mink

vermin hunter

hi lads just wondering could anyone give me tips on catching mink i have two traps and havent caught one yet.:mad:

foxshooter243

vermin hunter wrote: »

hi lads just wondering could anyone give me tips on catching mink i have two traps and havent caught one yet.:mad:

what are you baiting with?

Terrier

I'm assuming you are using live cage traps andyou are sure there are Mink present

Find there runs - very easy this time of year especially along river banks. Place the trap at 90 degrees to the run so that the entrance is at the side of the run not in the middle of it, cover the trap with local grass/plants to make it like a tunnel and bait (john West sardines work a t treat for me)

Vermin Hunter what part of the country are you from?

foxshooter243

Read this in a book about mink trapping...catch an eel or 2 or couple of small fish and chop it up into a bottle, fill nearly to the top with water and put on the cap ..but not tightly just enough that air still gets in..leave somewhere that it gets full sun for 3 weeks...a layer of oil will form on the surface...drain off the oil...probably a drop pipette would be ideal for this job..use this oil as an attractant ..2 to 3 drops are enough for you trap..one drop in, 2 drops around the outside and be vigilant in not leaving your scent around the trapping area..then sit back patiently and await the
arrival of mr mink..something to try

Vegeta

reminds me of horse hoof bait I have seen on a popular english shooting forum

Take some horse hoof clippings and boil them in water (outside, or her indoors will kill you)

think you've to boil/simmer them for quite a while (2 hours) so keep adding water so it doesn't boil off

Then put in a big jug air tight and leave for a few seasons. Maybe a summer and autumn. Stuff is meant to be absolutely horrific but fox and other predators cant resist it.

Never tried it myself as I don't have access to any horse hoof clippings

foxshooter243

Vegeta wrote: »

reminds me of horse hoof bait I have seen on a popular english shooting forum

Take some horse hoof clippings and boil them in water (outside, or her indoors will kill you)

think you've to boil/simmer them for quite a while (2 hours) so keep adding water so it doesn't boil off

Then put in a big jug air tight and leave for a few seasons. Maybe a summer and autumn. Stuff is meant to be absolutely horrific but fox and other predators cant resist it.

Never tried it myself as I don't have access to any horse hoof clippings

I remember that myself ,but i could never figure how it worked but a mate keeps horses so i might see is i can get the raw materials and boil them in my mother in laws kitchen:D

clivej

I've seen dogs go mad for the bits of hoof that the farrier cuts off when reshoeing a horse. He just throws them up in the air and theres such fight over those bits.

Vegeta

clivej wrote: »

I've seen dogs go mad for the bits of hoof that the farrier cuts off when reshoeing a horse. He just throws them up in the air and theres such fight over those bits.

any of the dogs puke their guts up? heard it made them ill, small doses might not be as bad

ivanthehunter

his is great stuff, very interesting.
I would think that cow hoofs and therefore cow horns are very similar. I know that in days of old Blacksmiths would regularly use cow horn as a coating to prevent the rusting of iron objects.

Did any of you lads ever hear of a plant that attracts cats.. it begins v?
I'll dig it out tomorrow, the name that is!!!

IRLConor

ivanthehunter wrote: »

Did any of you lads ever hear of a plant that attracts cats.. it begins v?
I'll dig it out tomorrow, the name that is!!!

Catnip usually works.

foxshooter243

ivanthehunter wrote: »

his is great stuff, very interesting.
I would think that cow hoofs and therefore cow horns are very similar. I know that in days of old Blacksmiths would regularly use cow horn as a coating to prevent the rusting of iron objects.

Did any of you lads ever hear of a plant that attracts cats.. it begins v?
I'll dig it out tomorrow, the name that is!!!

Ivan ive heard of a plant that repels cats..its called an ash plant:eek::D

Rovi

ivanthehunter wrote: »

his is great stuff, very interesting.
I would think that cow hoofs and therefore cow horns are very similar. I know that in days of old Blacksmiths would regularly use cow horn as a coating to prevent the rusting of iron objects.

Did any of you lads ever hear of a plant that attracts cats.. it begins v?
I'll dig it out tomorrow, the name that is!!!

Valerian?

As far as I know, cattle hoof is pretty much the same thing as horse hoof, and would be much more readily available.
Hoof trimming is an ongoing and frequent routine operation on most dairy farms, and an abattoir or meat factory will have a steady supply all the time.

meathstevie

If it's keratine you're after you can also smuggle rhino horn from africa or go to the local hairdresser's they've bags of it every day. Biting your nails is not advisable as you'll be chewing all day to keep your supply up.

ivanthehunter

Rovi wrote: »

Valerian?

As far as I know, cattle hoof is pretty much the same thing as horse hoof, and would be much more readily available.
Hoof trimming is an ongoing and frequent routine operation on most dairy farms, and an abattoir or meat factory will have a steady supply all the time.

Thats the stuff.. Nice one................
I wonder if a big bag of it would catch that big wild cat...

bullets

IRLConor wrote: »

Catnip usually works.

Found the Catnip only works mainly on Male Cats. The females tend to ignore it,
and it only keeps the males amused for a few mins. after that it takes a few hours
before it works again.

~B

IRLConor

bullets wrote: »

Found the Catnip only works mainly on Male Cats. The females tend to ignore it, and it only keeps the males amused for a few mins. after that it takes a few hours before it works again.

