All of my ducks were killed last night!

[sourland]

Good luck! If there is "no more food", he may not visit so frequently, but your home remains in his/her territory, and the mink will check in periodically. Catching and killing it is the only sure solution. Many people leave a live trap set 24/7 because once a predator is removed, another will claim the territory. This may take place in a matter of days, weeks, or years- but it will occur. Nature abhors a vacume.(sp.)

 

[dumb_cluck]

Just checked the monitor this morning. It looks like I may have trapped something.......BUT as I'm starring at it to see, "another" goes scurrying by on top of the chicken coop. Has one moved in already?

If there is more than one, could it be some other type of rodent? It's long with a furry but not bushy tail.

This is getting serious!

 

[Birdcrazy]

Sounds like it would pay to keep a permanent trap! Hope you got atleast one of the minks!!

 

[dumb_cluck]

False alarm. Nothing in the trap and no bait taken. It was HIM that walked by. He must be held up somewhere in the garage because the hole I blocked yesterday is still blocked. And the live drain has a cover on it.

He has been all over the garage including climbing all over my dusty mustang. Left litlle paw prints in the dust. Definately a mink. I wonder if my trap is too small?

 

[dumb_cluck]

OK....ALL HOLES CLOSED UP TIGHT.

I will re-bait the trap again tonight and see what happens. If I see him, he is locked IN the garage.

If I don't, then he's not getting back in.

HOWEVER, I want to catch and kill this guy. Perhaps a couple leg traps outside around the garage.....

Anybody know if these guys make nests? I found a few piles of straw under the lawnmower and in the engine compartment of the car.
Maybe left overs from the rats?

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
Sometimes a male and female will have some overlapping territory.

I've read through and saw that it's just the one, but keeping a live trap up all the time isn't a bad idea. Good that you're finding all the openings!

Oh and we used a small trap for ours, it never touched the larger trap.

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

That nest would not have been theirs. I think they nest near water in a bank. Good luck with your traps. Hopefully you don't catch a cat or some other innocent critter in those foot traps!

 

[dumb_cluck]

Quote:
That would be my last resort and have it set by a professional. I'm out in the country, but an occasional dog or cat could wander by.

 

[dumb_cluck]

It's been a couple nights now and I haven't seen any activity.

I'm still too nervous to put my hens back in their pen yet.

I miss my ducks!

 

[dumb_cluck]

No capture yet. I have tried: peanut butter, tuna fish, sardines, chicken livers....... nothing is entering the trap!

Good news is that the monitor has not picked up any activity, HOWEVER, there may be a "resident" that is not being detected. I am watching and removing poop from their present locations to see if any more show up.

Since blocking all the openings I could find, things have been quiet, BUT, I may have trapped "something" indoors. If it is a rat, the poison will get him eventually. If it's a weasel....there is no carnivorous meals left. So starvation? I know it can't be the mink because he is too large to miss!

My DH saw something sniffing around the garage one night when he turned the lights on the garage to light up the way to the outdoor wood boiler. It scurried away immediately. DH said is was big! I asked about the tail and he said he didn't see one. Now what? A lynx or bobcat? Jeesh!

In any case, I have a call into a local trappers association to see what they can do outside.

My "girls" (5 speckled sussex hens) are safe in my house. I will be getting ducks in the spring!