Squirrel Traps Outdoor - Squirrel Trap - Ouell Traps - Trap for Squirrels (Big)

Works. Dead in 60 seconds, 95% of the time. Strong. Easy enough to set, once we mounted it to a 2x6. Would absolutely break fingers or injure a cat. I will not leave it set unattended. I live surrounded by wilderness and have a bird feeder and bird watering, also a small flower garden. 10 years ago the squirrels were not a problem. 5 years ago the squirrels were not a problem. 2 years ago they started to destroy flowers. Lilies, petunias, asters. A year ago, due to a latge nest under a shed, the shed foundation went on tilt and we couldn't close the door. That was a big problem and expensive to solve. This year, I safe-trapped and relocated 68 squirrels before I could decide to start killing them. At this point, with three days of trapping, I've killed 20 with this trap. All but one was a "clean kill". I set the trap where the squirrels want to be but also where I can hear it. So I'm there at the trap when they die. It's not instantaneous, but it's over fast. I count backwards from 30 and they're done by then. One squirrel got caught off-center and didn't get its neck broken. That was ugly, but I finished it fast. Powerful trap. Use with care. Would I buy again? Absolutely.

Our neighborhood has become over run by the squirrel population. Destroying the garden, ravaging the bird feeders and trying to get into the garage. It was time to take action to prevent any more damage. This trap has been incredibly effective. It is extremely rugged and we'll built. It works, buy it if you have a squirrel problem. For more details, see below. In the last 3 weeks, we have eliminated 15 squirrels and 2 chipmunks with one of these larger sized traps. I'm sure that number would be much higher, had I been home to reset the trap during the day and if I had known about baiting it properly. The count generally goes up over the weekend when I'm home all day and down during the work week when I'm not. My baiting tips. At first I baited as the manufacturer suggested, with a soft granola bar piece on the nail in the trap. That yielded nothing but ants for me. Since the squirrels are going after our bird feeders, I decided to try that. A small pile of peanuts and sunflower seeds in the trap has been very successful. My trick is to make sure the pile is visible with a few accessible where they can be reached. They get a taste and then they are committed. See the attached photo. Make sure the trap is in a safe location. Keep far away from children and pets. This thing will easily break adult fingers, so it could do great damage to children and pets. In my case, I have a fenced in back yard with no kids or pets. If someone came over, I'd be sure to remove the trap. It's a little intimidating setting it the first couple of times, but it's quite easy after only a few tries. Make sure to follow the instructions. I've looked up videos on YouTube and some people were demonstrating it incorrectly. Watch the manufacturer video, if in doubt. Be advised that this trap typically kills the squirrel instantaneous, but not always. I've witnessed it in action. Most of the time it works as intended and breaks the neck of the squirrel and it's over before they know what's happened. I've also seen a squirrel dodge into the trap and get their shoulder into the trap. If that happens, it's not quite so quick, FYI. There have also been a couple of occasions of some blood. Only 2 out of the 15, but I thought it might be worth mentioning. Squirrels don't seem to care about smell, blood or their dead relatives. I've seen squirrels squeeze by a dead one to get the bait. Ruthless little rodents. If you need to reduce your squirrel population, look no further than this we'll engineered beauty. July 2025 update: approaching 80 squirrels that have been taken with this trap. Still functioning great. The only change I've made is to mount the trap on a larger, heavier and wider board, to keep it from getting overturned when a larger squirrel thrashes about for a few seconds if it's not killed instantly. Still plenty of squirrels in the neighborhood, but I'm doing my part to keep the population in check.

