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loki
05-31-2009, 02:03 AM
What do you guys think about rat traps being used to aquire small game as birds and squirrels. They are light, flat and two or three will fit into most any size pack you can think of. I think these would be a great benefit if needed it could be used to catch squirrels, pigeons, other small birds, chipmunks, and anyother animal that is 1lb and under.

rat31465
05-31-2009, 04:55 AM
I have considered this question myself...another use for them would be as triggers for larger dead falls..etc!

snakeman
05-31-2009, 06:39 AM
It sure would be effecient and save time, but I would rather use deadfall traps and snares because snare wire is as weightless as you can go. Also like you said, the mouse trap will only catch small animals, but a snare can catch anything up to a deer.

COWBOYSURVIVAL
05-31-2009, 07:06 AM
Not a bad idea at all. I have small conibear traps never thought of using a mouse trap outdoors? Things that make you say HMMM?

crashdive123
05-31-2009, 07:37 AM
Rat traps work well. For using them in the wilderness, you are never sure of "what" will end up in your trap, so it may be a good idea to secure them to an object so they won't be carried off. If you use the wooden ones, you may want to pre-drill a hole in the center and carry a few deck screws. This makes it easier to attach them to a tree, log, etc. Of course, you can use wire or cordage as well.

Rick
05-31-2009, 08:05 AM
There are a number of posts that reference rat traps and how they are used. Crash summed them up pretty well.

mcfd45
06-01-2009, 12:02 AM
Go with crash's idea nd put a hole in them. screw them on the side of a tree and a squirrel is sure to get curious. You could even add some foil or something to add some flash.

vthompson
06-01-2009, 12:06 AM
That's a very good idea, I would have never thought of that.

Sourdough
06-01-2009, 12:22 AM
I bought (3) three the last time in Los Anchorage, they were $2.99 each, which I thought was darn fair price. I use mouse traps for Red back Voles in the grain barn, then the weasels/ermines cart the dead voles off. I sure hope they will kill a weasel.

How much rat traps cost where you are at.....?

SARKY
06-01-2009, 01:21 AM
I've used rat traps for squirrels, they work quite well. I would attach it to the trunk of a tree about 4 to 5 feet up from the ground, bait it and check it frequently. The only problem I had was one winter in Maine the trap had been sprung but no squirrel. this went on about 5 times. I finally gave up on that trap. Come spring I found 5 squirrel carcusses at the base of the tree. It seems that the cold weather had slowed the spring, giving the squirrel enough time to back out enough to be killed by the trap but not caught in it.

crashdive123
06-01-2009, 06:41 AM
I bought (3) three the last time in Los Anchorage, they were $2.99 each, which I thought was darn fair price. I use mouse traps for Red back Voles in the grain barn, then the weasels/ermines cart the dead voles off. I sure hope they will kill a weasel.

How much rat traps cost where you are at.....?

I get them by the case. For the wooden rat traps (Victor) I pay about $2, For the plastic one (several varieties) about $3 - $4.

Sourdough
06-01-2009, 07:46 AM
Sorry if I missed it but, what can be used for baiting squirrels......? I saw tinfoil, what else......?

crashdive123
06-01-2009, 07:58 AM
Nuts, grains, peanut butter.

hoosierarcher
06-01-2009, 12:02 PM
I've been telling folks for years to add at least one modified (a eye screw in on corner to attach a line to secure it) to their daypack kits.

loki
06-13-2009, 12:32 PM
I bought (3) three the last time in Los Anchorage, they were $2.99 each, which I thought was darn fair price. I use mouse traps for Red back Voles in the grain barn, then the weasels/ermines cart the dead voles off. I sure hope they will kill a weasel.

How much rat traps cost where you are at.....?

Rat traps here run around 6 bucks from lowes and home depot. You can get them a little cheaper at a farm supply house though.

loki
06-13-2009, 12:33 PM
Nuts, grains, peanut butter.

i have used bread, crackers and mixed trail nuts in my live trap and they worked I assume the same would work in the rat trap.

DOGMAN
06-13-2009, 12:47 PM
So, I am surrounded by ground squirrels....a complete infestation- maybe 1,000 of them on my property. Will a wooden rat trap catch these guys? If yes what for bait/lure, if no, what will work

Sourdough
06-13-2009, 01:04 PM
So, I am surrounded by ground squirrels....a complete infestation- maybe 1,000 of them on my property. Will a wooden rat trap catch these guys? If yes what for bait/lure, if no, what will work


A herd of Mongoose's or a Flock of Ferrit's........:):):) Or two bricks of .22 Rim Fire, and a good, Rifle...:)

Ken
06-13-2009, 02:26 PM
So, I am surrounded by ground squirrels....a complete infestation- maybe 1,000 of them on my property. Will a wooden rat trap catch these guys? If yes what for bait/lure, if no, what will work

Get some airline tickets (first class, please) for some of those little critters and fly 'em over here. I love watching those guys run around the yard and up and down the trees. Yeah, I know the damage they're capable of doing. But I just toss 'em a pound of peanuts everyday, and they're great neighbors.

crashdive123
06-13-2009, 03:49 PM
Jason - for the numbers you are talking about, snap traps are not very efficient time wise. Live traps may work better - even homemade ones.

loki
06-14-2009, 02:44 PM
Jason - for the numbers you are talking about, snap traps are not very efficient time wise. Live traps may work better - even homemade ones.

For the numbers you are talking about I think that snap traps would work, you would just need a lot of them. I would say combine the efforts with snap and live traps for say two to three days, then on day four, your .22lr or 17hmr should take care of 10-30 of themon day 5 . Then reset traps on day six and seven. Do this for two weeks and your problem will be reduced greatly. The benefit to the mixing up is that the squirrels don't get used to the same routine as they are smart animals and the mixing up will make it take longer for them to get familiar with the notion that those thingies are something I need to avoid.

Rick
06-14-2009, 05:57 PM
Jason - I used to have a ground squirrel problem, too. Not nearly that many but a heck of a lot more than I wanted. I started out live trapping them with corn and, quite by accident, I found you don't even need to use bait. Place the trap anywhere they will run. For me, I have an elevated garden lined with 4X4 landscape timbers so I just sat the trap in line with the timbers and the stupid things run through it and trip it. If you leave them in the trap unchecked for any length of time they will be dead. I don't know if they dehydrate in the sun or what it is but they sure don't last very long if the sun is out.