The mink struck again! New plan, will it work?

[andrea98]

lil jerk ( told ya they stink

lol)
i sure hope you get em!!! there are prolly more than 1 tho so if you get 1, trap for a few more days to make sure you get em all.
good luck & i hope the rest of your lil ducks stay safe
*was your trap a conibear trap?*

 

[taraann81]

I think so. Its not spikey or anything, an old farmer lent it to me. It just snaps shut when they crawl through it and kills the instantly(or at least I hope it does).

 

[gypsy2621]

Hi taraanne,
Mink can definately be caught in a hav-a-hart trap and they are rather dull witted when going to the kill.
Mink generally follow a known path, or will run along a fence untill they find a breach to slip in by.
This would be where you set your traps. as Deer Man said weight it down and tie the bait, but some mink are too dull to even need bait.

this one was caught just using a hav-a-hart no bait, just placed along the side of the building where the dope ran right in and was trapped.
it is amazing the small crack they can slip in by also.less than an inch wide. If you have ever seen a ferret at play and notice the twisting slithering wiggly movements, this is the motion mink employ to slip through cracks. its amazing to watch to say the least.
I dont advise poking a mink with a broom handle either while it is attacking a hen( yep I did hubby was too darned slow with the pellet gun) PHEW do they ever leave a lasting odour.

If your Conabear doesnt do the trick and its legal in Canada to use a pellet gun, that would be my suggestion, put the buisness end in a square of the trap and wait for the mink to bite the barrel( and it will, its mad enough to bite everything) pull the trigger, the pellet imediately severes the spine, its an instant kill, its the most humane way to dispatch a mink outside of a drowning trap.
I hate killing such a beautiful animal, but I value my animals a little more than a critter that will kill just for the fun of it.
good luck catching the little bugger.

Hows the kitten rehoming going? I still have 2 left to find new homes for.

 

[taraann81]

Quote:
Yes I am hoping I catch him in the live trap. I think they are beautiful and fascinating, I just don't want him killing my birds. I have a wildlife rehabber who is willing to take and release him if I catch him in the live trap.

The kitten rehoming is going better. I have two kittens left.
I had another mama cat show up here and had kittens under my shed.(I left them there this time. Mama seemed very feral and I couldn't get near them anyways) Well the babies started coming out and about in the yard, they looked to be about 5 weeks old. Well one by one(once a night) they kept disappearing. Now I wonder if the mink got them and now that they are gone is after my ducks?

Think a mink would kill a kitten?

 

[mmwb]

"Think a mink would kill a kitten?"

Yes, as well as any other predator large enough (I.e., weasel on up). Kittens could also be disappearing from feline distemper or some other disease.

 

[taraann81]

Yes I suppose your right. It makes me thankful my cats are house cats!

Anyways, I didn't catch the mink, darn thing. I've always considered myself a women of at least average intelligence. Well I am being outsmarted by a mink!

 

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
Not necessarily outsmarted, out manuvered definately. try setting the trap in the path he is using for a run rather than near the water. it may take a few days for the human smell to wear off also.
any way to keep the ducks penned up away from the thrieving brat?

Yes mink will take a kitten or anything else they determine to be defenseless. while beautiful they are ruthless killers, they dont always kill for their hunger either, they kill for the sport of it.
see play toys.

 

[taraann81]

Okay new plan.

I'm going to get a length of drainage tile.

Put a can of sardines in one end and block it off, put the conibear trap at the entrance! Hopefully then I'll have him.

 

[Uppity Peon]

I wonder how minks react to having mothballs dropped in their burrows... I have heard it is a good way to drive rats and coons out of your attic.