===== Functionality ===== 5 squirrel victims in the first two days. We’ve had Thuja evergreen hedges for 20 years with no issues until 2025, when we started noticing a few of them losing all their branches in certain spots. The bare patches ruin the appearance, and I fear they won’t fill back in. At first, we had no idea what was causing it, but then we saw a squirrel nipping off branches and throwing them to the ground. When we went out to look, there was a pile of branches, so it wasn’t even using them for nesting. These critters have been annoying us for years, but this sealed their fate. The birds will likely be happier as well, without their food being stolen all the time. ===== Price ===== $80 does seem overpriced to me, but I wish I had splurged earlier so we never experienced the damage. I’ll probably get another one, too. It seems to be very well built. I saw a very similar product for half the price, but the rating was lower and there were comments about build quality. This trap is vicious and forceful, so it needs to be well built. ===== Arming ===== The first time I armed it, I was surprised at how hard it was to pull the arms back. After doing it a dozen times, I no longer give it a second thought. ===== Bait ===== I have been using walnuts as bait, which seem to be a hit with the squirrels and of little interest to the birds. I have it near the bird feeders, but with the entrance facing away from them to help discourage birds. So far, zero birds have triggered it. ===== Survivor ===== I did see one squirrel get some food from it, triggering the trap without getting caught. This squirrel reached in from the side. Screwing the trap to a pressure-treated 2×4 eliminated this possibility. ===== Caution ===== This trap will easily break your fingers if you are careless. When placing walnuts around the trigger while it is armed, I always use my other hand to hold the release mechanism down so that if I accidentally trigger it, nothing happens. It has a safety hook on the side of the trap. I actually feel safer holding the long trigger arm than using that. I’ve seen videos where the safety hook is positioned more centrally and is much looser, which looked to me like a better design.

We feed the birds everyday, which in turn attracted Squirrels. We didn't mind feeding everyone, until the squirrels decided bird seed wasn't enough and started chewing electrical wires. Almost $4000 later, we made the decision to buy a non lethal trap for catch and release and a lethal trap as we weren't sure which trap, if any, would work best. We set up both traps and sure enough, both work amazingly well! This lethal trap dispatches squirrels extremely fast. Once the trap hits, the nervous system of the squirrel reacts for literally less than a minute, which happens to everything on this planet with a nervous system after it passes away. I've read other reviews about this trap that said the squirrel was not "killed" right away. This trap has literally caught 5 squirrels and everyone of them was done quickly. We have a camera out back because it also shows our car as we live in the City. Even if the squirrel entered the trap at different angles, the squirrel did not suffer much, if any, based on how strong this trap is. I captured some video from our out back parking area so you can see how the squirrel died quickly. I take no joy in killing anything, so if it wasn't a fast kill, I would have sent the trap back. Watch the video and make the decision for yourself if this is the right trap for you and your family. Below are some tips on how to use this trap as the first two weeks were a bust until we modified some things: 1. Make sure you use the safety hook when setting this trap. This trap will require some strength to set. Once you get the first trap bar pulled back, the second bar goes pretty easy. Make sure you use both trap bars or the animal might suffer. (Maybe that's what happened in other reviews where people said the animal did not die right away? Not sure...) ALWAYS Use the safety latch when setting and baiting this trap. 2. Instead of mounting the trap onto something with the mounting hole at the back of the trap, I weighed the trap down with some pavers to anchor it as other reviewers said to make sure it was weighed down or mounted to avoid the trap flying in the air. Any weight on the back will hold this trap down. 3. I tried putting the bait in the back of the trap like the demo video and had no success, so I started putting a handful of peanuts in the front of the trap just beyond the tripping mechanism inside the trap. I did not leave any food outside of the trap as recommended. I found that putting about 20 shelled peanuts inside worked better than even peanut butter which would wash away in the rain, attract ants, and just overall make a mess on the patio parking area. Sometimes Bluejays would take the peanuts directly at the entrance but would not set off the trap. I learned quickly to use 20+ shelled peanuts (handful) as the first 5 peanuts would be taken by the Bluejays and the trap was bait less after that. Bluejays are very smart and will rob your trap without setting it off. The Bluejays rob this trap often, which is why I recommend using a handful of peanuts spread out from just beyond the tripping mechanism inside the trap. Make sure the peanuts go all the way back to the nail inside the trap. Make sure to set the safety latch, BEFORE BAITING, if the trap is set while you bait it!!! Using this method of baiting, I have caught 5 squirrels in the last two weeks. 0 in the first two weeks trying the video recommendation baiting method. 4. Use gloves when setting this trap to hide your scent. I do not use gloves on the peanuts, just when setting the trap or handling the trap. I also leave the trap outside so the rain washes away any scent including any urine from the dispatched animals, etc... Once it rains and the peanuts get soft/soggy, I empty the trap and use fresh peanuts as bait. Fresh peanuts make a world of difference compared to soggy watered down peanuts (squirrels would not even look in the trap with soggy peanuts). Fresh peanuts the night before usually ends up with a catch the next morning. That's about all I can think of at the moment. I posted a pic of how I bait this trap also. This is a great lethal trap for squirrels and other possible rodents. It works quickly and seems quite durable so far. Highly Recommend this trap if you need a lethal squirrel trap!!!