I've seen it work on both male and female cats, but since (at least according to Wikipedia) the effect is hereditary it's bound to be somewhat hit or miss.

It does take quite a while for the cats to reset. A good thing too, since the ones I've seen react to it were nuts while it lasted.

vermin hunter

foxshooter243 wrote: »

Read this in a book about mink trapping...catch an eel or 2 or couple of small fish and chop it up into a bottle, fill nearly to the top with water and put on the cap ..but not tightly just enough that air still gets in..leave somewhere that it gets full sun for 3 weeks...a layer of oil will form on the surface...drain off the oil...probably a drop pipette would be ideal for this job..use this oil as an attractant ..2 to 3 drops are enough for you trap..one drop in, 2 drops around the outside and be vigilant in not leaving your scent around the trapping area..then sit back patiently and await the
arrival of mr mink..something to try

thannx for the tips ive bein baiting the traps with sardins smelt and makrel there all smelly as hell. i dont live to far from the river boyne the blackwater and the royal canal i know theres defintly mink around farmers have told me theve seen them.

foxshooter243

vermin hunter wrote: »

thannx for the tips ive bein baiting the traps with sardins smelt and makrel there all smelly as hell. i dont live to far from the river boyne the blackwater and the royal canal i know theres defintly mink around farmers have told me theve seen them.

Vermin hunter, i tried the tip i mentioned myself one time and i would set up the trap and drop a few drops of this oil in and around the trap, it was a fenn trap i was using, but every time i set it up i would have a rat caught very quickly, most days i would be walking away from the trap and
i would hear it spring shut, on going back there would be a rat sitting in it,
i never caught a mink because of the abundance of rats on that stretch of river-but its supposed to be a good attractant. however if you do catch a mink dont despatch him straight away cos if you can manage to catch up some mink urine then this is considered to be a really powerful attractant and would be useful to have ..

vermin hunter

thanx foxhunter hopefully i will catch a mink and get his urine i will keep u posted anyway

Trapper86

Hello Vermin Hunter Hello all I am new to this forum. I have been TRYING to trap mink for about three quarters of a year now and I still have not caught anything. I use a cage trap that I bait with fish and I take the most meticulous care not to put my smell or the smell of the clothes I am wearing onto the trap as I have been told that while their eyesight is poor their sense of smell is very acute. I have put the trap beneath bridges and on Islands and in bogs. Could someone please tell me what I am doing wrong.

ivanthehunter

Trapper86 wrote: »

Hello Vermin Hunter Hello all I am new to this forum. I have been TRYING to trap mink for about three quarters of a year now and I still have not caught anything. I use a cage trap that I bait with fish and I take the most meticulous care not to put my smell or the smell of the clothes I am wearing onto the trap as I have been told that while their eyesight is poor their sense of smell is very acute. I have put the trap beneath bridges and on Islands and in bogs. Could someone please tell me what I am doing wrong.

People often wonder why a car won't start but some times there is no petrol in the tank..:p:p
if your doing every thing right for such a long time it sounds like your trapping grounds might not have any mink to offer.
Have you seen any mink sign or have any local farmers/hunters told you of any sightings.

I'm not an expert on mink's preferred habitat but they mightn't be suited to bogs and other similar environments which offer no dry land??
Can any one enlighten the rank and file again as to their preferred habitat..

foxshooter243

Mink are semi aquatic animals therefore the best places to see them are in
wetland environments such as marshlands . lakeshores, rivers and streams.
they rely on the presence of waterways as travelpaths and as sources of food/shelter therefore its the best place to trap them, if they are in the area..look out for mink dens which have openings 4 inches wide along the banks of streams and for their droppings which are normally left on rocks or logs..their droppings are cylindrically shaped and usually contain bones
and fur and if you taste them they taste of fish.......only joking on the last bit:D

Vegeta

foxshooter243 wrote: »

if you taste them they taste of fish.......only joking on the last bit:D

i lol'd

Rovi

Vegeta wrote: »

foxshooter243 wrote: »

if you taste them they taste of fish.......only joking on the last bit:D

i lol'd

That's a bit like to old one about how grizzly bear droppings contain whistles and smell of pepper.

Trapper86

I would generally try them beside lakes and while I know what you mean about the bogs, I only left a trap there after a friend showed me a photograph he had taken of a mink in that spot. I also tried them beside a few rivers. Someone told me once that the bait you put in the traps should not be left to go off as they seem to like fresh fish.

Trapper86

By the way has anyone ever tried taming a mink? How hostile would they be towards being
kept?

foxshooter243

Trapper86 wrote: »

By the way has anyone ever tried taming a mink? How hostile would they be towards being
kept?

If you get them young enough say at 5 or 6 weeks old ,they make excellent pets..

foxshooter243

Trapper86 wrote: »

I would generally try them beside lakes and while I know what you mean about the bogs, I only left a trap there after a friend showed me a photograph he had taken of a mink in that spot. I also tried them beside a few rivers. Someone told me once that the bait you put in the traps should not be left to go off as they seem to like fresh fish.

fresh bait is essential when mink trapping, honey spread over fresh vegetables with a sprinkling of sugar is said to work as well.along with the normal baits like fresh fish ,eels etc