Trapping

[Pykie]

Hope the moderators don't mind me doing this. Just thought it would be good to have a pinned section on trapping, especially now with Spring on the way and people will be dusting off their spring traps, cages and Larsens for a good go at the vermin before they nest. Thought it would be nice to show photos of areas where tunnel traps are placed and any baits used to give novices (and not so novices) an idea of what to look for when trapping. Also give a clear indication of what species can be legally trapped and by what method.

 

http://basc.org.uk/cop/trapping-pest-mammals/

http://basc.org.uk/cop/trapping-pest-birds/

 

Hope many of you will put in your experience and advice and good luck trapping!

[r1steele]

When you have a weasel/stoat etc it can be worth squirting their urine around tunnels that aren't producing anything. Soak new traps overnight in a bucket of hot water with a couple of tea bags a this can remove the manufacturing smells/oils and gives them a bit of weathering. It can help if the actual Fenn trap is set into a slight hollow (not essential but can help catch rate) so that the plate is level with the surrounding ground in the tunnel. Make your tunnels so they aren't a lot wider than the trap and only around an inch deeper than the trap as a Fenn type trap can throw the animal out of the trap if there is too much room above it when it closes. I personally like to make my tunnels about 18" to 2' in length and try my best to make sure they are as natural to their surroundings as possible. If your're checking them early mornings and it's still a bit dark it's handy to have a small torch to have a quick look in the tunnel rather than getting down on your hands and knees for every trap. Polish the brass on the plate and catch (fine wet and dry works well) and set them as lightly as you can as a weasel isn't very heavy. Golden rule, if you use the safety catch, don't leave it on, it's surprising how many people that have borrowed a trap and cannot get anything in it so you pop along to see if you can help and they have left the catch on. Most people will already know what they are doing and will have there own methods and ideas so this is just to help any novices along with the various codes of practice as was asked. Good luck.