Trapping Help

[shropshire mole 190]

  On 14/08/2016 at 22:15, DIDO.1 said:

If squirrels are there they should be going in. They are normally keen enough. Leave it a few months till Nov/Dec and try again with your prebaiting , no need to worry to much about squirrels this time of year

I do not pre bait!! if the squirrel goes in the trap then you have got it, no point letting it feed and then leave, IMO.

Cover the traps with natural foliage/sticks/twigs, probably do not need the bin liner

 

Have you thought about kill traps?

 

I use tunnel traps with either fenns or body grips inside - you then have an irresistible dark hole for the squirrel to investigate, the rest is history.

 

Check out http://www.jcwildlife.co.uk/ he has some great traps and really keen prices, but could make your own

[Welsh_red 4,794]

  On 14/08/2016 at 22:15, DIDO.1 said:

If squirrels are there they should be going in. They are normally keen enough. Leave it a few months till Nov/Dec and try again with your prebaiting , no need to worry to much about squirrels this time of year

I know , I'm just enjoying it at the moment . Being new to trapping aswell I'm enjoying learning and trying different things . Don't think I could wait until November!her to get back doing it

[Welsh_red 4,794]

  On 15/08/2016 at 06:33, shropshire mole said:

 

  On 14/08/2016 at 22:15, DIDO.1 said:

If squirrels are there they should be going in. They are normally keen enough. Leave it a few months till Nov/Dec and try again with your prebaiting , no need to worry to much about squirrels this time of year

 

I do not pre bait!! if the squirrel goes in the trap then you have got it, no point letting it feed and then leave, IMO.

Cover the traps with natural foliage/sticks/twigs, probably do not need the bin liner

 

Have you thought about kill traps?

 

I use tunnel traps with either fenns or body grips inside - you then have an irresistible dark hole for the squirrel to investigate, the rest is history.

 

Check out http://www.jcwildlife.co.uk/ he has some great traps and really keen prices, but could make your own

I didn't when I first started it but thought I'd give it a go this time after someone told me it would make a big difference . The way it was put to me was " if theirs 100 squirells in the woods and you pre bait for a week then most of them should have gone into the trap,got food and got out of trap no problem . If u start trapping straight away any squirells that are trapped and stuck in the trap for hours and are seen by other squirells might make them wary of going into the traps. If they have past experience of going in and out no problem then their more likely to try again "

 

I was also told (may have been on the course) that by law you have to provide shelter in the traps for them if their life traps incase of rain . I found that with the bag on aswell I can add a lot more leaves,twigs etc n top without it all falling inside and potentially effecting the trip pad

 

I will definetly be trying kill traps in the future . I don't want to rush through things tho . Would rather get semi proficient in live traps before trying different forms of trapping . I've set aside one of my live traps for mink and have a mink raft I've made ready to go in the river next to the woods i trape in at the moment . I will float it this week and keep checking for mink tracks inside on the clay

 

[DIDO.1 22,851]

Squirrels don't get wary seeing other squirrels in a trap.

[Welsh_red 4,794]

  On 15/08/2016 at 07:51, DIDO.1 said:

Squirrels don't get wary seeing other squirrels in a trap.

Ah right . So what's the benefit of pre baiting? Why do some people do it

[shropshire mole 190]

  On 15/08/2016 at 07:14, Welsh_red said:

 

  On 15/08/2016 at 06:33, shropshire mole said:

 

  On 14/08/2016 at 22:15, DIDO.1 said:

If squirrels are there they should be going in. They are normally keen enough. Leave it a few months till Nov/Dec and try again with your prebaiting , no need to worry to much about squirrels this time of year

I do not pre bait!! if the squirrel goes in the trap then you have got it, no point letting it feed and then leave, IMO.

Cover the traps with natural foliage/sticks/twigs, probably do not need the bin liner

 

Have you thought about kill traps?

 

I use tunnel traps with either fenns or body grips inside - you then have an irresistible dark hole for the squirrel to investigate, the rest is history.

 

Check out http://www.jcwildlife.co.uk/ he has some great traps and really keen prices, but could make your own

I didn't when I first started it but thought I'd give it a go this time after someone told me it would make a big difference . The way it was put to me was " if theirs 100 squirells in the woods and you pre bait for a week then most of them should have gone into the trap,got food and got out of trap no problem . If u start trapping straight away any squirells that are trapped and stuck in the trap for hours and are seen by other squirells might make them wary of going into the traps. If they have past experience of going in and out no problem then their more likely to try again "

 

I was also told (may have been on the course) that by law you have to provide shelter in the traps for them if their life traps incase of rain . I found that with the bag on aswell I can add a lot more leaves,twigs etc n top without it all falling inside and potentially effecting the trip pad

 

I will definetly be trying kill traps in the future . I don't want to rush through things tho . Would rather get semi proficient in live traps before trying different forms of trapping . I've set aside one of my live traps for mink and have a mink raft I've made ready to go in the river next to the woods i trape in at the moment . I will float it this week and keep checking for mink tracks inside on the clay

 

 

Mink trap looking good, main thing, you are enjoying what you do and having fun,

[Welsh_red 4,794]

  On 15/08/2016 at 10:37, shropshire mole said:

 

  On 15/08/2016 at 07:14, Welsh_red said:

 

  On 15/08/2016 at 06:33, shropshire mole said:

 

  On 14/08/2016 at 22:15, DIDO.1 said:

If squirrels are there they should be going in. They are normally keen enough. Leave it a few months till Nov/Dec and try again with your prebaiting , no need to worry to much about squirrels this time of year

 

I do not pre bait!! if the squirrel goes in the trap then you have got it, no point letting it feed and then leave, IMO.

