Mink bait ?

[Stour-boy]

Hi Guys, what’s the best bait to use in a cage trap ?  We have a few mink running around, it’s a rural setting with a river bank, this part of the river is tidal with around a 2 metre fall.

any suggestions anyone ?

Steve.

[islandgun]

We killed well over 2.000 using mink lure, or fish chunks ( herring/ mackerel) . rabbit or pigeon would also work, anything smelly  I used to dip a cotton bud in the lure and make sure its well at the back of a dug in trap

Edited November 15, 2017 by islandgun

[Stour-boy]

thanks Island gun will give some fish a try ,pigeon breast didn't work !!!

Steve.

[redleg in kale]

hi steve , you mention the site your trapping is tidal do you intend to set the trap on the banking or on a raft, we use  both methods and use the small round tins of the smelliest cat food you can get , slightly puncture the top of the can and place it under the trap towards the back in the tunnel , we usually get a few weeks out of each can .

[Mice!]

2013 countryman's weekly.

 

wrong way round oops

[Dan73]

Just jumping on this topic as I have a similar problem - we have had a mink spotted at a syndicate trout fishery which am I am member of - where I also do the general vermin control.

Mink Traps/Rafts - would anyone have any good instructions for constructing a trap/raft?

 

 

[Old farrier]

Game conservancy had plans online 

Basically 

2 x.4 ft by2 feet 1/4 or 3/8 plywood piece expanded polystyrene same size 

tunnel on top to fit cage trap bit of chicken wire on edges for some grip 

eye bolts in opposite corners to fix it to bank anchored it fewreeds rushes on top to make it look like a island good resting place 

prefer cage traps as water voles will use the raft 

all the best 

of 

[Dan73]

32 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

Game conservancy had plans online 

Basically 

2 x.4 ft by2 feet 1/4 or 3/8 plywood piece expanded polystyrene same size 

tunnel on top to fit cage trap bit of chicken wire on edges for some grip 

eye bolts in opposite corners to fix it to bank anchored it fewreeds rushes on top to make it look like a island good resting place 

prefer cage traps as water voles will use the raft 

all the best 

of 

Great - thank you.

[Hendrix's rifle]

Raft with a drainage pipe over it, can of cat food thats been pierced in the end. Always works if there about. Make sure your traps are always in good nick as I've seen many mink rip traps to pieces! Quite literally. Had a big dog mink? Rip itself out the trap when the patterdale went near it, thankfully the shotgun stopped it and the patterdale made sure!

[billytheghillie]

tin of tuna 

[scotslad]

In the past we just used rabbit, iwould imagine anyting would work but better to stick to something a mink would naturally eat, so fish, duck or rabbit.

The local fishery board used to do a lot of mink raft trapping and 1 of the poor **** job was to squeeze the mink glads to make the stuff island gun mentioned.

Talk about a stinking job.

Just as a ps if u using a raft on a river/tidal area u il need to use heavier rope than u'd expect mibee go up to 10 o 12mm blue poly

[Fisheruk]

Mash up some fishy cat food and spread it on the raft for a few days. Then from the opposite bank shoot them with a rimfire when they come to lick it off. .22lr 50-60 metres or 17hmr across from the other bank of the lake at 100 metres. Very effective.

[islandgun]

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/features/hebridean-mink-project-856

I started on this project 2001 about, we used fish in the early days with great success but later used Lure (mink gland) which is much easier to use and very effective, if you can get it its well worth it, 

[islandgun]

I should have added that all the fish and smelly baits will attract rats and the occasional very angry cat, but rats are unlikely to enter a hole smelling of Mink/lure