mink trapping

hollowpoint

Anyone else trapping mink this time of year? Got 2 savage buck mink in a baited pocket set in 4 days at the same location, have 16 traps down at minute. Am i d only daft enough to b out at it!?

Glenbulldog

Fair play, I don't do it myself but often toyed with the idea.

hollowpoint

Whats stopping ya?

blackwater doc

trapping with the last 3 yrs 52 weeks of d year and total so far with 6 traps is 39 mink

blackwater doc

but your right we have to be daft to be doing it but it helps the wildlife ive seen mallard and some waterhens returning on the stream already

Birdnuts

I have traps set all year on my place in the West. When I'm not there my inlaws keep an eye on things. Its on the coast so I set them in drains running down to the sea. Salty air is hard on the traps so I have to maintain them carefully and buy the more expensive high tensil types. Mink haven't arrived in big numbers yet(matter of time I'd say!!) so for the past few years I've been getting less half a dozen during an averge year. Mostly in autumn/early winter and nearly all males. I guess they wander more than the females as they get kicked out by the resident male.

Glenbulldog

hollowpoint wrote: »

Whats stopping ya?

Wouldn't have a clue where to start

Capercaille

Birdnuts wrote: »

I have traps set all year on my place in the West. When I'm not there my inlaws keep an eye on things. Its on the coast so I set them in drains running down to the sea. Salty air is hard on the traps so I have to maintain them carefully and buy the more expensive high tensil types. Mink haven't arrived in big numbers yet(matter of time I'd say!!) so for the past few years I've been getting less half a dozen during an averge year. Mostly in autumn/early winter and nearly all males. I guess they wander more than the females as they get kicked out by the resident male.

Are you on the Mullet peninsula?

hollowpoint

Glenbulldog wrote: »

Wouldn't have a clue where to start

A trap, stretch of water and anything else u need i'm sure can be got info wise off here. I'm trapping 16 years and still get a buzz when i go up to a trap and see a catch... to me its almost like an addiction!

Glenbulldog

hollowpoint wrote: »

A trap, stretch of water and anything else u need i'm sure can be got info wise off here. I'm trapping 16 years and still get a buzz when i go up to a trap and see a catch... to me its almost like an addiction!

It here is a small river 8-10ft wide I could trap on a mile stretch,any particular time of the year?

ROSSKI

I am trying to catch a mink that killed 18 chickens on my neighbour. It's definitely a mink as he was seen leaving the henhouse and has been seen since. I have 2 traps set one with sardines and one with fish guts and I can't catch the ba..tard.

Ant tips on bait or positioning of trap appreciated!!?

Capercaille

http://www.npws.ie/publications/irishwildlifemanuals/IWM40.pdf
A good link on mink in Ireland. Contains baiting, trapping techniques.

hollowpoint

Glenbulldog wrote: »

It here is a small river 8-10ft wide I could trap on a mile stretch,any particular time of the year?

Spring time will yield most benefit to wildlife. I trap them year round when and where i can family and work permitting of course. Place your traps at features like bridges and junctions where other streams or rivers join, mink love to investigate features like this along with other locations you'll pick up on with experience and trial and error! You need patience and to be flexible, you WONT get a catch every day at every spot so dont get disheartened if you dont catch for a while. I've gone weeks with out catching in areas where i would bet anything there was mink. I use tinned tuna 99% of the time for bait simply because the smell is strong and holds well. People use all types of bait from rabbit to fish to dog food and everything in between! Like i said be flexible, if 1 bait doesnt work after a while try something different. Go on youtube for videos or tips, i have few vids on there on mink i caught using different traps. Again, be patient and flexible. Lots of top info here i'm sure too and once you get your 1st i can gaurentee you'll be hooked!!