Yesterday evening, I set the trap for the first time, and this morning at 7 am I woke up with a squirrel in the trap. If you're like me and you're buying this trap, you're probably frustrated, tired of the destruction these animals cause, and ready to take matters into your own hands instead of shelling out $600 to $1000s of dollars to have someone come out! Let me tell you, it works FANTASTICALLY. If there is a negative reviews about this, then 1. You set it up incorrectly, 2. You're not using the right bait, 3. Your product may be defective, and in that case, just get a replacement because you're going to want this item. Tips: 1. BE CAREFUL, BE CAREFUL, PLEASE BE CAREFUL!! Watch the instruction video on their page: (quell.ca). As people have noted, this will snap your fingers. 2. Purchase heavy-duty leather gloves to make sure you protect yourself as much as you can, plus the less of your scent you get on the trap, the better. I don’t know if the scent part is true but I read it somewhere and wasn’t going to take chances lol. 3. My roof is on a slant, so I did not weigh it down; instead, I tied a sandbag to it. Since my roof is at a slant, I used the sandbag more as a way to lay a quarter of the trap on it so it can be somewhat level and not tip over on its own. (See picture of sandbag from Amazon) 4. What type of bait? I'm particular about this stuff; people said peanut butter, nuts, etc., but I wanted to know the EXACT bait that works so I could just buy it and have some peace of mind, so I’m going to do that for you guys! I purchased a bag that had a variety of nuts, fruits, and yogurt. (See picture of product) They LOVED IT! But yours might not, so if you're not sure, leave some out where they are active and then check if they are gone after 24 hours. 5. Be very careful with this trap. The night I set it, I remember getting a notification from my video doorbell that a stray cat was on my doorstep. All I could think is, thank God it's on the roof and not where a ton of other animals can get caught in it. 6. I set all of the bait in the trap and some very close to the trip door, but none were accessible where the squirrels could get a free meal haha! I forgot to take a pic but again, have all the bait in between the door and the back of trap but scoot some of the bait closer to the trap door. Make sure the safety hook is on while you do this. ITS DOESN'T NEED TO BE TOUCHING THE DOOR. Close is good enough! Just be careful please! 7. ALWAYS have the safety hook on until your completely finished with everything (placement of trap, placement of bait, etc). When you’re done gently remove the hook and let the games begin! 8. Make sure you’re ALWAYS holding the trap from the back when it is set. PLEASE do not let your hand be in the way of where the trap comes down! These devices are not perfect, so anything may set it off. 9. Knowing how effective this is, if it cost $100 or $150, I would buy it. The cost for having wildlife “experts” come out is outrageously high. Don’t cheap out on this trap, but definitely get an expert if you need one! 10. I’m very capable but just for a peace of mind I had someone watch the video with me to ENSURE I’m doing it correctly. Don’t force yourself to use it if you’re not comfortable. Ask for help! Note: All product I have listed can be found on Amazon. Gloves at Home Depot Happy exterminating!

