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Post by trappnman on Jul 13, 2008 10:04:01 GMT -6
Ya and they caught most of them in the hut.
Have you ever trapped the big marshes? if so- then you know feedbeds are the ticket early, pushups the ticket late.
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Post by thebeav2 on Jul 13, 2008 10:15:29 GMT -6
Yep trapped the big marshes still do. We set the huts themselves most of the marshes were complete eat outs way before the season started so all the rat activity was on the established hut. But If feed beds were available we set them. We can't get Into a push up or a rat hut above the water line all access has to be done from under water and makes for tough trapping.
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Post by garman on Jul 13, 2008 10:33:12 GMT -6
I set many huts and feed beds huts are very efficient early on until the first freeze up, even if the ice thaws out. After the first freeze they go under adn quit working on the hut. But feed beds and stools are very efficient. Set where there is the most sign and keep moving. Under ice the pushups are most efficient I remember on another site being told they are not. Well let them believe it more rats for me later I guess. Some ya cannot tell anything to. Maybe some year I can trap them under ice again, I can go home and trap in Iowa.
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Post by thebeav2 on Jul 13, 2008 10:43:11 GMT -6
I'm sure you didn't mean this the way It's written. Are you talking cold weather or Ice?
After the first freeze they go under adn quit working on the hut. But feed beds and stools are very efficient
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Post by northof50 on Jul 13, 2008 11:02:15 GMT -6
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Post by northof50 on Jul 13, 2008 11:10:23 GMT -6
There is a little flap in the circle area left on so if you want a hinge door it is easy. Always add a wheel weight on the flap doors so they are held down. I use a chainsaw with a 24" bar and cut a big hole and lift them out. You need larger holes as the ice goes down and deeper water. If you know where a water spring flows under the ice they are deadly there. It seems that rats and mink like to go where there is freshwater and swim/bath in the winter. Or they are fishing for the minnows going for the oxygen. There is a square in the above pics for size. The hole is the size of duct-tape center.
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Post by trappnman on Jul 13, 2008 11:12:34 GMT -6
beav- never been in an eat out- always plenty of feedbeds- feedbeds that thinking back on it, were staggerring in size. You could set traps all around those beds and they would be full 2xs a day.
I've set on huts when needed, but not a preferred or frequent choice.
haven't trapped a rat marsh for 20 years- miss it.
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Post by mattduncan on Jul 13, 2008 12:04:26 GMT -6
marky i've seen pic's of eric spaces with the kill chamber you describe and a bunch of his pics with otter in them also mink will at times shove the doors out on square ones if the doors become old and rusty or if made from to light of wire and also seen were a young of year male mink was half way out of one a had made from 1x2 inch wire i couldent belive how he got through he was stuck around his belly
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Post by mattduncan on Jul 13, 2008 12:10:27 GMT -6
1/2x1 inch wire for doors also helps cut down on rats biting on as it's a lot darder for them to get latched on in the 1/2 inch space but i find the smaller wire collects more debries so i like the larger 1x1 with half the door swinging i've caught lots of rats with rats clamped on the doors and still 6-7 rats in the trap i think length is a factor 24 inch traps seem more often than not to only have 2 rats i find 30 or 36 a better choice
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Post by garman on Jul 13, 2008 12:19:00 GMT -6
cold weather beav, this has been my observation, after the first skim ice starts the muskrats wor the feedbeds, stools but much of the house work is done if not totally done. I noticed it somewhat on coon ditch trails after the first snow, even if the snow melts it appears the trail for the most part goes dead. Just what I notice.
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Post by northof50 on Jul 13, 2008 12:31:44 GMT -6
Just mark those runs with willow stakes and even add a couple of inches depth in the fall with a shovel. Come freeze-up time with the walking ice and tobagan and chainsaw you do not have to go into houses. It seems rats move around these houses in December quite a bit in big marshes. Use pails for patterns for rolling ie;20 liter5 gal; then 25 liter6us gal; plastic pails, then one trap will fit inside the other and only attach one funnel and the last in the field.
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