Weasel Stealing Bait Off Trap

[Alleonar]

I think even most of the the small ‘chipmunk’ sized cage style traps are a bit stiff on the triggers.... but if you have one of those small sized traps you might fiddle with the trigger bar and bend the hook a bit to make it trip more easily...

They’re typically bent past 90 degrees, pulling it down to 90 or even a touch less will make it more finicky to set, but it’ll trip easier.

View attachment 1849629

If all you have is the larger sized cage style trap, I’m not sure I’d bother trying to adjust it.

Since you have rat traps on hand, a weasel box would be my thought as well. Also sometimes glueing or screwing those traps to a scrap of plywood can help make them trip easier... at least for rats

See the link below for a past BYC post that covers how to make a box ...but even a shoe box of the right size with the right sized hole will work... you’re just using the hole in the box to force the critter over the trap pan...

Edit... link was wrong, here’s the correct one
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ermine-weasels-problems.1077242/#post-16489154

We do have a box with a rat trap in it, but it is still managing to steal the meat off the trap without tripping the trap. It's a sneaky little bugger.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

We do have a box with a rat trap in it, but it is still managing to steal the meat off the trap without tripping the trap. It's a sneaky little bugger.

Okay you gotta give us some details! Lol

lots of folks took the time to reply, and apparently provide info you already knew...

...so give us some details and or pics of the box, the coop or something...

otherwise we get frustrated that you’re not helping us helping you and we start rooting for the critter to win

For starters let’s see a pic of the rat trap.. or tell us at least is it the yellow pan type or the wire trigger type?

... and which way is it facing in the weasel box?

Have traps ever been tripped or just robbed?

Gotta trail camera you can put out?

If not can you make a little “track bed” of smoothed out dirt or a dusting of flour to catch its tracks as it comes and goes?

Hang in there this critter ain’t magic, you can get it!

 

[Compost King]

Rat Trap inside of a tiny box that with a small hole that only mice rats and weasels can get into. Youtube has videos on how to make them. If you make such a box be sure chickens can not get their heads near the hole or they will stick their heads in have their necks broken by a rat trap.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Okay you gotta give us some details! Lol

lots of folks took the time to reply, and apparently provide info you already knew...

...so give us some details and or pics of the box, the coop or something...

otherwise we get frustrated that you’re not helping us helping you and we start rooting for the critter to win

For starters let’s see a pic of the rat trap.. or tell us at least is it the yellow pan type or the wire trigger type?

... and which way is it facing in the weasel box?

Have traps ever been tripped or just robbed?

Gotta trail camera you can put out?

If not can you make a little “track bed” of smoothed out dirt or a dusting of flour to catch its tracks as it comes and goes?

Hang in there this critter ain’t magic, you can get it!

I’m not bothering anymore. If they haven’t learned by now to post up important information I’m not repeating myself a millions times. It’s all on the internet anyway. Google away.

 

[Alleonar]

Okay you gotta give us some details! Lol

lots of folks took the time to reply, and apparently provide info you already knew...

...so give us some details and or pics of the box, the coop or something...

otherwise we get frustrated that you’re not helping us helping you and we start rooting for the critter to win

For starters let’s see a pic of the rat trap.. or tell us at least is it the yellow pan type or the wire trigger type?

... and which way is it facing in the weasel box?

Have traps ever been tripped or just robbed?

Gotta trail camera you can put out?

If not can you make a little “track bed” of smoothed out dirt or a dusting of flour to catch its tracks as it comes and goes?

Hang in there this critter ain’t magic, you can get it!

Sorry, I forgot to mention the weasel box in my original post. Please forgive my pregnant brain . I appreciate all the help and still find it informative that weasel boxes work for so many other people. We did have success with one in the winter and I believe it was using a yellow pan trap, but we bought it in the city (we can only get wire trigger here in our small rural town).

The rat traps are both wire trigger and one is inside a weasel box and one is just sitting out in the open on the ground. The one in the box has the bait closest to the entrance hole. The rat traps are only ever robbed, not tripped, though the live trap has yet to be touched. I will definitely ask my husband to set a trail camera up. Great idea!

 

[Compost King]

Sorry, I forgot to mention the weasel box in my original post. Please forgive my pregnant brain . I appreciate all the help and still find it informative that weasel boxes work for so many other people. We did have success with one in the winter and I believe it was using a yellow pan trap, but we bought it in the city (we can only get wire trigger here in our small rural town).

The rat traps are both wire trigger and one is inside a weasel box and one is just sitting out in the open on the ground. The one in the box has the bait closest to the entrance hole. The rat traps are only ever robbed, not tripped, though the live trap has yet to be touched. I will definitely ask my husband to set a trail camera up. Great idea!

I love these traps but I would add one extra feature to that box, something that prevents chickens from poking their heads in. Although this alone is fine if you only set the trap at night since chickens are roosting at night. In the video I showed the guy added an extra guard that would not stop the weasel from getting in but should prevent a chickens head or a cats paw from getting in the hole.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Sorry, I forgot to mention the weasel box in my original post. Please forgive my pregnant brain . I appreciate all the help and still find it informative that weasel boxes work for so many other people. We did have success with one in the winter and I believe it was using a yellow pan trap, but we bought it in the city (we can only get wire trigger here in our small rural town).

The rat traps are both wire trigger and one is inside a weasel box and one is just sitting out in the open on the ground. The one in the box has the bait closest to the entrance hole. The rat traps are only ever robbed, not tripped, though the live trap has yet to be touched. I will definitely ask my husband to set a trail camera up. Great idea!

firstly, Sorry if I made you feel bad, and congrats on the expected baby!

Okay I think I see the problem.

The picture below is from the link I posted this morning... notice 2 things:

1) the bait and lure are not on the trap, they are behind it
2) the trap pan/trigger ( big yellow thing) is by the hole

This goal here is not to get the weasel to stick his head in and nibble like a mouse...

The goal is to get him to step down onto the trap through the hole and as he comes in for the bait he steps on the yellow pan/trigger and pop goes the weasel!!!

You might be able to modify that trap you have and make the trigger into a “pan” like the yellow part in this picture by using a soup can lid, if you or your husband are handy... or just find the style with the big yellow pan as shown

The good news is you have it coming into the box, and now you know what you need to do...

Now, I want a see a pic of a dead weasel soon!

 

[MountainGaurdian]

Weasels are a tough one to deal with. We had one killing chickens for two years, it kept getting into my coup at night. I finally stopped that by piling up old waste hay three feet high and 3 feet wide inside the coup along the walls. But I could never come up with a way to kill the weasel.

Finally the neighbor dog somehow managed to catch it in my front forest one day and I saw her carrying it in her mouth back to her place. Never had problems with weasels again. Still had problems with the neighbors dog breaking into my coup and killing chickens but no more weasel issues. Man that dog was a pain, I lost around 80 chickens to that sucker over a span of four years.

I finally hot wired the building, I nailed fence insulators onto the building and stretched chicken wire all the way around the building on the insulators. I wired the ground of the fencer to the tin of the building and the hot to the chicken wire. That at least stopped her from getting into my chicken/rabbit barn anymore..

 

[itsasmallfarm]

i had that problem as well, something kept robbing my weasel boxes and springing the trap.

i set a trail camera turns out it was a mink.