Cover the traps with natural foliage/sticks/twigs, probably do not need the bin liner

 

Have you thought about kill traps?

 

I use tunnel traps with either fenns or body grips inside - you then have an irresistible dark hole for the squirrel to investigate, the rest is history.

 

Check out http://www.jcwildlife.co.uk/ he has some great traps and really keen prices, but could make your own

I didn't when I first started it but thought I'd give it a go this time after someone told me it would make a big difference . The way it was put to me was " if theirs 100 squirells in the woods and you pre bait for a week then most of them should have gone into the trap,got food and got out of trap no problem . If u start trapping straight away any squirells that are trapped and stuck in the trap for hours and are seen by other squirells might make them wary of going into the traps. If they have past experience of going in and out no problem then their more likely to try again "

I was also told (may have been on the course) that by law you have to provide shelter in the traps for them if their life traps incase of rain . I found that with the bag on aswell I can add a lot more leaves,twigs etc n top without it all falling inside and potentially effecting the trip pad

I will definetly be trying kill traps in the future . I don't want to rush through things tho . Would rather get semi proficient in live traps before trying different forms of trapping . I've set aside one of my live traps for mink and have a mink raft I've made ready to go in the river next to the woods i trape in at the moment . I will float it this week and keep checking for mink tracks inside on the clay

Mink trap looking good, main thing, you are enjoying what you do and having fun,

I am loving it. Kids are loving wandering up to the traps and checking them aswell. Out of the 2 boy/girl the girl is showing the most active interest in it , think she just likes doing stuff with dad as she does loads with her mum. Always asking questions , always with ideas . The boy first thing he does is get a stick and match forward pretending it's a sword .

 

Yeah quite happy with the mink raft . Could do with a lot more bolts round the edges and maybe marine ply instead of normal ply. But if this one last me a year I will be more than happy

[Welsh_red 4,794]

Set the mink raft today and it looks the dogs bollocks. Had some clay left over so I put it infront of a trap and hopefully it will remain wet long enough to get tracks from whatever is stealing my bait .

 

On the subject of the mink raft , do I need to do anything to attract mink? I've got a lot of mink lure here I bought online if that would help

[Welsh_red 4,794]

Think ive found out whats having my bait away . 2 traps on either side of the woods today had 2 little birds no bigger than a robin bouncing in and out of the traps without a care in the world

[Welsh_red 4,794]

ive moved the traps to another part of the woods , hopefully a better location aswell . On the way back i checked my mink raft for signs and theirs footprints in there . I know seasoned trappers will shrug it off as part and parcel of trapping . Im chuffed tho , Really chuffed . Just need you guys to help me make certain its mink tracks . It doesnt look like otter . I cant see claw marks for mink and the picture isnt the best but can you give me your opinion on whether its mink

 

 

Ok , part of me is maybe thinking it might be cat prints maybe . When i got to the raft it was banked ever so slightly on the edge of the river . But im going to put the trap in regardless and give it a go .

 

First time ever trapping mink and all the good the internet has in regards tips etc i trust this place more than any . Most other places have different opinions to each other but at least on here i can ask questions. So with that being said

 

My plan is to use some mackerel fillets from when i went sea fishing . I have 30-40 in my freezer . I was going to put a little bit of one in the back of the trap and just leave it thaw out .

 

I was going to change the bait daily to keep it fresh (altho somebody told me to leave it in there to get stinky)

 

I was going to drill through the inspection hatch on the raft to put a bolt thru when the trap was in there basically locking in in poisiton and stopping the trap sliding out with a pissed off mink in there .

 

I have Mink lure here , was also thinking of dabbing a bit on the top of the raft to try and entice them in . Again ive read somehwere that might not be a good idea as it might even deter mink

 

 

I have combs here that i use to push squirells to one end of the traps , their quite thin so im wondering if its worth using them . Also wondering if using a comb and forcing a mink to one side might make them drop the scent glands (something id like to avoid if at all possible) .

 

 

 

Any answers , ideas or anything to help me on my way will be greately appreciated

[EDDIE B 3,168]

Don't bother with the lure, and bait will be fine for three or four days. No need to handle the raft either, unless you have a catch, or to freshen up the bait.

[CHEVINFOX 3,537]

looking at the photo i would say cat (no claw marks) and i would agree with eddie b good look

[Welsh_red 4,794]

  On 30/08/2016 at 14:22, CHEVINFOX said:

looking at the photo i would say cat (no claw marks) and i would agree with eddie b good look

I've been looking at it and thinking about it all day and I'm thinking cat now.

[Welsh_red 4,794]

rechanged my mind again . I had a closer look and i can see claw marks on the front of the pads

 

 

 

Baiited it with mackerel fillet so we'll see what happens

 

[EDDIE B 3,168]

Their definitely mink tracks lad, meant to add that into my last post, sorry.