I bought this trap as a last resort after more than four years of fighting squirrels in my yard. The short version of my review is: this thing works almost surprisingly well, with a few negatives that don't really dampen my appreciation for the product overall. With eight catches in eleven days, I definitely recommend it to anyone who needs to get rid of some pesky tree rats in their neighborhood. And now for the longer version of my review... I have neighbors who feed the resident squirrels all sorts of junk (not just corn or peanuts like most people) and as a result their population has exploded. I don't even know how many there are, but the population is dense. Also, the food the neighbors leave out, including pieces of bread and buns, pieces of various fruits, and I don't even remember what all else, often ends up discarded in my yard when the tree rats are done with it, so I am forever cleaning up moldy fruit, dried out pieces of stale bread, and so on. The squirrels dig holes all over my yard, in the flowerbeds, and even in some of the larger flower pots to bury food. They have done a lot of damage to my plants this way, and I was beginning to get worried that the attic of my house was going to be next, just based on the sheer numbers of them that have to find new homes every year because they breed so fast. I have tried for years to use repellents to keep them out of the yard and flowerbeds. This works to an extent, but because the repellents that are actually effective are SO expensive, I can only afford to protect so much. Also, most of the repellents have to be reapplied every two or three weeks, especially after rains or in very hot weather. And a few of the squirrels don't seem to care about the repellents, even when freshly applied. So I started looking for other ways to get rid of them. I considered live traps, but then what? I think it's illegal to release trapped animals elsewhere, and even if it's not, how many would survive just being dumped in some random location? Besides, that would just make them someone else's problem if they did survive. So I started thinking about lethal measures. I tried to find a method of poisoning them, but almost everything I read said that very rarely works with squirrels, because while they are rodents, the various commercially available rodent poisons don't really work on them. And even if it did work, you'd run the risk of a squirrel dying in some unreachable location and decomposing there where it couldn't be disposed of. Yuck. Then of course, there's the risk of something or someone else getting ahold of the poison. So that was out. So I started looking at lethal traps. I looked at a number of different ones, mainly here on Amazon, and read lots of reviews from other customers. This trap from Quell, which has a slightly higher overall customer rating than others I viewed, was a little less expensive than most, so I decided to try it before spending more money. And I am glad I did. I received the trap on the evening of Thursday the 23rd of May, and as I write this on the morning of Sunday, June 2nd, I have just removed my eighth tree rat from the trap. That's eight squirrels in less than eleven full days, and for two days I caught nothing because I forgot to remove the safety catch when I reset the trap after the second kill. So basically, if you don't include those two days, I've caught nearly one squirrel per day since I received the trap. The first catch was by far the largest of them, and I suspect it was a dominant male, because since I caught that one, I haven't had any new holes torn in the yard or flowers. If squirrels are territorial, then my yard may have been "his" territory, and he may have been doing the majority of the damage. Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase. I did not expect to get so many so quickly; indeed, the seventh was caught less than two hours after I reset the trap from catching number six. The trap itself seems well built overall, with maybe one exception I'll go into in a bit. One thing I like about it is that if you aren't the one who bought it, it may not be immediately obvious what it is if you happen to see it. I don't really want my neighbors who feed the tree rats to know I'm eliminating them, obviously. I have it located in the most out of the way place I can while still being an effective spot to get the squirrels. I plan to keep re-setting it until it goes at least a week with no new catches, and then I'll only put it back out if I start seeing signs of damage again. Many other reviewers have commented about how hard the trap is to set, and to an extent that is true; it does take some fairly significant hand strength to pull back the kill bar. But it HAS to if you want to kill the squirrels rather than just catch them and leave them in agony until you deal with them. And that leads me to my only significant complaint about this trap, and it is the reason I gave this four stars instead of five. It is NOT always an instant kill. Out of the eight squirrels I've caught so far, two of them were still alive when I got to them. One was the first catch, the big one that I suspect was a large dominant male. I came home from work on the day I caught him, and he was in the trap, squealing weakly every few seconds. My heart sank, because while I don't feel particularly bad about killing the squirrels, especially after my years of fighting with them, I also don't want