Rabbits are easily trapped or snared, and while these methods of taking
them are slow, they are always feasible when cottontails infest woodlot,
orchard, nursery, field, or garden. Many are caught in old-fashioned box
traps set with a figure-4 trigger with cord attached to hold up the box
lid.
An improvement on this familiar trap, widely used in the Middle West,
and often called the Wellhouse[3] trap, is a box 21 inches long and
about 6 inches high and 4 inches wide (inside measurements) made of
6-inch fence boards, preferably old ones. The box is closed at the rear
and has a wire door in front which swings inward from the top, a cleat
at the bottom preventing its opening outward. The trap is set and the
wire door kept open by a wire trigger-rod held in place by two staples
in the top of the box. The trigger-rod is bent downward into a loop or
figure 8 near the rear of the trap. As the rabbit enters the trap and
crowds into the back part it presses against the loop, moves the
trigger-rod backward and is imprisoned as the wire door is released and
falls. Bait may be used but is unnecessary, since cottontails frequently
take refuge in dark places from enemies or inclement weather.
[Footnote 3: After the late Mr. Fred Wellhouse, of Topeka, Kans.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Details of a Wellhouse rabbit trap.]
The materials needed for making a Wellhouse trap are: Four boards 1 by
6, 21 inches long, for the sides; a piece 1 by 6, 8 inches long, for the
back; a small cleat for the door stop; 28-1/2 inches of wire for the
door; 22 inches of wire for the trigger; 4 small staples for hanging the
door and trigger; and nails (fig. 3).
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Cross section of a Walmsley tile trap for
rabbits.]
Mr. J. M. Walmsley recently sent to the department photographs and a
description of a permanent rabbit trap made of sewer tile and used on
his and other farms in Kansas (fig. 4). A 12 by 6 inch "tee" is set with
the long end downward and buried so that the 6-inch opening is below the
surface of the ground. Two lengths of 6-inch sewer pipe are then
connected horizontally with the opening. Soil is placed over the joints
to exclude light. The upright tile should be fitted with a tight
removable cover--Mr. Walmsley uses old harrow disks for the purpose. The
projecting end of the small tile is surrounded with rocks, brush, or
wood, so as to make the hole look inviting to rabbits (fig. 5), and that
they may appropriate the den as a place of concealment and shelter. A
number of these traps in various places, and especially in the vicinity
of the orchard, have kept Mr. Walmsley's farm comparatively free of
rabbits. Rabbits occupy these tile traps, go in or out at will, and may
be captured when desired. Whenever Mr. Walmsley visits his traps he is
accompanied by a trained dog that locates the trapped animals. The cover
is lifted from the upright tile and the rabbit captured by hand; if it
bolts from the side opening it is caught by the dog. A short pole fitted
with a 5-inch wooden disk may be inserted in the side opening to prevent
escape.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--A Walmsley tile trap in use.]
These traps are especially suitable for open lands and prairies, where
rabbits can not find many natural hiding places. Built on waste land,
they may become a permanent part of the farm equipment and will cost
nothing for repairs from year to year. Their first cost may be greatly
reduced by use of second-grade or even broken tiles. If one wishes to
poison rabbits, the baits may be placed inside these traps and domestic
animals or birds will not be endangered. The Walmsley trap also
furnishes an excellent means of obtaining rabbits for the table or even
for market without damaging them by shooting.