Hi, hoping this is the right place to look for advice.
I have found an old DOC 200 trap in a tunnel on the property we bought, and I want to get it up and running again to help control pests on the property. I previously had training on how to operate these traps through volunteering at the Brook Sanctuary.
I have found that I can’t get the trap to fire when the pressure plate is pushed down. I have watched lots of videos online on how to maintain the trap, and have tried all of these ideas:
- Removing the trap from the tunnel, and cleaning up the trap and the tunnel from all debris
- Bending the pressure plate to be a different angle
- Bending the bottom of the trigger mechanism to angle more towards the pressure plate
- Bending the trigger mount so it is lower and presents less of an obstacle to the trap firing
- Changing the angle of the trap so the trigger top is more above the pressure plate so gravity can help to get the trigger bar to swing out when the pressure plate is pushed down
Currently, I have the trigger mount as low as it can be and for the trap to latch at all. When the pressure plate is pushed down, the bottom of the trigger is not touching the bar of the pressure plate, I can see air in-between them. However, I can bang the plate with a big stick and most of the time the trap doesn’t fire.
Can anyone advise what to do to solve this problem please?
Thanks
Mike