them to suffer. Another one a few days later somehow got farther into the trap before triggering it, and the bar came down on its back, kind of in the shoulder area, instead of its neck. That one I happened to be home on my lunch hour when I caught it, and I heard it squealing from inside the house. I dealt with both of the live ones as humanely as I could, but I can only hope that the other six died quickly, since I wasn't present when they got caught. I'm not sure what the answer to this issue would be, because if Quell made the spring much stronger and therefore more lethal, it would be nearly impossible for most people to set this trap. As many reviews including mine have already attested, it takes some force as it is, and I'm sure some people don't have the hand strength to do it. I do have one other small complaint, but it's not one that reduces my rating at all. The part of the trigger mechanism that you hook the restraining latch under (which sets the trap) seems as though it should be made of a slightly higher gauge wire. With each catch, it has gotten a little harder to get the trap reset, as that trigger mechanism has gotten ever so slightly bent each time. I solved this after the most recent catch by using a pair of pliers to bend it back a fraction of an inch, but that's something else that perhaps not everyone will be able to do. For me, it was an easy fix, so not significant to my rating, but I did think I should mention it. Aside from the strength needed to set it, I found this trap very easy to use. I like the safety catch that prevents the trap from triggering until you remove it; I'm someone who was always jumpy when setting a traditional mouse or rat trap with their hair triggers. This thing is MUCH more powerful, but I'm not nervous at all when setting it because of that safety catch. You can actually SET the trap in a convenient place like a counter or table and then carry it and adjust its positioning with no fear of it triggering until you remove the catch, and your fingers don't have to get in a dangerous position to release it. For bait I'm using peanut butter. There's a nail inside the trap to stick bait on, and what I did was cut a square of waxed paper and impale that on the nail, and then smeared some peanut butter on the waxed paper. This has kept the inside of the trap clean even after eight catches, and it also has made it easy to replace the peanut butter every few days. I just slide the waxed paper off the nail, taking the bait with it, and put a new square in and bait that. Cheap and effective. Using the pre-drilled hole on the back end of the trap, I have it anchored to the ground with a metal rod I saved from something I discarded years ago; I don't remember what, but something as basic as a metal clothes hanger cut apart with a pliers would work just as well. I did this mainly to ensure that some animal doesn't decide to make a meal of a caught squirrel and run off with my trap in the process. I don't anticipate needing to replace this trap anytime soon, but if or when I do, Quell will be getting some repeat business from me. I still have trouble believing how many squirrels I've gotten rid of in so short a time. Pros: - Easy to set if you have the necessary hand strength - Safety catch is a great feature - Seems to be well built overall - Basic materials (wood and metal) are easy to clean if needed - Design appears to limit the odds of injuring an unintentional target, especially with careful placement - Design seems to prevent escapes, if a squirrel triggers the trap, it's not getting away with your bait Cons: - Not quite powerful enough to guarantee an instant kill; my ratio is 6 of 8 so far (about 75%) - Part of trigger mechanism should probably be slightly sturdier - I can see that the wooden portion (the base of the trap) will be the first part to wear out; perhaps a future design update could use a stronger material for that Overall, this is an effective, well built trap that is well on its way to solving my local tree rat problem. Thanks Quell! UPDATE - 8/19/24 I am nearing three months of owning my Quell squirrel trap, and I thought I'd give a quick update on it, even though my review was already very long. I have now eliminated 27 tree rats in just under three months, an average of one every three days or so. Sometimes I go a week with no catches, and sometime I still get several in a short time. Number 27 was caught this morning, and it was the fourth in three days, but it had been over a week prior to that. I had no idea I had QUITE that many in my area, and while I am definitely seeing fewer of them, they are still around. My rating remains unchanged, for the same reasons I stated previously. I'm not always around when I catch a squirrel, but I can tell from the way the trap moves when I get one that about a third of them are not dying instantly. I am definitely glad I have the trap anchored, as several times now neighborhood stray cats have tried to make off with a dead squirrel from the trap, and if it wasn't anchored I think it would have disappeared by now. Related to that, I am pleased to report that I have not caught any unwanted animals in the trap; I had been a little worried about birds or cats getting hurt by it, but every time it has been triggered it has been by a now-deceased squirrel. I will repeat what I said before: if I ever wear this thing out, Quell will get another order from me. VERY effective.

