[robbiegrant]

We have ( potentially ) a mink problem.
Want to lay a mink trap to see if mink is the problem
and remove the mink from this stretch of the river
Dont want my Indian Runners slaughtered like i fear the local mallard population has been recently.

Any Ideas?
where can I get such a thing and how would be best to use it?

[SallyintNorth]

Use a standard squirrel trap.  Set it near a waterway, well camouflaged so it looks like an interesting tunnel.  Use cat food as bait, the smellier the better.  Minky won't go near for some time, possibly weeks, and will detect human interference (so keeping it baited is a bit of a challenge. )

If/when you do catch one, remember minky's teeth can and will reach your fingers if you pick the cage up by its handles using ungloved hands. 

Good luck    - dratted things 

[bloomer]

mink are nasty and evil good luck!!!

[robbiegrant]

Use a standard squirrel trap.  Set it near a waterway, well camouflaged so it looks like an interesting tunnel.  Use cat food as bait, the smellier the better.  Minky won't go near for some time, possibly weeks, and will detect human interference (so keeping it baited is a bit of a challenge. )

If/when you do catch one, remember minky's teeth can and will reach your fingers if you pick the cage up by its handles using ungloved hands. 

Good luck    - dratted things 

Thats a great start... Thank you Sally

[HelenVF]

I did some work on mink and trapping them.  I worked with a keeper who set the traps on mink rafts, and I monitored the riparian species to see if the presence of mink, had a direct effect on them.

Have a look at: http://www.gwct.org.uk/research__surveys/predation/predation_control/mink/default.asp

Might give you a few pointers.

Helen

[Penninehillbilly]

WE thought we had a stoat taking call ducks, but they were going so fast we thought it must be feeding a family.
we set a fenn trap in a wooden tunnel, made by a game keeper, we caught 3 mink in 2 days, wear plastic gloves, we baited with duck (remains of one it couldn't drag under the hut    ).
I did have to finish one off, used a hammer.

[robbiegrant]

I did some work on mink and trapping them.  I worked with a keeper who set the traps on mink rafts, and I monitored the riparian species to see if the presence of mink, had a direct effect on them.

Have a look at: http://www.gwct.org.uk/research__surveys/predation/predation_control/mink/default.asp

Might give you a few pointers.

Helen

  Helen,
I REALLY like this idea...Thank you. Had a read of the document. Very interesting... I like the " record mode" where you can check what animals are visiting by their footprints and then set to trap mode. But I am a bit of a nerd and a sucker for anything to do with science...  I know they are devils of the river bank and they can control quite a stretch. What did your research concur?
Robbie

WE thought we had a stoat taking call ducks, but they were going so fast we thought it must be feeding a family.
we set a fenn trap in a wooden tunnel, made by a game keeper, we caught 3 mink in 2 days, wear plastic gloves, we baited with duck (remains of one it couldn't drag under the hut    ).
I did have to finish one off, used a hammer.

Sorry to hear about your problem with mink. The "Animal Rights People" Who decided to free the little cretins caused a greater problem for our indigenous animals as they have no preditors.

I have a very thick pair of welders gloves. Though Im still not keen on handling them. They WILL have sharp pointy teeth n stuff, I'm sure they could carry all sorts ( and not the liquorice ones ). Before dispatching the " Little Darling "  I may need to make a call to the council or summat... There may be government guidelines regarding them ( maybe we can just deport them back to America    )

I havent got around to doing anything about it yet.... piles of paperwork and my dolist gets longer and every day gets shorter. boohoo

EDIT:  This was the response I got from my chums on shootforum http://www.shootforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=23543
There are stringent guidelines regarding dispatching mink. If you read the thread it gets a bit silly ( vets at own cost and all )!! Tho my mate Phil did offer to bring his 308 to sort it out!  Maybe a little overkill

I was sent this link http://www.diy-pest-control.co.uk/mink-pestid-61.php&filter=control
Also.

