 It's a metal trap, and what you want to do is take some bait, which I would use like an apple. I usually take it, and I will wire it inside the cage, like towards the far end. Use a piece of copper wire or something like that, sort of thread it in there. And that is so that the raccoon has to go all the way into the trap in order to get the food. And when that happens, the trap door will close. And then you can take the whole trap out some distance from your house, find a wooded area, and just release them. And that should do it.