traps

jap gt

i have recently got into trapping, i have snared a good few rabbits and the odd fox, i made a larsen trap i havent caught much in it, any tips. i would like to try catching mink aswell, are the live catch traps the best way to do this, again any tips on trapping them

Glensman

Sheep meal will help attract them into the larsen trap... Apart from that their fairly fool proof!

Dusty87

jap gt wrote: »

i have recently got into trapping, i have snared a good few rabbits and the odd fox, i made a larsen trap i havent caught much in it, any tips. i would like to try catching mink aswell, are the live catch traps the best way to do this, again any tips on trapping them

Do you have a call bird? From a different area?

ferret man

i fid live capture taps work a treat on mink an you may get an occasional cat in them it can be relased unharmed. bu you can so ge a length of drain pipe and a stop end rest up at an angle of 60 degrees and that also works. I find the best bait 2 be a can of sardines or a lump of macrel

vermin hunter

how you doing good to hear your doing plentiy of trapping and snarring. the live traps are the right job to use the best way to use them for the mink is long drains or rivers were you know mink are moving and when you set it cover it up so it looks fairl naturral leavaving the entry uncoverd and to bait it i use fairley fresh fish heads and tails you should pick them up for nothing in your butchers or u can do what i do i catch fish in season and when i clean them out i freeze the heads and tails or you can use the tinned stuff if its hander for u. i hope this is helpful.

jap gt

thanks for the tips lads, il try the drain pipe, but a trap might be worth investing in

johngalway

Get a call bird for the Larsen trap. If someone on here doesn't have one for you then contact local Gun Clubs to see if their members have any, it's the easiest solution to that problem. Feed, water and shelter your call bird real well, he's no good to you either unhappy or dead.

If there's mink in the area they're easy to catch. I use footplate triggered live catch cages, though I do have a number of instant kill traps I have not yet made the tunnels for them to make them quarry specific. I use John West Sardines in Sunflower oil as bait, a bit in the cage, a little at the entrance, and use the oil to make a trail to the cage. Feathers at the entrance work well too.

mossfort

theres a guy near me whos in the local gun club and gets points for magpie, grey crows mink etc that he catches.
he lends me his larsen trap for magpies and the magpie with it but says u have to replace the bait magpie with a fresh one you catch every few days because they dont last even if you feed them.
his method for killing the magpies is to catch them by the legs and whack their head off the wall , i leave that bit to him.
another guy around here has caught a good few mink around the lake in the live trap they seem to be getting very plentiful.

jap gt

loads of mink around lately, seem to be coming further and further from the rivers, have a lot damage done to chickens around lately

johngalway

mossfort wrote: »

but says u have to replace the bait magpie with a fresh one you catch every few days because they dont last even if you feed them.

With respect, he's wrong about that, perhaps he's feeding them the wrong things or not giving them enough variety or shelter. I have kept magpies for months and months

mossfort

johngalway wrote: »

With respect, he's wrong about that, perhaps he's feeding them the wrong things or not giving them enough variety or shelter. I have kept magpies for months and months

i dont think hes too bothered either way he dosnt get too attached to them.
i,ll tell him too look after them better and he might catch a few more and get himself some more points.:)

johngalway

mossfort wrote: »

i dont think hes too bothered either way he dosnt get too attached to them.
i,ll tell him too look after them better and he might catch a few more and get himself some more points.:)

I will say, that it is a good idea to replace your magpie say every fortnight or three weeks, stops them getting complacent. I'd also say, if you get into it with more traps, it's worth building a magpie "hotel", somewhere with a bit of space you can keep back up maggies.

jap gt

anyone got plans for making a fox trap

terminator2

i was going to suggest to the club to build a ladder trap for crows

johngalway

Caught 250+ greycrows in larger than normal larsen traps since May.

johngalway

A mate of mine wrote a very good book on making traps, his site is http://www.fourteenacre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ .

I can't say enough good things about the fella, genuine, big hearted, knows his stuff

Shameless plug I know, but it's a good read. He'd say himself most of the plans are readily available online, I like having a paper reference handy all the same.

