Please help me kill this ermine-nothing is working!

[OhZark Biddies]

A lot of times a new trap smells.

Oh, good point. Those new 110s are going to have a nice film of machine oil on them... out in the wild this will put the critters off for sure... around the house/coop maybe not as much, but I'd still boil them first.

Typically we boil new traps for a 45 minutes or so in logwood die... you can likely get by just adding some old leaves, sticks etc though if you don't have logwood die.

The main point is no scent on the traps.... bait or lure on the trap causes the critter to investigate the trap, not the the actual bait/lure.... and therefore you get refusals or misses... or with coils spring traps, you get dig ups.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

.... When I was a youngin with no sense I lived in a house with 15' rats (from head to tail) running through it.

Wait... what?

Surely that was meant to say 15" ... rather than 15'

Or did you did you really have R.O.U.S. (Rodent s of Unusual Size) in that house?

 

[Kris5902]

When our mice get wise to a trap, I will switch to a slightly different style, like from plain wooden snap traps, to plastic with little covers over the bait. I’ve also set them disarmed for a week, but still baited, so the little guys get used to the easy meals, then one day suddenly they go for dinner and bam! No more mouse.

Of course these guys are way smarter than mice... there’s so much good trapping info here! I’m still glad I don’t have to deal with this yet, or hopefully ever. I second the find a neighbor who’s a good shot idea as well. Maybe try to get some lessons or practice shooting? It is a good skill to have.

Remember, you still have chickens and it’s not getting in... it HAS’NT outsmarted you, you just haven’t won yet! But I’m sure you will, patience and persistence. We’re all rooting for you! (Nice there hasn’t been any whiny, “spare the poor little weasel” ness here! Hope I didn’t just jinx that though)

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Surely that was meant to say 15" ... rather than 15'

Oh LOL. Yeah 15 inch, head to tip of tail.

 

[bobbi-j]

Oh LOL. Yeah 15 inch, head to tip of tail.

But 15 foot rats makes a much more exciting story...

 

[mcclucker]

This is good info. Thank you. I have the spring traps set outside around the coop right where it has been trying to get in & one in the shed where I know it hangs out.

I will definitely spread some feathers and blood around and try a smellier bait. I have some glycerin I can mix in to prevent freezing. That box with the spring trap is next level - I am not sure I have the tools to make something that good. The traps are set with the triggers hanging down right on the ground. I will flip one over. I am sure they smell new and oily.

We had a big thaw and lost some snowpack

When it's cold like this it gets tough. If you have a trapping supply place near by, you can find some lure/bait that has glycerin added to prevent freezing.... some sporting goods places carry this type of lure as well.

Maybe some fishy smelling catfood or sardines?

Often with cubbys (boxes in this case) I want the scent to flow through, rather than just staying in the cubby/box, so having some air flow across the bait helps, so a hole in both ends of the boxes helps with this, so maybe hardware screen on the bait end hole, and trap end hole left open.

For the 110s the boxes need to have a slot in the sides to allow the springs to protrude, something like this picture... note that you can build a long box with a trap on each end and bait in the center... also be sure to bend and spread the wire triggers out a bit

Typically, when targeting a specific pest critter, I'll set heavy using a lot of traps, and "chum" it a bit, by placing some nibbles of bait/meat out in front of the set... in the case of the weasel boxes maybe a nibble sitting right in the hole of the box... in the case of the 110s maybe a bit poked on the trigger wire and slid up/down.. note you can flip the 110s so the trigger is on the bottom, so the critter has to climb over too.

Sometimes I'll chum heavy for a night or two with no traps set, often with a game camera set up... this can tell you a lot about how to adjust, and eliminates the critter getting trap shy due to a miss fire, etc. Once it's coming and going with confidence you can set the traps... this is a good way to deal with multiple individuals as well, as it gets them all coming in.

I just read you had a dead chicken still ... I think I would pull some feathers and rub them with liver/blood and spread them out in front of your set to use as chum.

Some times it's a long game when going after a specific critter, because you're educating them the whole time.... I once educated ( and fattened up) a grey fox over the course of a few weeks ... each day my trap was robbed of bait, and I'd adjust... same thing the next day...I never did catch the silly thing.

Are you setting the traps in the coop, in a shed, outside?

so I think I can find my weasel box now. It has been outside for a few months so I’ll try really hard not to get human smell on it!

 

[mcclucker]

Did he break through the hardware cloth or somewhere else that didn't have hardware cloth?

Broke through. It wasn’t sealed right all around. I ended up putting plywood over half the window and making a wood frame to screw on top of the edge of the hardware cloth so it can’t budge. I also double layered it.

 

[mcclucker]

Thank you
I’m a total softy city girl turned rural Vermonter - most of my family is vegetarian & animal lovers. And I still have murder in my heart for this weasel. It has been sentenced to death for crimes against poultry!

When our mice get wise to a trap, I will switch to a slightly different style, like from plain wooden snap traps, to plastic with little covers over the bait. I’ve also set them disarmed for a week, but still baited, so the little guys get used to the easy meals, then one day suddenly they go for dinner and bam! No more mouse.

Of course these guys are way smarter than mice... there’s so much good trapping info here! I’m still glad I don’t have to deal with this yet, or hopefully ever. I second the find a neighbor who’s a good shot idea as well. Maybe try to get some lessons or practice shooting? It is a good skill to have.

Remember, you still have chickens and it’s not getting in... it HAS’NT outsmarted you, you just haven’t won yet! But I’m sure you will, patience and persistence. We’re all rooting for you! (Nice there hasn’t been any whiny, “spare the poor little weasel” ness here! Hope I didn’t just jinx that though)

 

[dalasgalas]

I killed mine by trapping it under an iced-over pallet, squirting ether under there to slow it down, then cutting its head off with a shovel. Kind of hard to replicate, though.

That should NOT make me crack up.

 

[BantyChooks]

That should NOT make me crack up.

I wasn't very sorry. Scratch that, I wasn't sorry at ALL. It killed two out of three of my ducks, which I loved dearly, and the third later died of complications from the attack. Those birds were my obsession.