How to Make ● a HUMANE PVC Squirrel Trap ● U P D A T E !!! 

Find my favourite tools here! www.amazon.com/shop/chrisnotap

On a side note, you also invented a squirrel bazooka.

Chris, can I just say I absolutely love love love all the camera angles that you gave us, thank you very much it is much appreciated as a viewer.

building one today. I just happened to have everything I need at home. putting my junk to use. love making free projects. thanks for the updated version.

Made it just like the video and it worked great! Mr Oto Beecheyi dug a burrow in my raised bed and just drove the dog nuts. Caught him 72hrs after the build and released him in the orange groves a mile from here. Unsalted whole peanuts worked better than shelled walnuts; he ignored them. Thanks!

Thanks Chris. This is the first year that the squirrels are feasting on my tomatoes. They take one, take a bite and discard it. At this rate, I will have none to harvest. They ate all of the eggplants on my four plants already as well. Made your trap today. Within a few hours, and a few adjustments - had my first raider. Four more to go! Sent the first on a filed trip five miles away -

Thank you so much for sharing your idea! And your improvements! I have it setup and ready to go.

Some of thEE best "project videography" on RU-vid. Puts your videos in a class by themselves.

My husband made me two of these traps today. Thanks so much!!!!

Brilliant, I made one and caught 3 squirrels so for, best bait chocolate digestive biscuits. Many thanks.

The squirrels will appreciate your fixing that problem. 😅

Thanks Chris, it's really good that you've shared this with us... I've made plastic bottle versions of this for a mouse a couple of years ago but I'll be building this pvc version of yours tomorrow as we've had a rat move into my shed down the bottom of the garden (I video-ed it snaffling up monkey-nuts in the daytime (boo)). Light permitting my daughter and I will be relocating this fella to the railway-sidings that are well away from any homes before nightfall. Thanks again

I think you have it mastered now. It works real well for you. I'm gonna go out in my shop and make one or two of em'. Nice Job by the way.

super duper, glad I saw the updated version, much better, thanks

Thank you so much for this! I made the trap and the squirrel outsmarted it a few times but with some modifications we finally caught it and safely released it. The first time it seemed that the squirrel was able to scratch the magnets loose and bust out. To fix this I put the magnets on the hose clamp on the outside so that they would still hold the door shut but from the outside instead and I used 4 of them instead of 2. Also - no adhesive necessary! Then the squirrel managed to flip the trap door up so it landed back on the pvc before going inside so I used a piece of the coat hanger bent into a V to make two prongs that stuck out over the trap door to keep it from flipping up. I just used duct tape to attach the prongs to the pvc. Third time - the squirrel got trapped but was able to bust the door (hinge) out from under the hose clamp, so I screwed the hinge through the pvc into a small wooden block against the top of the tube. I also put the hose clamp back on for reinforcement and to hold the magnets. Lastly, I used duct tape to secure the pvc tube to the "coupler" piece so it couldn't slide around. All in all this was a great design and after a few modifications - success!!! Thank you so much for sharing this!!!

The Butt shot with his little legs sticking out is hilarious ...put a smile on my face !