Glenbulldog

hollowpoint wrote: »

Spring time will yield most benefit to wildlife. I trap them year round when and where i can family and work permitting of course. Place your traps at features like bridges and junctions where other streams or rivers join, mink love to investigate features like this along with other locations you'll pick up on with experience and trial and error! You need patience and to be flexible, you WONT get a catch every day at every spot so dont get disheartened if you dont catch for a while. I've gone weeks with out catching in areas where i would bet anything there was mink. I use tinned tuna 99% of the time for bait simply because the smell is strong and holds well. People use all types of bait from rabbit to fish to dog food and everything in between! Like i said be flexible, if 1 bait doesnt work after a while try something different. Go on youtube for videos or tips, i have few vids on there on mink i caught using different traps. Again, be patient and flexible. Lots of top info here i'm sure too and once you get your 1st i can gaurentee you'll be hooked!!

Sound thanks very much I'll check out youtube for your vids .....

hollowpoint

ROSSKI wrote: »

I am trying to catch a mink that killed 18 chickens on my neighbour. It's definitely a mink as he was seen leaving the henhouse and has been seen since. I have 2 traps set one with sardines and one with fish guts and I can't catch the ba..tard.

Ant tips on bait or positioning of trap appreciated!!?

Been my experience these chicken killers are tough to trap when all their thinking of is nice warm fresh chicken!! If it was me i'd lock in the hens and wait with shotgun. If ya cant do that then lock in the hens and put the traps outside the hen house with something like tinned dog food in it or tinned tuna. If he has chicken on his mind he will be tough enough to catch because its fresh live chicken he'll want, if he cant get in he might hang round looking for way in presenting shot for gun! I spent some long hours waiting round chicken coops and pheasant pens for the b×××××ds, plenty of traps and patience or a good terrier!

Capercaille

I have these burrow on my farm. It's beside a drain which is only 60 metres from the sea. A large inland lake 1.5km away. Would it be a mink burrow??

hollowpoint

Glenbulldog wrote: »

Sound thanks very much I'll check out youtube for your vids .....

No prob, look up VSSF2 which is my youtube channel, noy alot of instruction on it for sets or traps more catching than anything. If ur still unsure let me know and i'll do a vid of what you want and email it or post it on youtube for ya....

hollowpoint

Capercaille wrote: »

I have these burrow on my farm. It's beside a drain which is only 60 metres from the sea. A large inland lake 1.5km away./QUOTE]

Quite possible. What i'd do is check the area around it to look for their droppings, if it is a mink den there probably be droppings not far from it. To be honest i've never came across a mink den but through process of elimination we can get an idea of what it is... mink will have a few dens along their territory ( from all i have read, heard and seen on dvds etc bout trapping them) Is it well used? How big is the enterance? Could it be a rat using it? Best thing i'd do apart from a trail camera is use live catch trap wit tuna or cheap tinned dog food and disguise it wit grass etc and see what turns up!

Capercaille

hollowpoint wrote: »

Capercaille wrote: »

I have these burrow on my farm. It's beside a drain which is only 60 metres from the sea. A large inland lake 1.5km away./QUOTE]

Quite possible. What i'd do is check the area around it to look for their droppings, if it is a mink den there probably be droppings not far from it. To be honest i've never came across a mink den but through process of elimination we can get an idea of what it is... mink will have a few dens along their territory ( from all i have read, heard and seen on dvds etc bout trapping them) Is it well used? How big is the enterance? Could it be a rat using it? Best thing i'd do apart from a trail camera is use live catch trap wit tuna or cheap tinned dog food and disguise it wit grass etc and see what turns up!

It's about the size of a rat hole. I'm getting a lad to put up a trail-cam for me, hopefully he will do it. One of the trappers from the NPWS is coming up to lamp foxes and trap grey crows for me and he will check it out.

hollowpoint

Capercaille wrote: »

hollowpoint wrote: »

It's about the size of a rat hole. I'm getting a lad to put up a trail-cam for me, hopefully he will do it. One of the trappers from the NPWS is coming up to lamp foxes and trap grey crows for me and he will check it out.

Not too bad so... let me know how you get on if you catch what ever is in it!

alan270

I've seen 2 down by a stream down behind my place where I shoot so I've 2 traps down their and I've got 5 of um so far so I'll keep setting um till I can't get any more from da spot and I'll move up stream to were I've seen a lot of tracks.

