A humane animal trap is a live cage or box trap that catches an animal without hurting it. The right one is sized for the animal you’re after, has a door that locks, and gets checked at least once a day. In New York, the trap is the easy part. What you’re allowed to do with the animal once it’s inside is where most people get stuck.
Under the New York State DEC’s rules, it’s illegal for you to move a trapped animal off your property, and you can’t release it in a park or on state land. Raccoons, opossums and gray squirrels can only be taken without a permit when they’re damaging property. So before you buy a trap, make sure you can legally use it on the animal you have.
Trap size and bait by animal
| Animal | Trap size (inches) | Baits that work |
|---|---|---|
| Squirrel | 5 x 5 or 6 x 6, 18 to 19 long | Nuts, peanut butter, rolled oats |
| Chipmunk | At least 3 x 3, 10 long | Peanut butter |
| Opossum | 7 x 7 or 7 x 8, 20 to 24 long | Vegetables, fruit, fish |
| Skunk | 7 x 7 or 7 x 8, 20 to 24 long | Pet food with a fish base |
| Raccoon | 11 x 12, 30 to 36 long | Fish, meat, canned dog food, eggs |
Sources: trap sizes from Purdue Extension (February 2019) and, for chipmunks, the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management (ICWDM); baits from University of Florida IFAS Extension (October 2025).
What makes a live trap more humane
- A door that locks. Purdue notes that the locking bar also keeps an animal from rolling the trap to push the door open.
- Tighter mesh. Mesh of 1/2 by 1 inch makes it much harder for an animal to reach through the wire, the ICWDM says. It costs more than 1-inch mesh.
- A cover and some shade. ICWDM advises covering at least half of a cage trap with a cloth. Purdue suggests cardboard on the sides and top, and warns against plastic or metal in warm weather, because they hold heat and can kill the animal.
- One door or two. Purdue doesn’t recommend two-door traps for new users, since they cost more and are harder to bait and set. University of Florida points out the upside: two doors make releasing an animal much easier.
How to set and check a trap
- Have a plan first. Decide what happens to the animal before you start, as ICWDM advises. In New York, that plan has to follow DEC’s rules.
- Set it where the animal travels. University of Florida suggests spots near burrows and along travel paths. Set the trap level and out of the sun and rain.
- Keep kids and pets away. Never put a trap where unsupervised children or pets can set it off, University of Florida warns.
- Check it every day. ICWDM says to check traps every single day they’re set, weekends and holidays included. In heat, cold or rain, Purdue says to check two or three times a day.
- If you catch a cat or dog, let it go on the spot, unharmed, as Purdue advises.
Here’s a simple example
Say an opossum has been sleeping under the deck of a Staten Island house, and the owner sets a 7 by 7 inch trap baited with fruit. Two nights later, the opossum is inside. Under DEC’s rules, the owner can’t drive it to a park, and without a permit it can only be taken if it’s damaging property. If it’s let go in the yard, it can walk right back under the deck. The trap didn’t fix anything, because the gap under the deck is still open.
Where the trap goes matters most
At a freight company’s warehouse near JFK Airport, raccoons were traveling along the pipes above a floor made of rollers. We zip-tied cage traps to the pipes right where one pipe split into two, so a raccoon coming down had nowhere else to go, and we caught raccoons there every day. The traps were ordinary. The spot is what made them work.
When a trap is the wrong tool
- In spring and summer. From March to August, Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society of the United States) advises assuming any animal denning near a home is a mother with babies. Trap her, and the young are left behind.
- For raccoons, skunks and bats. These are the main rabies carriers in New York, according to NYC Health, which tells New Yorkers to avoid wild animals. For bats, DEC says to contact a DEC wildlife office or a licensed operator.
- When the way in is still open. A trap removes one animal. The opening it used will draw the next one.
Our advice: if you can’t say what you’ll do with the animal once it’s caught, don’t set the trap yet.
How NYC Extermination handles wildlife
We start with a free on-site inspection to find the animal, how it got in and the damage so far. Then we set humane live traps where it travels, baited for that species, and watch them with cameras so a trapped animal isn’t left waiting. We remove the animal, handle it the way New York State rules require, and seal the way in so the next animal can’t follow.
See our wildlife removal service, read about wildlife trapping laws and humane trapping for small animals, or call (347) 988-2315.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to use a humane animal trap in New York?
For some animals, yes. DEC’s rules let homeowners take chipmunks, red squirrels, rats and mice without a permit, but raccoons, opossums and gray squirrels only when they’re damaging property. Whatever you catch, you can’t move it off your property.
How often should I check a live trap?
At least once a day, every day it’s set, weekends included. In hot, cold or rainy weather, check two or three times a day, because an animal in a trap can’t get out of the weather.
What size trap do I need for a raccoon?
Purdue Extension recommends a wire trap about 11 by 12 inches and 30 to 36 inches long. In New York City, though, the city’s wildlife office says licensed trappers must humanely euthanize trapped raccoons, so think it through before you trap one.
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