Feedback from someone who has made this trap and can attest to its efficacy for at least 3 successful captures in the last 2 weeks: it does indeed work. Here are some of my thoughts on how to make it better, based on my experience. Use a PVC shower drain instead of a solid PVC endcap. Not only is it cheaper than the solid endcap, but it allows both (1) uncaptured squirrels to see and smell the peanuts up close when they spot them through the drain end (thus, strongly encouraging them to come investigate), and (2) captured squirrels to enjoy safer breathing once they are trapped in the tube (I didn't like the idea of drilling holes through the metal trapdoor, since that would produce sharp burrs on the inside of the door. Whenever a squirrel is captured, they of course begin a frenzied back-and-forth running in the tube, and I didn't want them to cut their nose, etc. (I believe in elimination, not senseless torture.) Be sure to use a medium-sized hard hinge as author instructs, not a small malleable brass one intended for a small wooden cabinet door. I opted for the latter since I was trying to be frugal, and discovered that the tightening of the clamp to fasten the hinge in place atop the trapdoop opening warped the hinge spine just enough to make it bind and challenge its fluid closure. So, I had to then spend time rebending the hinge spine to reinstate its smooth movement. I should have just followed his instruction and got the same hinge used in the video. I don't want to have to readjust the tube for each individual squirrel's weight, since there are several in my area, and they rotate their 'investigations' of the tube---I wanted to capture all of them, whomever was next to dare into the tube, it made no difference to me. ALL MUST GO! haha If you don't want to make adjustments per different squirrels' weights, and if you share my preference to just make the pivot most sensitive to where it'll capture any target weight, you can also simply make a cage from a sheet of diamond-shaped wire mesh from the hardware store which will prevent non-capture triggering of the trap. Place it over the back 3/4 or so of the tube (be sure to close off the back end, too), so as to prevent squirrels from triggering the trap when snooping around it, since they WILL come put their front feet up on the sealed end while investigating, just as the author stated. When using the PVC shower drain end, which allows for them to really get a sense of the peanuts in there, they will be even more aggressive around the back end of the tube. I just set up the tube's pivot point to be most sensitive, whereby it would be triggered by any weight animal....unfortunately, this also meant that wind could set it off if I was not conscientious about the direction in which I setup the trap. Be aware of blow-by wind triggering closure (set it up perpendicular or back-to wind). Alternatively, just use the trap on calm mornings when squirrels are hungry for breakfast after waking and when there is no wind yet. Alternatively, erect a board of some sort and stabilize it perpendicular to the trapdoor opening so that wind won't trigger closure of the trap. Consider staging the tube with a solid stream of peanuts for a consecutive few days while making it non-triggerable by placing a scrap wood block under the sealed end, and bend the door needle toward the opening on the trapdoor end so that the door is less sensitive to drop if somehow the woodblock gets shifted, or especially when squirrels are rapidly backing out of the tube happily with a legume in-tooth. This will help to garner the tree-rats' trust and comfort, and they will learn to not fear the trap and grow to enjoy the mysterious contraption. Then, once they're familiar with casually and routinely going all the way into the tube without any fear of it at all, make the trap live one morning by quietly going outside to quickly remove the block and readjusting the door needle. (However, take care to not interact with any other part of the trap, as the squirrels are likely sitting in the bushes watching you and will fully reinstate their standoffish suspicions if they see you lingering around the trap too much or doing anything that takes awhile, leaves too much of your scent, etc.) If you pull this off smoothly, they won't notice the difference until they become an easy, quick capture that morning and have to rejoin their other recently-involuntarily-evicted relatives that await them up the highway at the nearby county park with glances of group shame that convey something like "so, I guess YOU fell for the magical white peanut dispenser, too, huh?" In closing, this strategy has worked well for me, but a caveat should be discussed here: squirrels are incredibly intelligent rodents, and somewhat social by nature. They learn quickly. I have noticed the first 3 captures [of the 6 or so in the area outside my apartment] went relatively smoothly. However, I am now noticing some appreciating difficulty with each additional capture: as a community of tree-rats, they seem to be learning what the true purpose of the trap is while developing the correlation between it and the disappearance of their relatives, and, thus, keeping their distance from it more and more, even if it means going hungry and not falling for the tempting ample legume bait inside. Unfortunately, provided the absolute destruction and disruption they pose to my extensive avian community and its many birdfeeders, this has motivated me to escalate my approach from mere relocation, to outright extermination. I regret to say that I will be putting out a bowl of peanuts in a clear glass dish, and shooting them individually with an air rifle next time I see them. Yes, they are cute and I wish I would not have to terminate them...but once you personally experience their absolutely arrogant destructive capabilities and feverishly obnoxious antics which scare off all your beloved & beautiful songbirds that give you a reason to wake up early each morning, ....trust me, you, too, may quickly leave that whole "aww-but-they're-so-cute" mentality far, far behind. Bottomline, my opinion is that this PVC tube trap certainly works and was well worth the $33 in materials I spent to build it (May 2020 in FL market), but it may not be the most effective option for a community of squirrels. Nevertheless, I am grateful that it was able to save me from putting pellets in the skulls of at least 3 of them...

Thanks for update!

Your video saved my sanity... Worked like a charm! Even my smartest squirrel was eventually tempted and was caught. Thanks!!

thanks Chris --- greeeat modification

That's a clever and humane idea. Squirrels and rabbits around my house tend to die from lead poisoning though.

When I was 12, and could climb trees, I rescued two baby squirrels from a nest hole in a tree after their mum was killed when crossing a street. I kept one and gave the other to a friend. My squirrel would ride around on my shoulder, just like a parrot, and would play tag with me in the yard like a dog. Lots of fun. Teeter-totter trap is clever.

Thanks for the plans. I built it yesterday with a few modifications. I drilled holes along the top of the tube, not the door. The squirrel should also see the shine of a heavenly light on the beloved peanuts. I also plan to put a transportation latch on the door so I can leave the base at home, and just transport the tube to the release point. I'll use this on "Franklin Ground Squirrels", the major pest in the high desert. Thanks again. : ) UPDATE: I'll do the upgrade today. I was wondering about the placement during construction.