Glenbulldog

hollowpoint wrote: »

No prob, look up VSSF2 which is my youtube channel, noy alot of instruction on it for sets or traps more catching than anything. If ur still unsure let me know and i'll do a vid of what you want and email it or post it on youtube for ya....

Thanks fair play to you ,hp

Birdnuts

Capercaille wrote: »

Are you on the Mullet peninsula?

No - I'm on the opposite side of Broadhaven in the Barnatra direction. Heard last summer that mink have been seen in Loch Carrowmore. Going to relocate some of my traps there next spring as one of the landowners there has asked me to help him out with protecting the terns and waterfowl on its islands. At least thats the plan assuming the day job back near the big smoke plays ball time wise.

Downwind

Strted trapping 2 years ago and kept catching the same pine martin , well think its was the same lad , one of the lads I get hunting advice off of told me to clip the pine martin , didn't have the heart so reset the traps and still caught me man , was using sardines in oil as bait any advice?

hollowpoint

Downwind wrote: »

Strted trapping 2 years ago and kept catching the same pine martin , well think its was the same lad , one of the lads I get hunting advice off of told me to clip the pine martin , didn't have the heart so reset the traps and still caught me man , was using sardines in oil as bait any advice?

Thing with pine martens is they'll pretty much eat anything so no matter what you put in they'll still enter the trap. I had to move 2 traps of mine cause nearly every few days, like u experienced, i was convinced it was the same 2 buggers in my traps, eating the bait and as if they knew full well they where a protected species. In the end i got fed up and just moved the traps, you could trap narrow down the enterance and see if that does anything but to be honest i think you may be aswell to move the traps. Whatever you do dont clip them or relocate them or anything of the sort. If they get caught just release them straight away.. BIG BIG trouble if you intentionaly or knowing setting a trap that they can go into so my advice would be if their persistanly in your traps, avoid the location, it aint worth it!!!! Let me know how it goes....

Downwind

fair play , yeah like that i know there protected and to be up front I like them , lads id tell you they kill young pheasant have yet to see proof. Going to take you up on the advice and move the traps . Thanks for the heads up sound man.

hollowpoint

Downwind wrote: »

fair play , yeah like that i know there protected and to be up front I like them , lads id tell you they kill young pheasant have yet to see proof. Going to take you up on the advice and move the traps . Thanks for the heads up sound man.

No prob! Dont know bout killing pheasant but they do kill chickens....i know cause 1 cleaned me out bout 4 weeks ago.... took 4 hens and my rooster. Went out in the morning to let them out only to realise i never locked them....had a few 2 many beers from the night b4 and there was the pine marten coming outa d coop... sure what could i do only blame myself for not locking them in like an ejeet. But its the 2nd time a pine marten cleaned out my chickens. I live bout 150mtrs from a natural wood, so between them and d fox i just gave up with free range chicken. Any how, keep me posted!

Downwind

hollowpoint wrote: »

No prob! Dont know bout killing pheasant but they do kill chickens....i know cause 1 cleaned me out bout 4 weeks ago.... took 4 hens and my rooster. Went out in the morning to let them out only to realise i never locked them....had a few 2 many beers from the night b4 and there was the pine marten coming outa d coop... sure what could i do only blame myself for not locking them in like an ejeet. But its the 2nd time a pine marten cleaned out my chickens. I live bout 150mtrs from a natural wood, so between them and d fox i just gave up with free range chicken. Any how, keep me posted!

Not laughing at you but can see the hand rubbing the head and the way yad be the following day after a few beers. The mother in law lost 5 turkeys about 4 years ago to mink and I helped the brother in law clean out the shed , have to say theres no good in them mink.

have2flushtwice

lost 6 hens to the mink before xmas. have the trap set near local river, quarter mile away. nothing in it yet.

hollowpoint

have2flushtwice wrote: »

lost 6 hens to the mink before xmas. have the trap set near local river, quarter mile away. nothing in it yet.

F**k, u sure its mink? Pine marten cleaned me out few weeks back... Hope ya catch it!

have2flushtwice

nip on the back of the head, ate a small bit of one of them.
didn't drag any to where they got in, that's why I say mink.
glad it was me who found them and not dad.