I made a smaller version of a raft, with a mesh Tunnel, and a Fenn mk6 in it. It worked. They work well in slow moving rivers, and probably a good choice where there are marten in the area

Spotted a mink on the road near me the other day. Another neighbour said he saw a nest of them. What would be the basics A-Z in going about trapping them? No idea how many are around. There are foxes, badgers, rabbits, hare and a few hedgehogs around the area so equally would like to avoid accidentally harming these.

Cage trapping would be the best trap to use if you have little or no experience with traps and trapping. They work well. Easy to set, and none targets can be released. The only problem with using them, is, you need to find someone who will dispatch the mink for you. Someone with a small calibre rifle, or air rifle.

Spring traps, or kill traps, also work well. You do need some knowledge, and practice to set these correctly. A tunnel with an entry hole, either end keeps cats, fox's etc out, whilst allowing a mink to enter, and get caught. The tunnel needs to be just a little wider than the trap when set, and just a little higher than the trap when fired.

The mink that are seen at the moment are mostly young mink looking for a territory of their own.

Anybody here use a Pest Stop double entry mink trap. The paddle for the trigger mechanism seems very high in the cage.

Anybody know where I can get fish oil for baiting mink traps. Providing it actually works. Which oil is the best.

How long does it hold for in the container once it's opened I wonder. What kind of fishing do you use it for.

I inject it into dead baits for pike, I’d go thru it quickly if we’re fishing so I don’t have it standing for much longer than a couple of weeks but I do have a fridge in the shed I keep it in not sure if there’s a need tbh

How much is pilchard oil/salmon oil. What mixture do you use. Do you fridge the mixture. A lot of mink around so they have to be caught

Will fish oil work in a cage on its own without bait. Might be worth freezing it if it is going to last that long. Would it be ok to freeze? Any preference to which oil is the best. Which is the smelliest?

Is there any difference in using a straight or a diluted mixture. Magpie feathers so I expect would be perfect.

Invasive mink, which are native to North America, have been eradicated from most of East Anglia in England after a trial used the scent of the animals' anal glands to lure them into traps

You can take that article with a pinch of salt. Gland lures is nothing new, and is certainly not the magic solution to mink eradication. The idea of mink actually been eradicated from East Anglia, is not even a possibility. Think about it. A mink can travel for miles in a single night. Just like fox's, once a void is made, another mink will move into the area.

It would take a huge effort, to clear an area that size of mink. Every river, streem, lake, pond, and roadside ditch, would have to be trapped at the same time, to achieve that. Would take many, many dedicated volunteers, and it would have to be continuous, to avoid re population.

On another note, and I've mentioned this before. Mink numbers have fallen dramatically in the UK. Not from any trapping efforts, but something more environmental. I've read several articles on this, and its a bit of a mystery. Firstly, they said it was because of the rise in Otter numbers. Now they are saying, its because of the decline in rabbit numbers. I'm not buying either theory to be honest.

I used to bait cages with tins of cheap tuna with lid half open with great success.Only problem is when mice found it they would empty tuna tins in a night.Now I get my local butcher to save me any chicken that's for the bin and use that and can't say I've noticed much difference in catch rates.

Only difference is fox and badgers find cages easier as chicken smells awful after a few days and they will mess with cages and try to take them so peg down well

Whats the method to set fenn traps for mink stopping non target species? I was looking for cheap ways of making a mink raft and came across "mink cage" which is basically a box with one end under water (at 45 degrees) and the other end out of the water with mesh over the end and the bait is in this end. The mink has to swim into the box and across a trap but I think they're using traps we're not allowed.

If anyone has a cheap way of making a mink raft let me know🤣

Cheers

Try A tin of 3 day old opened tuna