Life of a squirrel 🐿goes around houses eating free food & checking for Theme park rides😂💗👍

good camera work

Very nice update, I'm making a trap based on your design, thanks for sharing.

That is not a kill trap, that is a fun trap. I love it.

Wildlife relocator here, you’ll eliminate most of the problems shown at about 6:30 in the video by using clear plexiglass instead of the cap at the end. Even a hardware cloth end will give the critter more confidence to enter as they can see daylight instead of having to enter a dark tube. Try it you’ll get almost 100% results.

Like the improvements, especially to the "trigger door holder"- it looks a lot more reliable now, and won't get hit by an excited squirrel backing up, before he's in the trap.

Hey, Chris...! Thanks for this great video. I built the trap and it worked the first time! I managed to get several of the more aggressive squirrels trapped and relocated to large wooded parks about 5 miles away. One squirrel was really smart and managed to grab and back out so fast that the trap didn't close right... but after snitching the bait for a few days, he inevitably made a mistake and got caught. The trap couldn't be simpler to design or build, really! Thanks again.

I can just see the squirrel freakin' out inside, and that trap slamdancin' all over the yard! ;-)

pretty cool! thanks for sharing

good improvements. Great trap!

Nice I got mine done like yours , now waiting haha 👍

Brilliant.

Thanks for this great video. My roof space is squirrel-free (for the moment!)

Very smart design works good and dose not hurt them ✌️

Thanks for the great video. Just completed mine and waiting for my first customer.

Great changes, Chris. The fox squirrels are so smart and difficult to trap, but I think you have outsmarted them! I have trouble with chipmunks getting inside the wire squirrel trap and stealing all the food, triggering the trap, but then escaping through the wire. I keep having to go out to reset it. Your trap is so much easier to reset and if the chipmunks get it, that's OK. I'll just let them out and reset a much easier trap! Now I can make several instead of buying a new wire one that the squirrels are good at avoiding anyway. Bless you!!!!! (The fox squirrels are not native to my area in the mountains, but have infringed on the habitat of our native Aberts Squirrels and Pine Squirrels to the point that they are disappearing. Hence my trapping the fox squirrels and relocating them to the lower altitudes so we can enjoy our native species.)

Nice idea

That is an ingenious device Chris

Bonne idée. Bravo!

I couldn't afford the $8.00+ for 2 ft. of pvc at Lowes to play with the squirrels but I used your design to make a rectangular box from scrap wood that works as well. 15 squirrels have a new home some distance from here. Catching 2 to 3 everyday. Sunflower seeds as bait. Thanks for a great idea.

This trap is amazing. 12 squirrels and 5 chipmunks in about a months time. Thankyou.

Freaking awesome!

Thanks for sharing it, works and it is so humane! Thanks!!

Chris I love this trap. So far I have caught nine squirrels and one rat. One of the squirrels I caught three times since I prematurely released it twice. For us the squirrels are a nuisance since they dig up and damage bulbs in our backyard as well as harass and eat from our finch bird feeders. The squirrels have learned to outwit my two Have a Heart traps. But this one keeps on working squirrel after squirrel. I attached my door with screws until the rat I caught unscrewed two nuts and almost got way. I now use your design We read that squirrels have a high return likelihood unless they are transported 7+ miles away. So far that has worked for us. One problem I have noticed is that on the big squirrels they cannot turn around so I have to shake them out of the trap. I love this trap! Dan

GOOD JOB BRO LOVE IT

Chris.... I didn't realize whose video I watching. Nice trap.... I'm going to watch your DIY video after I am done commenting.

very cool I like what you have done here

okay man ....good trap maker

Awesome!

I can't believe it's taken me 6 years to find this channel. Awesome videos!!!! One thing that will help you with catching more squirrels and making them more at ease, use some peanut butter on the peanuts. It will entice them even more to go inside for the peanut butter. Doesn't take much, just dab some on a couple and put them to the back. Squirrels love peanut butter and it's like a treat to them.

best rat trap idea easy 👍

Nifty!

fleedoom !!!

Great update, but you might want to put a cage surrounding the top outside the PVC pipe so that a squirrel will not hop on and engage the door trap

The squirrel gun! difficult to reload but totally worth it!!

I didn't have plastic cradle for the tube, so I used a large tie wrap. Great idea

Just caught squirrel #51 today!

NICE

Excellent

Mantapp..👍

I'm making one of these!

You should cook them,nice snack n beer!!

