is 2 inch wire to big for a larsen trap

thekevin4540

i made a new larsen trap but i made it with 2 inch wire and i was told that some magpies will get through it is this true

djflawless

i wouldnt say so mate..but then again yad never know..stranger things have happened..see how it goes and if your getting nothing just scrap the wire and get something smaller

declan1980

the 2" stuff is the finest, myself and the father caught over 200 magpies last year. we had 7 traps working in different places, 4 of the were made from the 2 " stuff and we never had a magpie escape. the ones made from the 2" stuff are lighter too which is handy if you have to carry them a good bit into fields and stuff

johngalway

thekevin4540 wrote: »

i made a new larsen trap but i made it with 2 inch wire and i was told that some magpies will get through it is this true

The youngest/smallest may, but often they just end up inside the call bird section instead of escaping to the outside world. There won't be any problems with 2"x2" weldmesh worth worrying over.

Glensman

Funny that this came up this week!

I ran my 2 traps all last year with greys and there was no problem.
My friend put one of the traps out this week with a mag in it and sure enough when he got back a few hours later there were 3 mags in the trap. One was dead though as the mags had got in to each other and got fighting.

So he was left with 2. He left one in the main compartment and killed the other, next thing the one in the main compartment flew away! Leaving him with no call bird :mad:

I laughed like hell when he told me, he checked for gaps in the wire but there are none... I used 2" mesh when I made it as it's way cheaper and lighter than 1".

I don't know what size the mags were but I assume they were small/young.

jimbrowning

mags wil get out of some 2 inch mash. after time they will stretch it. the small young birds will be about soon. i,d use 1 inch wire imo.

marlin vs

2 inch is too big for young magpies,if you'r making one go for the 1 inch.

thekevin4540

what if i put some thing like chicken wire around the trap and tie rap it on that might work or will it affect the visability of the call bird

ianoo

i actually watched from a distance a magpie squeeze through 2" mesh on a larson trap jump up on top ,then go in the other side ,get caught again and proceed to squeeze out and free itself again:eek: ,still stayed on top of the trap till i got to it ...changed that mesh straight away let me tell ya


ian

Glensman

I should have said, mine isn't 2" mesh, it's 2" chicken wire.

Was talking to Ollie and he says the mag that escaped was full grown!!! :eek:

johngalway

Might as well put toilet paper on a Larsen as chicken wire
I used it in the beginning but quickly found out that birds would eventually break it - that includes magpies, and any animal from the outside can easily put a hole in it.

Glensman

johngalway wrote: »

Might as well put toilet paper on a Larsen as chicken wire
I used it in the beginning but quickly found out that birds would eventually break it - that includes magpies, and any animal from the outside can easily put a hole in it.

Well the 2 traps took something around 160 crows last Christmas and they're still in perfect order!

Maybe your trap making skills wouldn't be up to my own

johngalway

Nothing wrong with my trap making skills thanks all the same

Just the material used!

thekevin4540

would it be a good idea to put 1" chicken wire over the 2" weld mesh just incase i get a small magpie i have 2 larsen traps and i want to put one into my friends house becouse magpies have killed 2 canarys on him in the last week

johngalway

I wouldn't bother covering it, if you're that worried then go with 1"x1" weldmesh. With 2"x2" we caught something like 250 magpies and over 300 greycrows the first year myself and John went at it. The only way I know small maggies will go through it is one went from the trap compartment into the call bird compartment. That's where they're looking to get to in the first place, to kill the call bird. So it's unlikely they look to escape out of the trap altogether.

On a "hotel" I had set up for my reserve magpie, another used to frequently visit him. They'd fight through the chicken wire. Cats couldn't get at this "hotel" as I had it up on stakes with an over hang to stop climbing.

They broke the chicken wire in one top corner. One of the magpies killed the other, I am unsure which one won that battle. But, at the end of it I still had one magpie as it didn't leave through the hole that was made, but the outside guy definitely came in through it.

With weldmesh you're safe from cats, foxes, and badgers. Though the first two may try their luck at pawing and grabbing the call bird, which works from time to time with a determined animal.