Diy: How to Make a Homemade Live Rabbit Trap

DIY: HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE LIVE RABBIT TRAP

by RamboMoe=

This is a guide to creating a homemade rabbit trap. This trap keeps the rabbit alive and unhurt, unlike other traps.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

(The dimensions of these items are somewhat arbitrary, and others can be used. The important thing is that the items that are meant to be equal in length remain that way with any changes).

Equipment:

1) 4 wood posts 12” in length, 1.5” wide and .5” thick

2) 4 steel rods 32” in length, 4mm in diameter

3) 4 steel rods 11” in length, 4mm in diameter

4) An 11” x 10” piece of plywood (for the door)

5) A 9” x 3” piece of plywood (for the trigger)

6) 3 screw eyes 5 mm in diameter

7) A roll of wire mesh, 1m in width

8) A roll of thick wire

9) A roll of string

10) Cable ties

Tools:

1) A drill with 4mm bit

2) A staple gun

3) Wire cutters

4) Hammer

5) A large piece of wood to help fashion the mesh

PUTTING IT TOGETHER:

figure 1

Making your posts

1) Take one of your wood posts. On one of the .5” sides (the thinnest sides), drill a hole an inch from one of the ends. Don’t drill all the way through- instead stop 4/5ths of the way in.

2) Flip the board over to the left, so that the wide side directly to the right now faces up. Drill another hole an inch from the end, ¾” in from the thin side you previously drilled. Again, don’t drill all the way through, instead stopping 4/5ths in. The two holes will join.

3) Repeat the same process on the other end of the wood post (The holes should be drilled on the same sides). (See figure 1)

4) Repeat the process for the other 3 posts.

Making the Door and Frame

1) Take the 11” x 10” piece of plywood. Screw 2 screw eyes into one of the 10” sides. The screw eyes should be about 2” from the edge, and in line with each other.

2) Run one of the 11” steel rods through the screw eyes. Connect each end of the steel rod to a hole on the wide side of a wood plank.

figure 2

3) Run a steel rod across the bottom of the plywood door, parallel to the steel bar that the screw eyes run through. Connect the rod to the two holes on the bottom of the wood planks. This rod should block the door from swinging forward.

4) Taking the last two wood posts and 11” steel rods, create a similar frame, but without the plywood door.

5) Connect these two frames with the 32” steel rods, creating a rectangular frame (see figure 2).

Shaping Your Mesh

1) Roll out a portion of the wire mesh.

2) Measure 12” in. Use your extra piece of wood and hammer to fold this point upwards at a 90 degree angle.

3) Measuring another 12” in, fold the mesh upwards again at a 90 degree angle.

4) Repeat #3 one more time.

5) Measure off a final 12”, then using the wire cutter cut the mesh at this point.

6) You now have a wire mesh cage that can wrap around your wood and steel rod frame, but you will need to trim the excess length (it will be about 8 inches off of one side).

7) When the length matches that of the frame, use the cable ties and staple gun to attach the wire mesh to each of the 4 posts.

8) Cut a final 12”x 11” piece of wire mesh, to cover the remaining open side (opposite the door). Connect this piece of wire mesh to the wooden posts and other wire mesh piece securely.

9) Cut off some of the thick wire and fashion a handle, tying it to the top of your cage.

figure 3

Adding the Trigger

1) Open the door and put it right up against the top of the mesh cage. Through the mesh, insert a screw eye into one the corners of the door. Make sure the screw eye is in the center of a mesh hole, so that there is no chance it might touch the mesh.

2) Take the 9” x 3” piece of plywood. Drill 3 holes along one of the lengths. Drill one hole in one of the corners (see figure 3).

3) Using 3 cable ties, tie the three holes on the trigger to the floor near the back of the cage. Keep them loose, so the trigger can easily move up and down. Make sure the remaining hole in the corner of the trigger is on the opposite side of the key screw on the door.

figure 4

4) Cut a piece of wire about 3” long. Create a loop about one inch in.

5) Tie a piece of string to the remaining hole on the trigger. Lift the string up, so the trigger lies at around a 45 degree angle (see figure 4) and run it through the roof of the cage.

6) Run the string along the roof of the cage. When in line with the key screw on the door, loop the string through the wire mesh, and run it sideways.

figure 5

7) Tie the string to the loop on the wire you made in step #4. The string should be long enough so that the trigger sits at a 45 degree angle, and the wire sits in the door screw key with about an inch to spare (see figure 5).

8) When the trigger is pushed down, it should pull the string and pull the wire out of the door’s screw key, causing the door to close.

USING IT:

1) Let the trap sit outdoors for a few days to get rid of any human smell.

2) Put on gloves when taking the trap out for use.

3) Place the trap in an area frequented by rabbits.

4) Place a carrot at the back of the cage, and set up the trigger and rope.

5) Check your trap every day to see if you have caught a rabbit. The more traps you set, the greater your chances are.

5) To open the trap door, roll the cage upside down.