I very rarely write product reviews, but had to for this device. This trap is amazingly effective for squirrels! I totally recommend it! It is well built and I've only had it for less than a week and have trapped 15 squirrels so far--I thought I had a squirrel problem since they strip my plum trees of fruit (and my neighbor's peach tree, too) and eat many zucchini, but I was surprised at how many I caught in such a short time. It's easy to set up and bait (I used peanuts as suggested by others). It takes a bit to set the spring, but that's because it's powerful and effective. If you have problems with an abundance of squirrels like I do, this is the answer.

We have had a squirrel problem for many years in our backyard. They eat our roses, flowers and leaves off the plants. They eat the plastic and silk flowers as well. I have had limited success with the old standard rat trap with peanut butter used as bait. Many times, the trap would get triggered, but the squirrel (or rat) would escape, either because the spring did not trigger the bar fast enough, or the critter was strong enough to not get caught. I read many reviews and saw the many videos on how effective this trap was. I was impressed. After I received the trap, I tested it and found it difficult to set. It took a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it is easy. The spring is very strong and the bar moves fast and it hits hard. I would suspect it can break a finger with its force. I used peanut butter and assorted other nuts as bait, both in and around the trap. After four days in the same spot that has worked in the past and where the squirrels use most often to access our yard, I had no trigger activations, but the bait around the trap was constantly being taken. I noticed the trap was a shiny metal box among green plants, colorful flowers and brown dirt. I felt the shiny strange object might be repelling the squirrels. I covered the outside as best as I could with brown paper bag pieces and within hours, I got my first squirrel with this trap. I went on to have much success in the next few weeks. The trigger was activated eleven times and all did the job. No empty triggers. I find it surprising that no one mentioned anything in the reviews about making the trap's color match the surroundings as an issue. I thought about painting the trap brown or green, but feel the smell of paint might repel the critters. I would like to see the trap offered in different colors, such as Khaki (dirt brown), Olive Drab Green, or even Cammo color. Then I would give the trap an easy Five-Stars. (I am still very happy with the trap though.)

The springs are intimidating until you put your foot on the trap to steady it. Like a connibear, this no-nonsense trap relies on tremendous impact upon the animal for an instant kill. Squirrels on my property have no interest in something gooey you skewer on a nail. They showed no interest until I put black walnuts in through the access door. Then I caught one large Grey squirrel. Not a mark on it, once I removed the spring from its neck. It works as claimed, though it is not overly productive in comparison to the Have-a-heart traps I have on the property. UPDATE: A Have-a-Heart is useless on young red squirrels. They squeeze out past the door. The trap proved effective on mature red squirrels, though not necessarily producing an instant kill. I trapped two of the family, the male and a little one, before a coyote stole trap, victim, and all. So now I need a new one. Even though grey squirrels seem too smart for the trap, reds are stupid, and I don't mind its species selectivity (except for the coyote part). UPDATE 6 Sept., 2024. Red squirrels at this time of year are crazy for dry black walnuts. This time I resolved to be more systematic in my trapping technique. First, I clamped the trap on my woodworking bench so that I could set it safely without undue exertion. The safety is a nice touch during the setting process, and if you forget to remove it from the springs, you'll just lose your bait. No biggie. MAJOR HINT: Time of year is important. My walnut trees are loaded with the green orbs, but some three year-old nuts I dried for eating emit a strong aroma when cracked with my Duke Walnut Cracker. A couple of cracked nuts inserted by the back flap into the set, safetied trap, receives very quick results if there are any red squirrels in the area. The population ran out at seven, with two chipmunks despatched, as well. All has been quiet for the last two days. It is an excellent trap if properly used.

The trap is well made, the metal is strong and works very effectively. Within days of setting up the trap I was able to catch the first squirrel in my attic. The trap does require some strength to engage the mechanism but that also ensures a very fast and pain free kill. 10/10 would highly recommend.

A little delay coming from "trapper central" (Canada) but really excellent. No question. Very good and strong construction. Should last for many years. Only, very small, downside is that you may have trouble pulling back the two sprung arms if you don't have strong wrists - but you'll find a way. Generally, this is an excellent and humane dispatcher of verminous tree rats. Updated: having now tried out this equipment several times: it really is excellent. Worth the price. Thoroughly recommended.

Very effective - does what it's meant to do. Watch one of the You Tube videos on how to set it up and you are good to go.

This is an excellent product. I received it on a Saturday and by Monday morning caught 3 large squirrels. I simply placed a peanut on the inside of the wire trigger and a couple outside the trap. No need to put any bait on the spike inside the trap