# Winter muskrat problem



## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

So, I had another thread asking about open spots on my pond. I think they are muskrats. There are random, spidered holes on the pond and some have open water at them. 

I do have muskrats, we trapped 3 right before the ice came. 

I now probably have to wait till spring to get the other little buggers out of there. 

Any other thoughts about what this might be if not the muskrats?


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

The holes themselves aren&#8217;t created by the muskrats. Muskrats don&#8217;t have the ability to cut holes in ice, nor the need. Though I can&#8217;t explain the holes, they&#8217;re very common on every pond I&#8217;ve seen.


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

could be spring water, making soft spots. and I shoot any rat I find in my pond, back couple yrs they almost broke out the dam area . I got them all, and I have NO GEESE either , when they land I:M out there with the gun chasing them out , took couple yrs but now the local geese just fly to the next pond . you can here them when they pass over, DON:T LAND here grumpy will splater you with a 12gauge.


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

Yeah, those holes are pretty common.
No idea what causes them though.


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## Joshb (Feb 1, 2011)

the holes are from muskrats. a lot of ponds i trap have those holes from muskrats. if you have some #1 long spings you can trap them easy. here is a link on how to trap them with ice. it works very well . i got about 20 of them off this set up this year.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=203662


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

Thanks for the link josh......i'll give it a whirl. 

Though I have seen holes just like my pond has on other ponds. Pleasant hill even has holes like that down by the dam. They are also in random places.

There are however, 2 holes directly in front of where the muskrat runs were before the ice came, which makes me very suspicious.


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## Rod Hawg (Jan 13, 2011)

We had a trapper get 15! And one mink. Those things destroy ponds. We had a baby muskrat swimming across and all the sudden. Bang! A big Channel Cat got him. I hate them. We also shoot them in the summer. Thats tough to do. But in the winter I don't know how you could get them in the winter.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Muskrats use the holes, but they do not make them.


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## Eliminator (Aug 26, 2006)

They definately do gnaw holes in the ice.
http://nhguide.dbs.umt.edu/index.php?c=mammals&m=desc&id=8


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## Joshb (Feb 1, 2011)

no wake said:


> They definately do gnaw holes in the ice.
> http://nhguide.dbs.umt.edu/index.php?c=mammals&m=desc&id=8


thats what i think to bc it seems like the holes are around there dens and about every pond i trap rats out of have them.


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## Raylc (Jul 25, 2008)

I have the holes too. Not sure where they come from. At the present I'm Rat Free(I Think). I almost rolled a tractor when one of their bank dens caved in. They can and will take out a dam, quick too. Like a few days. They dig through it. Once the water starts to flow through it you can lose it in an hour. They are a real pain in the ass. I use conibears with the bottom rivit replaced with a 40 penny spike. I stick them in anything that looks like a hole. As soon as the ice starts to melt away from the shore I start checking.


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

Yea, I think as soon as the ice melts I am putting chain link fence around the pond slopes to prevent them from digging. 

Don't be so sure they are gone, they breed very quickly. Their young are at breeding age after 10-12 months and can have up to 11 babies......


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## markfish (Nov 22, 2007)

fence wont do a thing for ya they will make there denn holes out in deeper water i trap a lot of ponds and had to go out to 4 to5 foot of water to set cage traps, and you will not get rid of all of them,by trapping because there are holes ot so far you cant see them,the farm pond i traped this year was the same way first night got 11 rat in 5 cage set 2 dat total 17 rat,next year look me up ill clean a large portion of then out in 2or3 nights


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

Holy S%^& mark, That's a lot of rats.......maybe you can make a trip to mansfield for me this spring? 

I have a buddy that traps, but he's only got three so far.


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## markfish (Nov 22, 2007)

[/url] 44[/IMG]well let me put it this way in 3 days i cleaned out 17 rat in a 3 acer farm pond with just 5 cage trapes,but like i sad you never get them all and new ones find there way in to your pond during mateing season so if you got losts of rats then it wouild be worth the trip for me i wouild set alot of traps and clean them out 2or 3 days no problem,i 50 rat down in the base ment ready to sell so keep me in mind,p.s dose your pond get feed buy creek or is there a creek close to your pond if so thats were they come in from and a rat gives birth two or three litters a year up to 20 rat,markfish


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## T-180 (Oct 18, 2005)

Rats very rarely make dens in water over 4 or 5' unless there is a large fluctuation in water levels, but it does happen. If the pond has good rat habitat, they will continue to feed in there from nearby streams, ditches, etc. so you have to stay after them. Almost all pond owners way over estimate how many are in a pond because the damage builds over time, until they notice it, then they panic. Five or six per pond can do a ton of damage in one or two seasons and, unless they are in the dike area, the damage is usually cosmetic.

Markfish, nice take on rats ......... never had a pond give up 17 rats & I've been at it for over 35 years. If most are large rats or bigger, you should get well over $6/ rat.... sounds like pretty good "play" money.


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## markfish (Nov 22, 2007)

the rats you see there had so much fat on them like a **** i got rats that took the hole strecher and still slack in the pelt i got a lot of rats over 18in and a bunch of 16 to17in im hopping to fetch a good price to pay for tournament,and 1 **** 36in long


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## T-180 (Oct 18, 2005)

16-18" rats & a **** at 36" !!!! Those things must be old enough to vote !! How wide did you stretch your **** ??


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## Joshb (Feb 1, 2011)

you selling your fur to a local buyer mark. i got a $8 average on rats and $15 average on **** at a local buyer. i had around 140 rats and 110 ****


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## markfish (Nov 22, 2007)

no the **** was just skinned and hung from a nail from nose to base of the tail 36in,then rolled up and frozen big femail,and the rat were on regular rat strechers,and ,joshb,i called a few local dealers yesterday but no one answer there phones i need to move these now,can you pm, me a place i can sell the lot, dont want to pay for auction fees,or half to drive 80 miles,my rats are of high grade furr and nothing under 14in most are 16 to18in,and 5.5in wide,thanks and good job on the amount of rats you got,markfish


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## treytd32 (Jun 12, 2009)

I always used to fish these 3 ponds behind my friends apartment and would always see these lil f ers (not very little) swimming through the middle of the pond or scaring the crap out of us on the bank. I saw one with my friend this last winter that was the size of a house cat.


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

get a air gun... something like a crosman titan, and aim for the head. 14.9 grains of lead going at 700+ FPS which come out at 17-18 FPE will be a cold, dead, welcoming to their residencie.
dont think these things arent reliable, accurate, and powerful. they may not have the 100+ of FPE that regular .22 LRs have, but they make it easier to hunt without being heard. a titan has a gas piston and cost $150, way less then hiring trappers or pest control, or reparing damage done by the rats.


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