Excluders for springer 6 trap.

[Sprucegoose 0]

hello, Anyone have any design plans for non-target species excluders for springer 6 traps. I'm trying to catch mink but want to avoid catching non target species. Any advise would be appreciated. cheers

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

I was briefly tempted to be flippant and just say, " Sticks ", mate. But I see ye might be in Eire? That being the case; Welcome to my nightmare!

 

I'll make this brief: If your ground's anything like mine? Ye can't guarantee to let a mink in while keeping a (protected and so definately non target) pine marten out. Just never going to happen.

 

My answer ~ or my best shot at the best answer available ~ is my plans to construct 'Mink Rafts' and anchor my traps mid stream. Mink will definately access such things. I'm hoping pineys don't like swimming too much. I also thus hope to defeat the badgers who'll steal my catch. Every f*cking time!

 

What I'll be doing then is setting Fenn VI or similar sorts of traps on a floating platform. They'll be covered by a tunnel and I may well put 1" mesh in the mouth of those tunnels with a three or so inch hole cut out. I figure that's my best shot at excluding what ever I haven't thought of yet.

 

Let's exchange notes on this. What ye reckon?

[Sprucegoose 0]

I was briefly tempted to be flippant and just say, " Sticks ", mate. But I see ye might be in Eire? That being the case; Welcome to my nightmare!

 

I'll make this brief: If your ground's anything like mine? Ye can't guarantee to let a mink in while keeping a (protected and so definately non target) pine marten out. Just never going to happen.

 

My answer ~ or my best shot at the best answer available ~ is my plans to construct 'Mink Rafts' and anchor my traps mid stream. Mink will definately access such things. I'm hoping pineys don't like swimming too much. I also thus hope to defeat the badgers who'll steal my catch. Every f*cking time!

 

What I'll be doing then is setting Fenn VI or similar sorts of traps on a floating platform. They'll be covered by a tunnel and I may well put 1" mesh in the mouth of those tunnels with a three or so inch hole cut out. I figure that's my best shot at excluding what ever I haven't thought of yet.

 

Let's exchange notes on this. What ye reckon?

 

 

How'rey',

I've got some of the GCT rafts all made up already, I'm reluctant to use them though because to me they just scream ' interfere with me ' to any passerby. Do you know what the legislation is like in Ireland regarding break back traps? I'm going to be using lure made from mink anal galnd, so the trap shouldn't be attractive to pine martens. My thinking was to place them in a wooden box with a 80mm circular opening drilled into either end? Do you catch many?

[OldTrapCollector 377]

Do you catch many?

 

What a question to ask him

 

OTC

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Do I catch many mink?!

 

Sorry; Ye new here so wouldn't understand that response. Most of the other guys who follow this colum will equelly be pissing themselves though. They've followed my year of on and off goes at these infernal creatures. If there's a way ~ I've tried it. And failed miserably! I've written pages and pages. Shown photo's. Been advised by some of the best in the business. Result? Abject f*cking failure! I've made myself a laughing stock on here and I'm always the one laughing the most at myself.

 

Actually, just to really rub it in; I did manage to catch one in the end. Used a double entry Fenn Mink Cage. Got my bugger fair and square and would've been wearing his tail from my hat band as we speak. Only a badger got there before me. Trashed my cage completely and stole my prize That's why I now plan to get rafted, rather than shafted.

 

Legislation here? All under the Wildlife Act of 1975 and Here. As far as I can make of it, we're allowed to use any spring trap as long as it's designed to cause unconciousness and / or death 'instantly'. We have no Spring Traps Approval Orders here, as they do governing Ulster However, we Do have loads of pine martens and are legally bound to try not to harm those. Hence back to rafts.

 

Where I operate, deepest most rural Co. Leitrim, everyone knows someone who'll know everyone else. People are thin on the ground round here and there's a Lot of ground. Thus I could set traps with bright orange balloons floating above them and Know that no one would interfere. It's not their property. They won't touch it. Period. Besides; Every last person I've yet spoken to spits the word " Mink " with a sneer of hatred. We all just want them gone.

 

80mm sounds fine to me. And I also have a bottle of anal scent gland ~ the further cause of much hillarity when I tried to mess with that stuff! Ye really should run a search on my handle and the word " mink ". Guarantee ye Lots of reading material and maybe a few tips on how to f*ck up!

 

Anyway, I have a sheet of jabolite in my store right now. Just need to get round to getting some thin ply and I can set about making those floats. I won't say 'race ye!' because I'm sure to lose. But it'll sure be fun to compare comments, once we both get underway again

 

Oh, by the way; Friend of mine, on here and over here, has easy success on mink. He uses wooden floored cage traps baited with ...... wait for it! ...... A Mirror! He also has far larger and better waters than me and less f*cking badgers.

 

Good luck!

[sidebyside 0]

Just in passing why are you going to use MK6's, cage traps will ensure only target species are culled.

