Muskrats

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Muskrats
Muskrats
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The species we will cover is the schoolboy's favorite---muskrats. Muskrats are small aquatic animals, if you didn't know. They eat a variety of grasses, bulbs, and roots. They are also fond of apples and carrots. Muskrats obviously are found in waterways, be it a pond, lake, river, creek or a small slough. The methods of trapping 'rats are pretty much the same all over the country.

The easiest and probably most effective method is to find muskrat runs. NO, it's not a muskrat that ate some bad food. Runs are places where muskrats travel along and in a waterway. There are several ways to find runs. One of the easiest is to walk slowly along a creek bank, on top if you can look directly along the bank, and look for places where the bottom mud, etc. has been disturbed. When muskrats use a run for any length of time they stir all of the mud and silt out of it with their feet. The run is usually a different color than the surrounding bottom. Runs look like small grooves cut into the bottom of the waterway and are about 4" wide and can be from 1/2" to 3" deep. Set your body gripping traps directly in the run. Then stabilize it with some sticks (if there are beaver are around use dead sticks) through the springs and wire your trap to these. Don't put a stick through the jaws as this may block the muskrat from swimming through.

Some places you trap may not allow you to use run sets or you may not find them due to rocky bottoms, deep water, or very discolored water.

There are other equally good 'rat sets though. Some of the best are to find where 'rats have been coming on to shore to get grass and/or roots (this is usually at the end of a run, so look for the run). The other is to find where they are eating the grass roots etc.(this is called a feed bed).It looks like a pile of grass clipping floating in the water usually in a small cut in the bank.
Place your trap under about 1" of water and look to see if you can determine where the muskrats have been putting there feet when they climb out. Wire your trap to a stake or weight out in deeper water. A piece of apple and a bit of muskrat lure will help. Make sure you wire the trap securely to the stake or weight as you may catch something bigger than a muskrat. Racoons are caught quite frequently in muskrat sets as are mink. Coons like any sweet smell and mink love to eat muskrats. Not using lure on your sets will keep these animals out to a good degree.

Another good set is a muskrat toilet set. Look for things that stand out in a waterway a rock poking up, a dead log laying in the water, or any point of land even if it's a small piece sticking into the waterway. Then go look for droppings, muskrat droppings look like long rabbit droppings, most are smooth and shiny and contain a great deal of fiber type material. Find where the muskrats are climbing out to use the toilet(again look for a run). Place your trap about 1" below the water where the muskrats are climbing out. Make sure you wire the trap securely to the stake or weight

The last set is a great one when you can find it. Look for a small hole about 4-5" around dug into the bank below the water level. See if the bottom sediment is disturbed around the hole. If it is this is a muskrat bank den. The best and easiest way to set these are a body-gripping trap right in front of the hole itself.

Muskrats also make little house that look like mini beaver lodges, but since I have never trapped them I don't have any recommendations for them....sorry.