Octopus

Originally Posted by mossfort
but says u have to replace the bait magpie with a fresh one you catch every few days because they dont last even if you feed them.

johngalway wrote: »

With respect, he's wrong about that, perhaps he's feeding them the wrong things or not giving them enough variety or shelter. I have kept magpies for months and months

Magpie's will last for as long as there well fed and have water. They need to be well sheltered and don't survive well if they get wet.
Personally I don't start with the larsen trap until late Feb or early March depending on the weather. It's far too cold at the moment to keep a bird exposed out in the cold (even with a sheltered trap), in my opinion. However as they're hungry at the moment it's a good opportunity to catch a call bird.

When using a trap with a call bird best results are gained by using a bird from a different area as your call bird. Magpies are pack birds and if a stranger comes into their area they will look to fight with it, hence the reason you get them into the trap when they're normally such a wary bird.
If the area you move the trap into has a lot of magpies you will notice that you catch a few quite quickly at the start (i use a double entry trap so usually catch doubles the first few days). After that they start to get wary of the trap as their numbers dwindle in that area, time to move trap.
You can keep the same call bird when you move the trap but I prefer to wait till i catch a final bird in that area and then use that bird as my call bird in the next location, dispatching the original call bird as I don't believe in keeping the same bird cooped up for too long. Generally I'll keep the caller for about two weeks before moving the trap.

jap gt

johngalway wrote: »

A mate of mine wrote a very good book on making traps, his site is http://www.fourteenacre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ .

I can't say enough good things about the fella, genuine, big hearted, knows his stuff

Shameless plug I know, but it's a good read. He'd say himself most of the plans are readily available online, I like having a paper reference handy all the same.

thanks john, think i will buy that book, some very good ideas in it

ormondprop

we've had magpies last for months in our cage, they can go through hot and cold streaks though, you mightn't catch anything for a few weeks and then all of a sudden you'll catch a heap of magpies in the space of a few days so if you think your call bird isn't any good just give it some more time, if you can't find a call bird a good way of getting one is by putting alpha chloralose on some meat and leave it out in a field, it temporarily paralyses anything that eats it, so if u find a magpie near by , pick him up put him in a box and leave him near a radiator or fire and after a few hours of heat he should be back to normal, we got a lad lately with it, we also recently got a kestrel, but lukily she survived and we let her back off, lovely looking bird

It wasn't me!

ormondprop wrote: »

we've had magpies last for months in our cage, they can go through hot and cold streaks though, you mightn't catch anything for a few weeks and then all of a sudden you'll catch a heap of magpies in the space of a few days so if you think your call bird isn't any good just give it some more time, if you can't find a call bird a good way of getting one is by putting alpha chloralose on some meat and leave it out in a field, it temporarily paralyses anything that eats it, so if u find a magpie near by , pick him up put him in a box and leave him near a radiator or fire and after a few hours of heat he should be back to normal, we got a lad lately with it, we also recently got a kestrel, but lukily she survived and we let her back off, lovely looking bird

Just so you know, it's illegal to poison meat baits with alpha chloralose. Might want to stop doing that. The kestrel you caught is exactly the reason it's illegal.

EPointer=Birdss

Might want to stop doing that.

Might want to step down off the moral high ground there chief & keep this type of opinion to yourself.

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Just so you know, it's illegal to poison meat baits with alpha chloralose. The kestrel you caught is exactly the reason it's illegal.

The remainder of your post was informative & nothing wrong with it, as is fact.

deeksofdoom

johngalway wrote: »

A mate of mine wrote a very good book on making traps, his site is http://www.fourteenacre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ .

I can't say enough good things about the fella, genuine, big hearted, knows his stuff

Shameless plug I know, but it's a good read. He'd say himself most of the plans are readily available online, I like having a paper reference handy all the same.

John, By any chance is that the guy on thehuntinglife?, he calls himself the big fish or something like that, he posted a very good article on making a larsen trap once.

johngalway

deeksofdoom wrote: »

John, By any chance is that the guy on thehuntinglife?, he calls himself the big fish or something like that, he posted a very good article on making a larsen trap once.

