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Killed a hedgehog.


ian1337
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Pretty annoyed right now...

Last night I set my fenn trap in a brick tunnel and used metal pegs to restrict the entrance. Unfortunately a hedgehog managed to get through and was killed by my trap. Is there anyway I can stop hedgehogs getting killed in my fenn trap, or should I just use live traps? 

Has anyone else killed hedgehogs accidently?

 

(I set the trap to kill rats which I have seen in my garden on my trail camera)

brown rat.png

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Much to my annoyance, yes I have.

The only way is to restrict the tunnel entrance hole to exclude non target species. I use weldmesh  with 2" squares cut to the appropriate size and wired to metal spikes so that it can be pushed into the ground. Hedgehogs seem to have the ability to push through pegs and it's amazing how small a gap they can squeeze through.

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3 minutes ago, CharlieT said:

Much to my annoyance, yes I have.

The only way is to restrict the tunnel entrance hole to exclude non target species. I use weldmesh  with 2" squares cut to the appropriate size and wired to metal spikes so that it can be pushed into the ground. Hedgehogs seem to have the ability to push through pegs and it's amazing how small a gap they can squeeze through.

Thank you. I'll try a premade tunnel and see if it works, if it doesn't I'll make one myself. Quite a few hedgehogs must be killed by these traps because many of the tunnels I've seen are big enough for a hedgehog.

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Mmmm, sad. Just before Christmas OH’s father asked me if I would trap some  rats which were coming through the wall of his old crumbly red brick garden shed and gaining access to his chicken shed as a result. 

I thoroughly blocked off all the holes I could find but one. Inches from this one remaining hole I baited a Fenn trap. 

Next morning before going to work I went to investigate and found the trap gone and a trail of green strawberry netting disappearing into the dirt floor. I started pulling on this and realised there was something quite heavy on the other end, and eventually out came the trap and it’s victim; one of the biggest and most beautiful polecat s I have ever seen. 

Felt awful. Couldn’t stop thinking about it all day, and felt so sad.

Id be hopeless as a gamekeeper. ?

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8 minutes ago, Scully said:

Mmmm, sad. Just before Christmas OH’s father asked me if I would trap some  rats which were coming through the wall of his old crumbly red brick garden shed and gaining access to his chicken shed as a result. 

I thoroughly blocked off all the holes I could find but one. Inches from this one remaining hole I baited a Fenn trap. 

Next morning before going to work I went to investigate and found the trap gone and a trail of green strawberry netting disappearing into the dirt floor. I started pulling on this and realised there was something quite heavy on the other end, and eventually out came the trap and it’s victim; one of the biggest and most beautiful polecat s I have ever seen. 

Felt awful. Couldn’t stop thinking about it all day, and felt so sad.

Id be hopeless as a gamekeeper. ?

That'd be worse than catching a hedgehog. I've only seen a polecat once.

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Been familiar with the house we are now in for over 30 years and used to see hogs or their droppings all the time, however since we moved in 4 years ago we have seen 1 and droppings have disappeared as well.   The land around is pasture and woodland with no pesticide usage, however there are now 2 badger sets within a quarter mile that were not there until 3/4 years ago  -  make of it what you will.   

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Billy likes to eat them. 

Dont give up on your traps, accidental catches are unfortunately par for the course, you do everything you can to prevent it but accidents happen. I caught a hedge pig in one once but by some miracle he was still alive, I loosed him out and he tootled off to eat more slugs. But yesterday I had a wonderful catch...the biggest male rat I’ve seen. He’s been dodging my traps and taking funny routes to avoid them but I got the ******. He was a brute!

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25 minutes ago, Benthejockey said:

Billy likes to eat them. 

Dont give up on your traps, accidental catches are unfortunately par for the course, you do everything you can to prevent it but accidents happen. I caught a hedge pig in one once but by some miracle he was still alive, I loosed him out and he tootled off to eat more slugs. But yesterday I had a wonderful catch...the biggest male rat I’ve seen. He’s been dodging my traps and taking funny routes to avoid them but I got the ******. He was a brute!

Thank you. I've set a cage trap tonight, I'll use a fenn once I find a good tunnel. I'll let you know once I've caught it and I'll send some pictures.

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41 minutes ago, Benthejockey said:

Billy likes to eat them. 

Dont give up on your traps, accidental catches are unfortunately par for the course, you do everything you can to prevent it but accidents happen. I caught a hedge pig in one once but by some miracle he was still alive, I loosed him out and he tootled off to eat more slugs. But yesterday I had a wonderful catch...the biggest male rat I’ve seen. He’s been dodging my traps and taking funny routes to avoid them but I got the ******. He was a brute!

Nearly trapped the rat last night with a cage trap. I hope I haven't educated it as it managed to escape before the door closed.

 

Edited by ian1337
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I've a couple of cage traps I recently bought and they are pretty rubbish. Is there a good place make of them to get - most seem the same. I had a different design when I was a kid and they just wouldn't fail me (had a long straight wire along the top which went through an O of the tread plate if I recall correctly. The ones these days seem to have a wedge cut out of the tread plate and a bar that slides across when they are trodden on and then shuts the door, but I'm not finding them great.

Got Fenns set too and they are picking up an odd rat, but I know I have a couple left to get and think a baited trap will work well. I have the breakback traps in tunnels/bait box but they are avoiding them for now. I have some poison and bait boxes but would rather catch them if possible.

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Multi catch live traps are the only way to ensure you don't catch the wrong species.

Difficult but with a little 'out of the box' thinking you can come up with all sorts of DIY designs.   Rats are usually easy to catch.   Greedy little whatsits.

Hogs will get into the smallest of places when they want to.   They look fat and cumbersome but it is only the spines.   These flatten out as they push through 'things'.

 

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Thanks for the replies guys. I'll post a picture of the rat once I've caught it.

11 hours ago, Mice! said:

WP_20180205_13_11_46_Pro.jpg.27146078594c41b570bfcab25e6df52b.jpg

I got this trap off fisheruk caught a lot of squirrels in it but a good few rats as well, and a hedgehog.

the rats go mental when you go to check the trap and dispatch them.

Rats seem a lot more intelligent than squirrels. I've caught many squirrels in my cage trap but rats are much more wary.

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5 minutes ago, Mice! said:

Caught them near a river bank, exactly same thing as the squirrels fat ball as bait, seed feeder above but only ever put a small amount of seed in because squirrels rip it open, at least they did not many about lately ??? 

I prefer peanut butter because they can't carry it away.

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11 hours ago, ian1337 said:

Do you have any rat pics? 

I've  not no just had a look, the strange thing is they attack the barrel when you go to shoot them, totally different to squirrels. I caught probably the same hedgehog twice last year so stopped using it for a while, going to make the opening smaller this year much as its nice seeing them its hard work getting them out when they ball up.

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