Cool ... Easy to do DIY and optimal catch the rats.

Brilliant. Amazingly successful - 4 different squirrels caught in 5 days! My first attempt failed because my squirrels were not so accommodating as yours and triggered the trap by walking over the top of the tube to get to the bait. (I hadn't read the comments and missed the suggestion from ilickcarpet.) I adapted your design by using wire mesh at the bait end of the tube to increase visibility and making a removable casing for the whole tube, covering long sides and top and with wire mesh at the bait end and open at the door end. I also made an arched baffle slightly further in than the trap door, but allowing free movement of the tube, which prevented squirrels from squeezing between the inside of the case and the outside of the tube. Now, the only way to get to the bait and trigger the trap is to walk into the tube (though one cautious squirrel paused at the tipping point and retreated). Thank you so much.

Great n amazingg

That is a great idea and will be making one this weekend. Those little guys can sure cause some destruction to your wood siding.

Awesome job! Next vid have the trap place a SquirrelCam on his head 🤣

I like the update and improvements. Have you had any other issues with your mouse traps?

Buena trapa 😃

your videos are coool

Nice

Hey Chris. I really like the stuff you make. Its so simple and well thought at the same time. And You present it in such a relaxed way :) What I also really appreciate is that you do these updates. It makes your projects realistic and practicable.

watching you letting the squirrel out is more enjoyable than watching it goes into a trap

Sir - I built this exactly as you describe. Took me two days because silicone seal had to dry. I put it out this afternoon and had a squirrel in 4 hours. I put the trap in the car, drove two or three miles away and released it. Will he find his way back? This was a particularly athletic squirrel - able to leap from the roof to the peanut tray - about 10 feet. The 4" PVC was the heavy-wall kind, so the trap probably weighed close to your wood model.

Eben easier tjan wooden version. Love it

wow u recorded from every angel i kile that

Thank you for the video. If I have to build one, I would make it size larger.

Very Good Chris !! Could work with big rats.

Nicely done !!! (a suggestion: to box-in the pipe, to eliminate them tipping the pipe from the top or other end)

nice

I'm not sure why this is so funny to me, but I laugh like it's a Chappelle comedy show or something. They are so careful. Check everything out. In, out ... in, out. Making sure everything is as it should be, and then ... flip. Game over. So funny.

Last squirrel said... somebody PISSED ALL OVER in there!

Thanks

Thank you I caught one and it made me so happy and I wanted you to know that I am thankful for your help

Hes like " Wait a Minute ?! "

Bravo on the Trap. I can testify that this type of trap WORKS!. Just don't make the same mistake the first time I did. If the door is shut then you got one. I made some modifications to the door. I used duck tape instead of that clamp. Used a manual door latch. Could not find the pizza pan so I used a plastic lid

Chris I really think you should think about a name change? To Chris Double TAP! LOL...

You can only fool them once. Very smart little devils. Looks like dinner to me! Good modification though. Need to red my last comment on the first video.

Gonna make this today for chipmunks. They just ate my first strawberry of the season. I’m not screwing around this year

Is it better to have the trap completely dark, or could you drill some holes in the pipe?

Nice plumage !

What if you drilled the holes in the sides or end cap? Would that make it more “inviting” for them?

That last squirrel listened to his inner Admiral Ackbar...

I've never used a trap just like yours, but I have trapped many squirrels. I've found peanut butter works best. The squirrels can smell it from a long distance, and come running. You can smear a little peanut butter on peanuts for ease of use.

Made the improvements- good idea. Squirrels still won't go near the trap. Tried all kinds of bait. They look at it and walk around it.

hoooo hahahaha again first the feeling of the champion

Chris, I made three of your traps, just as you show in the videos. The only exception is that I added a "U" shaped plywood barrier at the cap end of the base, in order to prevent any squirrel from standing up on the far end of the trap. Its not big and only high enough to rub against their chests if they try to use the tube for leverage. So far, after over a couple of weeks, not one squirrel. I've tried peanuts, shelled and unshelled, and even almonds which are supposed to be a squirrel's favorite. Nothing. Only the ants are enjoying the almonds. Obviously your squirrels are hilly-billy squirrels and mine are college educated. They are driving me nuts, and dig up every raised container I have on my back deck, and side of the house. I've made up a mix to keep them off the beds, and this has done the trick. Obviously the Cayenne pepper, Jalapeno, and onion, residue is not their favorite thing. Unfortunately I am going to have to spray the containers about twice weekly. I'm going to keep the traps set for another couple of weeks, but if nothing happens, I'm going to have to write this off as a loss.