JohnB, that used to mod the trapping section there, not TBF. I made three of TBF larsens, they work but I found it very time consuming constructing them, and they're also bulky and heavy to move around. Making one out of expanded metal, cable ties, and material for a roof is a lot quicker and works just as well.

It wasn't me!

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

Might want to step down off the moral high ground there chief & keep this type of opinion to yourself.

Um, no, I reserve the right to advise people not to continue committing illegal acts and then admitting to them on a public forum where they're readily identifiable to anyone serious enough about doing so, thanks. Don't get your knickers too twisty there. And with respect, leave it to the addressee to get offended if he wants. I'm sure he's well capable of it without your help.

ormondprop

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Just so you know, it's illegal to poison meat baits with alpha chloralose. Might want to stop doing that. The kestrel you caught is exactly the reason it's illegal.

i didn't know that, i suppose you learn something new everyday
was it only banned lately as i found this link which says its still legal
http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2009/1130/opinion/wildlife-detective-lays-down-the-law-106709.html

EPointer=Birdss

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Um, no, I reserve the right to advise people not to continue committing illegal acts and then admitting to them on a public forum where they're readily identifiable to anyone serious enough about doing so, thanks. Don't get your knickers too twisty there. And with respect, leave it to the addressee to get offended if he wants. I'm sure he's well capable of it without your help.

Well as a veteran of over 7600 posts telling someone with 135 or so what to do & not to do could put them off sharing their opinions which are all welcome. If what is said is illegal by all means highlight it but it might be more prudent not to bring it to everyones attention & send a PM.
Not trying to pick a fight chap, just looking out for the newer guys!

EPointer=Birdss

ormondprop wrote: »

i didn't know that, i suppose you learn something new everyday
was it only banned lately as i found this link which says its still legal
http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2009/1130/opinion/wildlife-detective-lays-down-the-law-106709.html

Interesting read!

Vegeta

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

Well as a veteran of over 7600 posts telling someone with 135 or so what to do & not to do could put them off sharing their opinions which are all welcome. If what is said is illegal by all means highlight it but it might be more prudent not to bring it to everyones attention & send a PM.
Not trying to pick a fight chap, just looking out for the newer guys!

While I definitely agree that we should strive to make it as welcoming for new comers as possible If someone posts something which is illegal could anyone who knows different please inform them.

We don't want casual viewers to think we condone illegal acts.

Tone is very hard to catch on a text based web forum, we're not all Shakespeare after all. When I read It wasn't me!'s post I saw it as friendly advice as opposed to any sort of dictation or command.

So lets agree that new users should be encouraged to share their experiences and opinions and that pointing out illegal activities is a good thing.

ormondprop

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Um, no, I reserve the right to advise people not to continue committing illegal acts and then admitting to them on a public forum where they're readily identifiable to anyone serious enough about doing so, thanks. Don't get your knickers too twisty there. And with respect, leave it to the addressee to get offended if he wants. I'm sure he's well capable of it without your help.

i dont mean to sound like a prick now but where can i go to see if it is legal or illegal as i googled it and couldn't find anything to say it is illegal

It wasn't me!

ormondprop wrote: »

i dont mean to sound like a prick now but where can i go to see if it is legal or illegal as i googled it and couldn't find anything to say it is illegal

I remember reading it here last year. Think it was a derogation from the department of the environment. A quick search here isn't turning up anything for me either. Odd.

dCorbus

It would appear that IWM may indeed be correct;):

http://www.environ.ie/en/Heritage/NationalParksandWildlife/News/MainBody,16439,en.htm

Also from the dreaded Dept of Environment:

"Under the Wildlife Acts the use of certain traps, snares, other hunting devices, birdlime, poison etc, is prohibited except where authorised by the Minister in exceptional circumstances. No such authorisations have been granted by the Minister.":eek:

Not 100% sure about the legal bits and pieces surrounding this whole area, but best to err on the side of caution?:rolleyes:

If this information is incorrect, feel free to post any corrections or updated legislation. Again, absolutely not expert on this - So welcome any corrections!:D

Hope that's of some help.

yessam

terminator2 wrote: »

i was going to suggest to the club to build a ladder trap for crows

Can you describe a ladder trap for me please.

