so small that I have trouble getting my arm in there far enough to set the bait. Trying to manage both of those at the same time was a challenge for me. Then when I compare how many "critters" I catch with this one vs. the older design, there is no comparison- the older one is better. I got so frustrated with this one , I eventually threw it away.

The labeling of the Havahart traps leaves something to be desired. If you have a squirrel problem here is what you need to know: Flying squirrels are much smaller than the regular gray squirrels, and they can squeeze through even a half-inch hole. They are active only at night. So if you hear rustling in your attic during the day, you probably have regular squirrels. If you only hear that sound at night, then probably you have flying squirrels. This matters because this trap is small and works for flying squirrels. The next size up is more appropriate for regular squirrels. Why not just buy the big trap and then have one trap for both kinds of squirrels? Well, I did that, and then I had to come back here and buy this one. The mesh on the larger trap isn't tight enough to contain flying squirrels. They trigger the trap, then squeeze right through the bars like they aren't even there. On the other hand, this one worked immediately, the first night I set it out, and contained the flying squirrel safely. It is also a modest improvement over the earlier design of their smallest trap, which also worked but was a little fiddly to get right. I would buy this one for really small critters like chipmunks, flying squirrels, etc. It might be a bit small for full-sized gray squirrels.

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.

We found this annoying to set especially putting it under the manufactured home. It keeps triggering. I think if you can get at it easily it might be fine but for our purposes I am here to find an easier one to work with.

Strong, easy set, trips easily. Tie it to something if using outside where possum, coon and coyotes are so they don't steal your traps. Great for indoors to. Nothing to harm kids or your pets. It will catch the smallest mouse to a squirrel or a rabbit.

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 live in Phoenix, right on the desert. so we get a lot of critters. I have a chronic pack rat problem, they infest the back yard, and the back yard shed. I put this trap out and in less than 14 hours, caught a pack rat. I can now relocate the animal to the desert. this trap is great because I literally heard it snap. I used cheese Its, and cinamon crunch, irresistable for rats. Why did you pick this product vs others?: I had used the electric zap trap before, but felt really bad about killing these small animals that live in our habitat. Catchability: simple easy to use, put some treats in the trap, and it works. Trap effectiveness: caught the first animal in less than 16 hours. Pet safety: no issue for my dog, no chemicals, no safety hazard. Mouse trap quality: mouse traps NEVER work on pack rats, they are too smart. Ease of use: simply close the door, and set the lever, and place the trap where the pests go Weight: very light, about 2-3 pounds.

Loved this trap. Caught the little fella before he entirely destroyed my engine compartment in my new F150. Let him go on the other side of the river. . . WOW, was he happy to go. So no injuries or apparent trauma.

We have a rat problem - yuck, right? But you probably also have a rodent problem of some sort if you're reading this so we're in it together. This comes almost totally assembled (you have to attach the arm that goes to the door) and the only tricky part is taking a few moments to figure out exactly how the trap is sprung. It's tough to write it out in words but I'll try. The two levers that you have to place together to set it (one is the arm to the door and the other is the see-saw plate inside) each have a flat edge. You have to balance the two flat edges on each other. It sounds more difficult than it is. Once you figure this out, you can set this trap in seconds without worrying about your fingers. The only thing I didn't like was ... there's no "place" to put the bait. So, I attached a coffee can lid with twist ties to the inside, just on the other side of the trigger plate. Simple enough fix but I had to take a star off for that. This is placed in an outside area and so far we've caught chipmunks, mice, sparrows (!!), and RATS. It's easy to pick up the cage without any contact with the critter and either let it go or relocate it elsewhere. Perfect solution to a yucky problem.

These are not as reliable as their older model. I have had the squirrel escape on several occasions. Also the trigger bar is easy to drop and lose . I have tried the Havahart customer service but they say they cannot provide a replacement part. This is very frustrating as I now have a trap that has been set only once but it is useless since i cannot replace the trigger bar. This situation should be corrected. There are many others complaining of the same problem. Surely this can be an easy fix. Just order extras from your supplier and make it easy for us to buy a replacement part. It is just a simple metal wire with a curved end.

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.

Had to bait closer to the front of cage they could back out of cage after eating bait. Door won’t stay down if tail or body is keeping it up at all.