Mink in the house?

emer_b

Would a mink ever enter a house? Saw an animal in my hallway in the middle of the night but it escaped into an unused part of the house before I got a good look at it. Like a small cat, black/brown coat. Left out some cat food today while I was out but none taken. And there's no other way out of the house except the main doors so it must be still in there

djflawless

Sounds like it could be a mink or a stoat.best chance of getting rid of him if hes still there is a working ferret or terrier

jap gt

djflawless wrote: »

Sounds like it could be a mink or a stoat.best chance of getting rid of him if hes still there is a working ferret or terrier

i wouldnt agree, I think a live trap is the best way to deal with this, at least then you will know if you have a mink (vermin) or a stoat (protected)

djflawless

Never knew stoats were protected but you learn something new everyday.sound for the correction jap

Tiercel Dave

Could it be a Pine Marten?

emer_b

just caught another glimpse of it. Possibly a pine marten but I'm not familiar with any of them so can't be sure. Better get a trap!

Sid_Justice

probably a cat

New_one

Or a rat!! Mink would be nicer

emer_b

Definitely not a cat or a rat, have another witness. Will let you know when I catch it

zeissman

I dont think a pinemartin or stoat would come into a house so it probably
is a mink.
try and get a cage trap that will trap it without harming it just in case im wrong.

Rosahane

Ah the famous Assoulous Marten Cat, harbinger of ill fortune according to Sommerville & Ross

...apologies to anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, but I couldn't resist

johngalway

Uhm, quick idea if you can't immediately lay your hands on a live catch cage.

If you've got a tin of oily fish/cheap cat food, a half decent sized laundry basket (very important that it has flat sides on top so there's no gaps if it's turned upside down on the floor), a thin section of a sheet of ply or similar (big enough to cover the top of the basket), a length of string and a Y shaped stick or maybe even a wire coat hanger would do, you've the makings of a makeshift trap.

Place the ply sheet on the floor. Tie the string to the bottom of the Y and use the Y to prop up the basket on the ply. place the opened tin of fish underneath the basket and wait for whatever it is to come to dinner, then pull the Y out from under the basket, down it comes trapping whatever it is (hopefully lol).

Maybe have something like a phone book or similar on top of the basket in case it goes ape.

Mind your fingers.

Take photos

ayapatrick

Pine martins will come into the house. The local vet had one coming in the bathroom window. He got traps of the local ranger and caught it.

johngalway

ayapatrick wrote: »

Pine martins will come into the house. The local vet had one coming in the bathroom window. He got traps of the local ranger and caught it.

Yeah I'd not think it's a mink either, my vote would go for PM as well. Not sure if either bait would attract PM.

emer_b

managed to get a cage trap, set it with a tin of tuna so fingers crossed. Thanks for the help

Tackleberrywho

emer_b wrote: »

managed to get a cage trap, set it with a tin of tuna so fingers crossed. Thanks for the help

`
Friend of mine caught a mink on his sailing boat on the shannon, he could not figure out where all the feathers were coming from and the smell of fish.
He went down to the engine compartment and flushed out a mink.

I doubt it is a stoat, or a pine marten.
However a photograph would remove all doubt

jap gt

i think it sounds like a pine martin myself, you would hear plenty reports of them coming to back doors eating cat food etc

Sid_Justice

ayapatrick wrote: »

Pine martins will come into the house. The local vet had one coming in the bathroom window. He got traps of the local ranger and caught it.

why didn't he close the window ?

ayapatrick

Sid_Justice wrote: »

why didn't he close the window ?

I suppose it was doing no harm? i dont know tbh?

Deerspotter

I for one, am very excited to hear what you trap...
Keep us posted and a photo would be really great too!

johngalway

We'll have Paddy Power in soon with the odds :pac:

emer_b

Nothing caught lastnight unfortunately. Set the trap with a tin of tuna. I'll try again tonight and will get a picture if I can

johngalway

Try some cheap cat food if you can, or some chicken if you have it

emer_b

I sometimes leave some food out for the cats so he's probably got a taste for that now.
So if I do catch something, what do I do with him? I'm in the countryside but don't want to release him near the house, or leave him in the trap for too long.

garv123

emer_b wrote: »

I sometimes leave some food out for the cats so he's probably got a taste for that now.
So if I do catch something, what do I do with him? I'm in the countryside but don't want to release him near the house, or leave him in the trap for too long.

did you try leaving a window or door open? maybe he got in and then you closed the door so he cant get back out and i presume he doesnt have a good or water supply in the house so he'l have to try and leave soon to get some

emer_b

Just checked the trap now. Still no joy but he left a **** beside it. Fecker. Going to set 2 cages tonight with catfood. I'm guessing both pine martens and minks are nocturnal?

homerhop

nop both can be active during the day,
Can you see any paw prints outside?

terminator2

homerhop wrote: »

nop both can be active during the day,
Can you see any paw prints outside?

Good thinking batman....to the batmobile...lol

fodda

http://conserveireland.com/mammals/pine_marten.php

Tells you all about them here with pics of paw prints aswell.

Totally protected.

