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How to Build a Lobster Snare

More commonly known as a "lobster trap," a lobster snare is a porous box that a lobster finds it easy to enter but hard to exit. Some lobster traps have arched tops, but a rectangular box-type shape is easier to construct and, although it might not be as effective as the arch-top type, it can catch some lobsters.

Things You'll Need

18 wood slats, 3-feet by 1 ½ -inch by 1-inch
9 wood slats, 2-feet by 1 ½ -inch by 1-inch
4 squares of wood 4-inches wide by ¼-inch thick
4 wood slats 1 ½-foot by 1 ½ -inch by 1-inch
4 wood slats 1-foot by 1-inch by 1-inch
Nails
Wire mesh netting
Spool of malleable wire.

Instructions

- 1
  Construct a box frame of by laying two of the 2-inch by 1-inch boards on the ground, with the wider side laying down. Nail the 2-foot long pieces to connect the 3-foot boards at their ends. You should have a rectangle that measures 2-feet by 3-feet.
- 2
  Set one of the 1 ½-foot lengths perpendicular to the rectangle inside one of its corners so that it is standing up from the frame. Nail it into position by securing it to one of the frame boards. Nail all of the other three 1 ½-foot lengths perpendicular to the rectangle inside one of its corners as you did the first one. Your trap should now look like a frame with four posts sticking up.
- 3
  Turn the frame over so that the posts are resting on the ground. Lay the other 3-foot and 2-foot frame pieces alongside the posts and fit them so that their ends are flush with each other and create a rectangle that is opposite the first one you built. Nail these corners into place.
- 4
  Cut the 4-inch squares into two triangles each. Place a triangle on top of one of the corners that is sticking up, so two of that its sides are flush with the wood pieces that form the corner. Tack the triangle so that it is nailed onto the three pieces of wood (the 3-foot, the 2-foot and the 1 ½-foot) that make up the corner. Repeat this process for all of the other seven corners, flipping the trap over to do the last four.
- 5
  Secure two of the long slats lengthwise across the bottom, and then flip the trap over and affix the last two slats to that top.
- 6
  Tack the large end of your net just inside the frame at the top, bottom and sides. Weave wire pieces of wire through any gaps that might be large enough for a lobster to escape through. Gather the inner wire mesh to create a hole that is about 6 inches in diameter. Suspend the wire hole, and tie it with other strands of wire that you will tie to the frame slats.
- 7
  Place a 3-foot by 1-inch by ½-inch slat about 1 ½ inches away from the bottom slat. Nail into place. Repeat, with four other slats, leaving about 1 ½ inches between each slat. Repeat on the opposite side, tacking 5 slats to it. Nail 2-foot length slats similarly on the open end of the trap.
- 8
  Nail a 1-foot square to the top of the trap, at the end of the trap where the lobsters will go after they've entered the net. Sever the boards of the trap using the square as a guideline.
- 9
  Attach a hinge to one side of the square and a sliding bolt to the other. This will be the door through which you can put bait and retrieve lobsters.

Nature