I'm wondering if i can use a rat trap to kill a squirrel or if the device is not strong enough (eastern gray squirrel, by the way) If not, whats the deal with a conibear? they kill the animal, not just hold him right? will it mess up his internal organs or anything? thanks
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The trap works fine. Bait it with peanut butter. Before you set it out though, drill a hole in it and run a wire through the hole and attach it to something strong so if a tree rat DOES only get caught by the arm or something, the squirrel doesn't drag your trap away...
Sopmething Bill gaither showed me. he baited a skeet thrower mounted on a branch with peanut butter and went in th house and waited. When squirrel went for the peanut butter he pulled the cord. damn squirrel must have gone 100 yards LOL
best way to trap this is to live trap it, use fresh peanuts
try setting a 110 connibear , make it so the little rat has to go through something bait with corn on each side of the trap.
99% you will take the little critter. if it is freezing or near make sure to take the trap with squirrel in it somewhere warm let it thaw before you take him out , you can very easily rip hair out otherwise.
good luck
i agree with pooly. a 110 is perfect for squirrel. however a 110 in the middle of the woods is prone to being knocked over by non target animals. if you want to guarantee that you catch a squirrel and ONLY a squirrel, you can use a setup very similar to what mountain trappers use to catch pine martin. set your 110 and bend the springs straight down. wire through the big holes in the springs and wire securely to a tree so that the trap is set vertical (so a squirrel running up a tree and through the trap would set it off) then above the trap put some bait (one of those corn cobs that ppl use as feeders works well). lastly, make the the trapped side of the tree considerably easier to climb than the other sides. you can use your imagination here, bend or break some branches around to funnel him to one side (do not put the trap directly under bait, as it would be difficult for squirrel to climb from underside of bait......offset it a little)
i know it sounds like alot of work but it really isn't, this set can be made in a matter of a couple minutes and is foolproof against nontarget animals or accidental firing of the trap.
rat traps work great for those tree rats but watch out for other critters.Jays like peanut butter and nut as well and can and will get cought in those traps if not properly set.Live trapping is the best way to go.