dob Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Got birds coming on sat, one of our pens is close to a small stream , there is a cottage about 500m from pen with a beautiful garden that runs along edge of water, one of the shoot members got a phone call that went" Peter you won't believe it but we have got a family of otters arrived in the stream and they are playing in my garden . What colour were these OTTERS asked Peter , oh they were dark brown she says and I was surprised how much they look like ferrets" oh oh got 3 mink to get rid of before poults come ,got mink traps set but any tips , should I play the waiting game with 12bore or just keep traps baited and try to catch them ? I know this is in sporting pics but wrote it all before I realised ,derr! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the pigeon man Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 12 bore trapping is hard with minx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1steele Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Got birds coming on sat, one of our pens is close to a small stream , there is a cottage about 500m from pen with a beautiful garden that runs along edge of water, one of the shoot members got a phone call that went" Peter you won't believe it but we have got a family of otters arrived in the stream and they are playing in my garden . What colour were these OTTERS asked Peter , oh they were dark brown she says and I was surprised how much they look like ferrets" oh oh got 3 mink to get rid of before poults come ,got mink traps set but any tips , should I play the waiting game with 12bore or just keep traps baited and try to catch them ? I know this is in sporting pics but wrote it all before I realised ,derr! Rather than using cage traps you're better off building some tunnel traps using mk6 fen traps. Mink will use the tunnels much better than trying to get them to go into cages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Be very careful that it is mink and not otters. Use mesh on the ends of your tunnel traps to exclude otters, especially if they are youngsters. Rabbit guts are good bait as are fish guts. I would also lift any fox snares until you are sure of the species too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reece Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 The only tip I have is that mink are curious, so make the entrance hole look dark and interesting. Try to cover the trap over, such as with branches or logs if there are any. That should help a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1steele Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Be very careful that it is mink and not otters. Use mesh on the ends of your tunnel traps to exclude otters, especially if they are youngsters. Rabbit guts are good bait as are fish guts. I would also lift any fox snares until you are sure of the species too. Tunnel traps should always be set so as non target species are not able to enter them. I can't tell you the exact entrance dimensions but around 2/2.5 inches should about right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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