FEW TIPS ON KILL TRAPPING!!!!

Eddie B

Lad's i decided to put this up for anyone interested in trying out kill trap's! But before i start i'd advise anyone who's interested in mink trapping, to get a couple a year's experience with cages before trying Fen's or Body Grips!

So hear goes, this is my set up, and every lad has his own way of doing things, so if anyone has any good tip's, please feel free to add them in!!

First thing is tools of the trade!!


Mark 6 Fenn traps, hand trowel for clearing out tunnel's, and a bag of feather's, magpie e.t.c for an eye attractant! You also need a spade with a narrow blade for making tunnel's, and bait if you wish to use it!
Bait isn't essential and you tend to get a lot of rats when using it, but rat's can be as harmful as any Mink, so i try their number's down too!!

This is a tunnel i,ve dug out on the river bank, not much wider than the trap when set, and not much higher than the trap when fired!!

I try to find a location with a steep bank that's easily accessible from the water, and not so easy from the land to prevent non target species getting caught!
Stoats and Pine Marten can swim but really don't like the water!!

This photo is just a guide to show inside the tunnel, fish head on a stick at the back of the tunnel and then set your trap, the trap should be about a foot away from the rear of the tunnel, unlike in this photo,and bedded into the soil and covered with some leaves to give it a natural look! Then a couple a sticks to narrow it down so's the mink will walk on the middle of the pan of the trap for a clean kill!!


And this is how it look's from the outside! You can just make out the narrowing sticks inside the tunnel in front of the trap, as well as the one's outside the tunnel!! Few Magpie feather's at the mouth to catch a minks eye and bob's your uncle!!;)

O one more thing, make sure you tie your trap to a tree or brick with strong wire in case a large mink makes it to the water! I use snare wire for this! This lad was caught nicely but still managed to get in the river, notice the wire and you can just make out his tail at the surface or the water!!


Few results!!






Be happy to answer any question's lads, and as i said feel free to add any tip's of yer own!!

terminator2

excellent post,, i have two fenn mk 6 s ....must get them going

meathstevie

It looks like it's quite a labour intensive but highly effective way of getting rid of those pests. Did have as much success with cage traps in the past ?

deeksofdoom

Excellent job!

How long did it take from preparing the trap til making your first kill? I take it that it takes a while for your smell to go from the trap.

Eddie B

meathstevie wrote: »

It looks like it's quite a labour intensive but highly effective way of getting rid of those pests. Did have as much success with cage traps in the past ?

Well it is settin up, but once you have tubes dug you can reuse them each year so it's just a matter of tidying them up! A big advantage is that you don't have to check them every day, and bait isn't really necessary, so their handier in the long run! I still use cages in area's where Pine Marten are also present, and their very effective!

Caught and released this big lad the other day, he made **** of me cage, their a lot bigger and stronger than a mink!!



And this mink dropped a rat to check out me cage! sorry only thought of a photo after dispatch!

Eddie B

deeksofdoom wrote: »

Excellent job!

How long did it take from preparing the trap til making your first kill? I take it that it takes a while for your smell to go from the trap.

Good question!! Sometimes it only takes a couple a day's, but this year it was two week's before i started catching! But after i got 1 more followed! You need to be patient when it comes to trapping and try to handle the traps as little as possible once set!
Another little trick i do is after i catch my first mink i take it around to the rest of my traps, fire them off, rub the mink on them and in the tunnel, get the smelly stuff out:D and reset!! Drives the local mink mad smelling another one in their territory!

patdahat

Very good post Eddie straight to the point and simple. I like the feather's I also use them and when setting the cage I use the rest of the bird as the bait, 0 wast.

meathstevie

Thanks very much Eddie, you've persuaded me to try my luck with a cage and some fishheads on the local river. There's a few spots on a level bit of bank that's accessible if you want to get down to it and far enough away from the beaten track for a random eejit to steal or break the traps.

.223forme

do quite a bit of fenn trapping myself here in laois but find that aftr 1 or 2 mink catches the trap begins to loose grip and escapes from the trap aftr being triggered become far too frequent.. just wondering do you have the same problem and if so any suggestions??

deerhunter1

well done great post, thanks for sharing

loveta

Eddie B wrote: »

Well it is settin up, but once you have tubes dug you can reuse them each year so it's just a matter of tidying them up! A big advantage is that you don't have to check them every day, and bait isn't really necessary, so their handier in the long run! I still use cages in area's where Pine Marten are also present, and their very effective!

Caught and released this big lad the other day, he made **** of me cage, their a lot bigger and stronger than a mink!!



And this mink dropped a rat to check out me cage! sorry only thought of a photo after dispatch!

The pine martins have got a good foot hold in my area and have "TOTALLY" wiped out the rabbit population, just wondering what else are they mowing out of it??

patdahat

.223forme wrote: »

do quite a bit of fenn trapping myself here in laois but find that aftr 1 or 2 mink catches the trap begins to loose grip and escapes from the trap aftr being triggered become far too frequent.. just wondering do you have the same problem and if so any suggestions??