[Penninehillbilly]

Thanks HelenVF and Robbie, Interesting reading, but just out of curiosity, I wonder which the mink would prefer, left writhing caught in the jaws of Fenn trap for an hour or so while one finds a vet, or being dispatched asap?
Shotgun pellets catching and bouncing of a fenn trap would be interesting as well 
Once shot something with a .410 in a 12x8 hen hut, pellets bouncing everywhere! (I was much younger and I've learned a lot since then  )

[HelenVF]

  Helen,
I REALLY like this idea...Thank you. Had a read of the document. Very interesting... I like the " record mode" where you can check what animals are visiting by their footprints and then set to trap mode. But I am a bit of a nerd and a sucker for anything to do with science...  I know they are devils of the river bank and they can control quite a stretch. What did your research concur?
Robbie

It only ran for one year, and wasn't continued when I left.  I had a good success rate of dipper nests but my grey wagtail nests were often predated by corvids!
 
It was a bit of a non-starter really as I'm not sure there were any mink about!  I think it was a case of some funding being available so decided to do that.
 
Helen

[oor wullie]

It might be worth checking to see if there is a mink eradication program in your area.  When I lived in Aberdeen (3 or 4 years ago) I know there were 2 full time mink trappers in Aberdeenshire paid for by the government as part of some program or other.
The guy that I met who did this job was always keen to hear from people who thought they knew where mink were and would come out, set traps and give advice.

[Penninehillbilly]

Our local council loans traps out. can't remember which dept.

[chrismahon]

We bought a Mink trap from Gamekeepa Supplies in Edingale, Staffordshire. They are Chinese copies but cheap. They are on line for mail order. Never actually used it and I expect a Fenn 6 (get a genuine one as the copies have weak springs) in a tunnel will do a better job. Thought about baiting the Mink trap with eggs, but the rats would probably get them first. The Mink used to be in the area for just a few weeks a year. During that time it killed everything along the canal bank. We knew it was there when the rats stopped coming to the chicken's runs and there were no ducks on the canal.

[robbiegrant]

The Mink used to be in the area for just a few weeks a year.

just a few weeks a year? what time of year was that? where did they go during the other time?

Ibiza?
Tennerife?
Benedorm?

 

No but theriously. Do you think they where roaming onto your patch during a specific season. I'm told they can cover a long stretch of river. The mallards on our stretch has been seriously depleted this year.

Our local council loans traps out. can't remember which dept.

It might be worth checking to see if there is a mink eradication program in your area.  When I lived in Aberdeen (3 or 4 years ago) I know there were 2 full time mink trappers in Aberdeenshire paid for by the government as part of some program or other.
The guy that I met who did this job was always keen to hear from people who thought they knew where mink were and would come out, set traps and give advice.

Phoning fife council might be a very good idea!

I wonder which the mink would prefer, left writhing caught in the jaws of Fenn trap for an hour or so while one finds a vet, or being dispatched asap?
Shotgun pellets catching and bouncing of a fenn trap would be interesting as well 
Once shot something with a .410 in a 12x8 hen hut, pellets bouncing everywhere! (I was much younger and I've learned a lot since then  )

No sense in animals suffering ( even if they are murdering b*******ds ). Shotgun is out of the question in this location. My shooting buddy suggested one of these http://www.airgundepot.com/colt-air-pistols.html for quick quiet humane dispatch.  I wonder how effective my welding gloves would be against its teeth!

I cut down a 12gauge cartridge back to the brass cap and set it off with a nail when i was a kid. I learned how stupid this idea is milliseconds after the hammer connected. Ma wee pinky hurt like hell, no lasting damage but lesson learned... Doh!

[Penninehillbilly]

I cut down a 12gauge cartridge back to the brass cap and set it off with a nail when i was a kid. I learned how stupid this idea is milliseconds after the hammer connected. Ma wee pinky hurt like hell, no lasting damage but lesson learned... Doh!

First husband & his brothers did odd things - they would wedge shotgun cartridges in where screws went in an old car wheel, fire at them with the air gun for target practise. looking back I often wonder why pellets never bounced back at us. Maybe we stood further away than I remember.
Actually same place we caught a weasel in a gin trap (or type of? - 30+ years ago!) He nailed it to the croft house door and someone (postie?) pinched it! We were away from the road so it wasn't a passerby.