Havahart traps come in all sizes for various animals. The idea is that you put some bait on or under a metal plate inside the trap. You set the trap by holding the door open with a line attached to the plate, so that when the plate is stepped on, it releases the door and- trappo!- there's your live animal.
Their website gives a list of bait for different animals and I did a lot of reading online about woodchucks (groundhogs) before I tried it. As you know, I caught a skunk first- that was with melon. I don't recommend melon. I've use broccoli for woodchucks and cabbage pieces for the rabbit. It's still early in the season here, so they were a bit desperate. I've read that rabbits are hard to catch because they are cautious, so I covered the trap with old branches to make it look inviting and safe.
Once caught, I put a towel down in the back of Dixie and drive the trapped critter several miles up into the National Forest and let her go. It's tricky because you want to get them as far away from your house as you can so they don't return- without dumping them in someone else's garden. I have no illusions about a critter-free place here in the Green Mountains, but I do feel good about having a system that works for me when I need it. I like my garden very much and get pretty frustrated when some small herbivore chooses MY beets over plain old grass. The nerve!
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