I have the same few fenn's with many a year and they have never lost anything out of them, They must be a cheap copy of the real fenn as far as I know the original trap is stamped.

minktrapper

What time of year do mink start to mate.What time of year is the best time to trap.

.223forme

okay so where do you buy yours??

patdahat

.223forme wrote: »

okay so where do you buy yours??

www.maceoinltd.com found them sound to deal with and fast delivery

Eddie B

.223forme wrote: »

do quite a bit of fenn trapping myself here in laois but find that aftr 1 or 2 mink catches the trap begins to loose grip and escapes from the trap aftr being triggered become far too frequent.. just wondering do you have the same problem and if so any suggestions??

You'll alway's get the odd mink that doesn't get caught right in the trap, maybe caught by the foot or tail that easily slip's out of it! But this doesn't happen very often! Afterwards these mink can b cautious to the trap and fire it off several times without getting caught! I often stick down a cage in this situation and have him in a couple a day's!;)

It's also important to treat your traps to keep them fast, i.e, dye them and wax them, so's they'll go off very quick, not allowing the mink to avoid getting caught! Mink have very quick reflect's, so that may be the problem you have, more so than them actually getting out because of trap's weaking!
I use Fenn's, Solway, and springer's which are all prity simila, rand never had that problem!!

Eddie B

minktrapper wrote: »

What time of year do mink start to mate.What time of year is the best time to trap.

I trap from about October to the end of January, but a lot of lads trap during the Summer cause thats when they do most harm to nesting birds! Im far to busy fishing at that time of year though and don't like trapping whilst there having kit's!! They start breeding around Feb - March, have one litter, average 6 kit's during the Summer!!

Eddie B

.223forme wrote: »

okay so where do you buy yours??

I get all mine from the UK, find any Irish sites or stores way to expensive! Think site called fourteenacres sell resonable price, i usually buy five at a time!!;)

Eddie B

loveta wrote: »

The pine martins have got a good foot hold in my area and have "TOTALLY" wiped out the rabbit population, just wondering what else are they mowing out of it??

I don't think the Pine Marten is responsible for the drop in rabbit number's! But they do feed on rabbit, rats, insects, berries, mice, squirrel, nesting birds, and roosting birds at night, along with various other things!
It is true that numbe's are increasing considerably but as i said many times on here, that they are protected, so leave them well alone lad's!!

.223forme

thanks for that advice should help a lot,,can you tell me how you'd wax and dye your fenns tho??

Vizzy

Here you go.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=78758936

yessam

Is the wax and dye really nessary. Would a light oiling when the trap is being put away suffice.

minktrapper

I used to mput cooking oil on them.

Eddie B

minktrapper wrote: »

I used to mput cooking oil on them.

Cooking oil not worth a sh*te! Has to be something that will coat the trap and seal it! Something that will dry solid on it like candle wax or lard!!

Eddie B

yessam wrote: »

Is the wax and dye really nessary. Would a light oiling when the trap is being put away suffice.

It's not necessary, but you'll have your traps for longer, and they work better with it! Your trying to get your traps to work even when they are submerged in water and in freezing conditions! Water will rust most metals so it's to protect your traps when in use more so than when hanging in the shed!!

Killdevil Spider

Eddie B wrote: »

It's not necessary, but you'll have your traps for longer, and they work better with it! Your trying to get your traps to work even when they are submerged in water and in freezing conditions! Water will rust most metals so it's to protect your traps when in use more so than when hanging in the shed!!

Hi Eddie I have read your posts before on cage trapping mink. I have to buy some new cages as I lost mine in a flood. Lesson learned the hard way to always tie them to something from now on. I am going ordering off of Maceoin in Kerry. I am just wondering if you would recommend the single entry or double entry. They are the same price. I had single before but was wondering what others think.

patdahat

Killdevil Spider wrote: »

Hi Eddie I have read your posts before on cage trapping mink. I have to buy some new cages as I lost mine in a flood. Lesson learned the hard way to always tie them to something from now on. I am going ordering off of Maceoin in Kerry. I am just wondering if you would recommend the single entry or double entry. They are the same price. I had single before but was wondering what others think.

i have used the double sided cage's before and they were a piece of s***e. they are not made very sturdy and i found that some of bar's on the door's came loose and lost a few mink out of them before i spotted how they were getting out. the single entry 1 with the double locking is def the best to hold a mink.

if you put the cage in a black bin bag i think it works better, just the entry open

Eddie B

patdahat wrote: »

i have used the double sided cage's before and they were a piece of s***e. they are not made very sturdy and i found that some of bar's on the door's came loose and lost a few mink out of them before i spotted how they were getting out. the single entry 1 with the double locking is def the best to hold a mink.

Totally agree, these are the best cages on the market, strong and sturdy with a great door mechanism! I know a Pro trapper on the river Shannon that only uses these trap's!The double entry cages have no real benefit in my opinion!!

franknrol

thats an awfully big mink

patdahat

have caught a few monster's alright. didn't get a pic of this specific 1 but here is a grey 1 of the same size.

minktrapper

That is some mink.How long is he approx.Is it dead long in the photo.Looks very fat.