Decoy magpies will live for a long time if you give them some cheap tins of dog or cat food.

I got tinned fish in lidl for the mink traps. It worked very well for about 2 weeks and got very slow after that. Seems like some of them have different tastes or else some are more wary of traps than.:pac::D

jap gt

johngalway wrote: »

A mate of mine wrote a very good book on making traps, his site is http://www.fourteenacre.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ .

I can't say enough good things about the fella, genuine, big hearted, knows his stuff

Shameless plug I know, but it's a good read. He'd say himself most of the plans are readily available online, I like having a paper reference handy all the same.

i wonder would the seesaw trap in this link work for mink, its a good idea

johngalway

The only way to find out about the see saw for mink is to try it. I've not heard of anyone trying it before.

As for the alpha, I too remember it being banned on meat baits. I'm not sure if it was banned on cereal (for want of a better word) baits or not?

johngalway

yessam wrote: »

Can you describe a ladder trap for me please.

A Google search for Ladder Trap will yield results.

Terrier

My ladder trap after a good days work.

terminator2

how many crows do you reckon you have caught with your ladder trap since you started using it terrier

Terrier

couple of hundred easy and it's not deployed in the field that much.
Normally just use it for grey crows and it's caught about 50 of those so far

vermin hunter

them traps are very effective terminator if you put them in the right place

Eddie B

jap gt wrote: »

i wonder would the seesaw trap in this link work for mink, its a good idea

I`ve cought mink with the seesaw trap in the past. good trap! If your into D.I.Y, you could make a very inexpensive trap for yourself! The only problem i found with them was, they were a bit awkward when it came to dispatchin the mink!!!

johngalway

It's hard to beat a lethal spring trap with a tunnel. I got fed up caging mink, as I had to dispatch them as well. Fenn traps, Kanias, Bodygrippers are my new direction.

jap gt

Eddie B wrote: »

I`ve cought mink with the seesaw trap in the past. good trap! If your into D.I.Y, you could make a very inexpensive trap for yourself! The only problem i found with them was, they were a bit awkward when it came to dispatchin the mink!!!

getting all into diy, sick of buying traps with bad designs and thinking i could make that much easier myself, built my own fox trap at the weekend, caught my first fox in it last night, its a great feeling to build traps that work, i have been bit by the bug im going to chance the seesaw at the weekend

irish setter

here is a larson i made a while back. can be modified into any type of trap, not rocket science

johngalway

irish setter wrote: »

here is a larson i made a while back. can be modified into any type of trap, not rocket science

It's meant as constructive criticism IS, but, I'd be giving the call bird a lot more room than that, at least double, if not more.

jap gt

irish setter wrote: »

here is a larson i made a while back. can be modified into any type of trap, not rocket science

looks good, its fairly easy once you have good springs and a strong frame

jap gt

what do ye find is best for baiting a fox trap

EPointer=Birdss

johngalway wrote: »

It's meant as constructive criticism IS, but, I'd be giving the call bird a lot more room than that, at least double, if not more.

Agreed, the more they can hop around over & back they seem to work well to draw others in... Handy design though, grand & light...

johngalway

jap gt wrote: »

what do ye find is best for baiting a fox trap

Carcass of a roast chicken is 'sposed to be good, but I've not caught foxes in cages.

EPointer=Birdss

jap gt wrote: »

what do ye find is best for baiting a fox trap

I've caught em with cat food...

jap gt

i caught one with pigs liver and some pig blood and thai sauce sprayed over liver, just wondering if there is something better to use

EPointer=Birdss

jap gt wrote: »

i caught one with pigs liver and some pig blood and thai sauce sprayed over liver, just wondering if there is something better to use

Ah jaysus for the fox with cosmopolitan tastes...
Few ferraro roche for desert then

Here's me with my 30 cent cat food!