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Post by treeman on Nov 15, 2011 17:50:23 GMT -6
My father, who only trapped muskrats in the 70's & early 80's said he used to use shredded carrots with mint extract on em. Not that i don't trust his advice, but how effective will it be? I can see the visual, smell advantage. Anybody do this?, Thanks,
-T-
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Post by treeman on Nov 17, 2011 13:59:03 GMT -6
Anybody know? was going to use a pile of this if it works......
-T-
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Post by silverfox on Nov 17, 2011 19:10:40 GMT -6
No bait necessary if you have good sign. I used to use apple slices back when I was a kid and they worked. Hawbaker had a great muskrat lure that smelled like bubble gum and I slayed the rats with it. Would trap out a pocket full of rats in two or three days. Caught 200 - 325 rats a year when in high school in Iowa with just a few #1 blake and lambs, but the folks say there are not any rats up there these days. They blame the farm chemicals but I am not 100% sure if that is it.
Try a simple lure for rats if you can buy a bottle for a few bucks. They really catch the hell out of em in little bank pocket sets. I never trapped rats for more than 3 days at any one spot. Easy to catch em all and then they are gone for quite a while. But, all habitat is different. I was in Iowa cropland in those sweet days! Down here in the Ozarks I catch and buy more bobcats than rats! I amybe buy a few thousand rats from the bootheel but they are so tiny!! Nothing like a big ole northern Muskrat, that is for sure.
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Post by treeman on Nov 17, 2011 20:00:30 GMT -6
Silverfox you touched on a good subject with the "unknown" decline in rats. I just read the other day in a publication here in PA where they spoke of the declining muskrat numbers. Trappers used to catch literally a millon of them in the 70's & 80's annually. Since then they say that trappers numbers declined dramatically, & so has the number of people buing furtakers permits.I can't remember the number of last years estimated harvest, but it was under 100,000, So you would think with less trappers that they would rebound, but not the case. They captured rats to see general health & age. There didn't seem to be a bunch of older, or younger rats. They basically said they had no idea why. They said new predation perhaps, whatever that means. Last year i only caught 2 muskrats, but I didn't target them. I was new at trapping & put out a set or two on based on sign. I know where there is a few from an ealry scouting trip. I would like to pick up a dozen or 2. Thanks.
-T-
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Post by ozarkmountainman on Nov 21, 2011 6:11:17 GMT -6
Mint tooth paste. Gets 'em every time.
Dale
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Post by bigjohn on Nov 21, 2011 21:23:48 GMT -6
What Dale said.As far as the decline in rats,I do believe that the chemical Atrazine used on corn fields had alot to do with our rat populations back when it was legal to use.The bigger creeks had plenty of vegatation on the banks but started to have less as the Atrazine started entering the streams from nearby fields.Then tiling of fields started and the creek would flood with rains that wouldn't normally effect the before and keep the banks barer than before.Rats that forage very far from the water end up as predator scat.
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Goodbye 2020