J. Ramone

I've heard pine martens have a sweet tooth. You could put some golden syrup in the cage for extra effect. I'd say it's most likely a pine marten anywa.

johngalway

emer_b wrote: »

I sometimes leave some food out for the cats so he's probably got a taste for that now.
So if I do catch something, what do I do with him? I'm in the countryside but don't want to release him near the house, or leave him in the trap for too long.

Pine Marten or Stoat, call your local wildlife ranger. Mink, call your local hunter/gun club for dispatch as they do a lot of damage in the wild.

sikastag

Try raw chicken (Leg/wing) covered in marmalade in your trap. Really interested to see what it is!

One shot on kill

sikastag wrote: »

Try raw chicken (Leg/wing) covered in marmalade in your trap. Really interested to see what it is!

give him double vodra and diet coke aswell

emer_b

Set the 2 traps lastnight with raw chicken and peanut butter, nothing caught. He must have found a way in/out. Thanks for all the advice. Will keep you posted if anything shows up again.

Eddie B

emer_b wrote: »

Set the 2 traps lastnight with raw chicken and peanut butter, nothing caught. He must have found a way in/out. Thanks for all the advice. Will keep you posted if anything shows up again.

Pine Martens love peanut butter, but will also go for a tin of sardines in sunflower oil, which is a good allround bait to attract Pine Martens and Mink!

Just remember that if you catch a Mink, it's elegal to re-release it, so must be dispatched!

Is it possible to set a cage outside as well, or did you say that you've cats?

emer_b

Eddie B wrote: »

Pine Martens love peanut butter, but will also go for a tin of sardines in sunflower oil, which is a good allround bait to attract Pine Martens and Mink!

Just remember that if you catch a Mink, it's elegal to re-release it, so must be dispatched!

Is it possible to set a cage outside as well, or did you say that you've cats?

Yes, have cats who I'm trying to keep away from the traps.
Spoke to a ranger who says it is almost certainly a pine marten. Will leave the traps set for another few days but he may just have moved on now that the weather is milder.

Eddie B

emer_b wrote: »

Yes, have cats who I'm trying to keep away from the traps.
Spoke to a ranger who says it is almost certainly a pine marten. Will leave the traps set for another few days but he may just have moved on now that the weather is milder.

I caught a Pine Marten a couple of day's ago in a Mink cage and he made absolute sh*t of it!
Bent the door into a hoop, and i was close to losing fingers whilst trying to prise it open when releasing him!

Eddie B

Don't know if ye can make out the picture lads, but this lad wasn't far off making his own way out of the cage!
He's the biggest Marten i've ever got in a cage, and he was a beut!
As i said earlier, i had fun trying to get the door open when releasing him!

Tiercel Dave

Caught one by mistake last year, extradited him to a wood a few miles away!

Qu1zmaster

Was there any follow up on this? I seem to have the same problem.

Eddie B

Qu1zmaster wrote: »

Was there any follow up on this? I seem to have the same problem.

In your attic i bet?

El Tarangu

Qu1zmaster wrote: »

Was there any follow up on this? I seem to have the same problem.

On the balance of probabilities, I would say that the OP's pine marten/mink is likely dead at this stage.

Qu1zmaster

I thought we had mice or maybe rats. I put some flour around the kitchen floor. Got prints that don't match either one. No droppings. No tail line.
It could be a pine marten. We live surrounded by fields of sheep, with ditches, gorse, hawthorn.

Qu1zmaster

Eddie B wrote: »

In your attic i bet?

Something is living between the floors.

Eddie B

Qu1zmaster wrote: »

I thought we had mice or maybe rats. I put some flour around the kitchen floor. Got prints that don't match either one. No droppings. No tail line.
It could be a pine marten. We live surrounded by fields of sheep, with ditches, gorse, hawthorn.

Any pictures of prints? Id guess rats if under floor but prints would give a great clue.

Qu1zmaster

Eddie B wrote: »

Any pictures of prints? Id guess rats if under floor but prints would give a great clue.

I don't seem to be able to post pictures. Maybe because I'm a new member.

Eddie B

Qu1zmaster wrote: »

I don't seem to be able to post pictures. Maybe because I'm a new member.

Pm sent. Is food been eaten? Much of a mess? Any damage done?

Qu1zmaster

Eddie B wrote: »

Pm sent. Is food been eaten? Much of a mess? Any damage done?

Thanks.
No mess really. Packets of bread and cereal chewed through and eaten.

Eddie B

Qu1zmaster wrote: »

Thanks.
No mess really. Packets of bread and cereal chewed through and eaten.

Just looked at the prints you sent me, and im amazed thinking it would of been a rat. I believe they are prints of a stoat. There's a small chance of it being a small female mink, but stoat would be my first guess.

Qu1zmaster

Eddie B wrote: »

Just looked at the prints you sent me, and im amazed thinking it would of been a rat. I believe they are prints of a stoat. There's a small chance of it being a small female mink, but stoat would be my first guess.

Thanks again for your help. But in my kitchen?
Could it actually live in the house?
Something lives between the floors.

Eddie B

Qu1zmaster wrote: »

Thanks again for your help. But in my kitchen?
Could it actually live in the house?
Something lives between the floors.

It must be getting in from outside. A few live traps set inside and out should reveal the culprit.