Animal trap

Claim 1

An animal trap adapted to be located on a ground surface and exterior of a building and in adjoining relation to a vertical wall of said building, comprising: a receptacle having an animal receiving chamber, a pair of vertically extending side walls, front and end walls connecting said side walls and a bottom, said walls and bottom being substantially water impervious, said receptacle having an open top providing an entry to said chamber; an elongate, tubular housing mounted to said receptacle and covering said entry, said housing having wall portions defining a pair opposed openings and a top, a passage extending between said openings, a first aperture for communication between said passage and said animal receiving chamber, and a second aperture formed in said top in generally opposed relation to the first aperture; bait receiving means mounted in said passage and in communicating relation to the second aperture to allow bait to be received by said bait receiving means through said second aperture; a cover member moveably attached to said housing for removeably covering the second aperture, the cover member extending past the periphery of said second aperture, the lateral edges of the cover member extending downwardly past the second aperture to provide water resistant protection for said second aperture; a pair of spaced apart grooves formed in the outer surface of the top of the housing, said grooves extending transverse said housing, at least a portion of each of said grooves underlying at least a portion of the longitudinal edges of said cover member to help prevent water from entering said second aperture; a pair of substantially coplaner door members pivotedly mounted in horizontal end-to-end relation in said passage, said door members having interior end portions extending toward one another and being moveable from a first position overlying and covering said aperture to a second position extending through said aperture and said entry and into said chamber; and means attached to said housing and configured to conformably mate with said edge portions of said receptacle, said edge portions being correspondingly configured to produce a water resistant seal therebetween.