Baits / Lures
To successfully trap animals you need to become familar with the habits of the target animal, especially the baits or lures which each finds most attractive. While you can likely find some trapping baits or lures among common household items, the baits and lures sold here are all professionally prepared and are, in most cases, species specific.
When looking to capture specific species, you should use a bait that attracts say a raccoon, but does not attract housecats, especially in urban and suburban situations. You need to use the proper bait to consistently catch the target animal, i.e. squirrel bait to catch a squirrel, raccoon bait to catch a raccoon.