 

http://www.gct.org.uk/uploads/minkraftleaflet.pdf

Edited June 27, 2007 by sidebyside

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Old; Ye got that one in as I was typing, mate! Never even saw it till just now. But I did say some of you guys would be doing that!

 

Sides; In answer to ye question there mate, I can only speak for myself. Why? Around a score or more a trap, mate. That's why. Cages are so bloody expensive, compared to spring traps. And even the most determined and water borne badger wouldn't do to a spring trap full of mink what he'd do to a cage.

 

I also have far more spring traps in my store right now than workable cages.

 

Also, and finally, short of utilising my .22 Hornet rifle, I as yet have no way I'd care to use to despatch a live mink. I've worked through all this on here before now too, on this very column. After reams of posts and massive consideration and fat chewing, I personally figured out that rafted killers was my best option.

 

Back in uk we had to come up with 'COSHH Reports' to explain our planned actions. Well, my own is long since plastered about this board. Maybe Spruce' followed similar lines of thought privately?

[Sprucegoose 0]

I hope to use them because I haven't got a gun licence which you need over here for an air rifle, so I don't really have a convenient means of despatching the live-trapped mink. I've also heard their more effective than cage traps. I can't guarantee I'd be able to access all the traps on a daily basis either so the Springer seems to be the better option. Does anyone know much about or use the Conibear trap, they look the business to me? They would fit the legal requirement for Ireland from my understanding of the legislation (that Ditch_shitter kindly posted)?

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

" Conibear " ~ these days more widely known as " Body Gripper ", in US sometimes refered to as " Species Specific " ~ traps, work a treat mate. On most things they're sized and set for.

 

Couple of proviso's though: Awkward f*cking things to set up. Ye generally need some sort of stand for them. Two main sorts, commercially, available are support rods or a 'cubby' cage. I've used both and each works admirably, in it's own circumstances.

 

Other thing is, so I've read; Mink can be absolute b*stards for hopping through a 'Gripper without even touching the trigger. I've followed forum threads where otherwise quite capable trappers have had heartache over this. Readjusting and fine tuning day after day before nailing the bugger. I also read a well enough known bit of Canadian research where they recorded some mink dancing back and forth like a yo yo, before finally setting a foot wrong and firing the damn thing. I don't know why or how this is. But it appears a well enough doccumented thing.

 

Answer, they seem to say, is to modify the trigger and give it a thin wire across the base? Apparrantly that gets ye mink. I know at least one good firm that supplies little modification kits for that express purpose. Never yet tried it myself, but I'm gearing up towards it as we speak. Expect another of my huge saga type threads then!

 

Budget will come into it too. Those Cubbie cages, while the Dogs b*llocks for anyone looking for simplicity and convieniance, rack it up to around fifteen quid a set. Maybe half the price of cages then. But probably twice that of spring traps of the sort we've been discussing earlier.

 

Swings and roundabouts. Horses for courses. Pays ye money.

[OldTrapCollector 377]

I can't guarantee I'd be able to access all the traps on a daily basis either so the Springer seems to be the better option.

 

Sprucegoose -

 

I think I am right in saying that checking traps inside every 24 hours is a legal requirement even in Eire?? Even if it isn't then it is pretty irresponsible not to bother doing so IMO

 

OTC

[sidebyside 0]

Point taken regarding cost of traps. It has been known that a cage trap plus the occupant has been put into a bin liner, some how the bin liner has ended up an exhaust pipe of a vehicle funny how the occupant has met it's maker within a few minutes when the bag is opened. I am not sure if this method of culling is legal though.

[Guest Scuba1]

Do you catch many?

 

What a question to ask him

 

OTC

 

OTC you owe me a new keyboard as this one has just been flooded with coffee :clapper:

 

PMSL

 

Michael

[Bryan 1,362]

you guys worried about whacking otters? if not using cages? spruce goose it's fairly easy to get an airgun licence

Bryan

[snareman 3]

I hope to use them because I haven't got a gun licence which you need over here for an air rifle, so I don't really have a convenient means of despatching the live-trapped mink. I've also heard their more effective than cage traps. I can't guarantee I'd be able to access all the traps on a daily basis either so the Springer seems to be the better option. Does anyone know much about or use the Conibear trap, they look the business to me? They would fit the legal requirement for Ireland from my understanding of the legislation (that Ditch_shitter kindly posted)?

s.g. why do you need to use such a monstrosity as a gtc. raft its like a vietnamese houseboat , far to large ,and cumbersome you would be there for a month trying to set out a mink line , my mate uses 200 rafts and can carry them in the back of his truck out in canada , and a float is not new as some people would have you believe , the americans have used them since the 1940,s my mate catches 2000 muskrats plus a number of mink on these small rafts in 3 weeks , a small length of 10 x2 plank will work as good , you never get real pro. trappers giving themselves hard work , its only the amateurs who like it .

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

a small length of 10 x2 plank will work as good

 

 

FFS! How f*cking blind can I be?!

 

Thankyou, once again, Snareman!