Backyard Orchards, chronicling, musing and more

@mrsg47 never catch a mink. Opossums did hiss and show their fangs at me.

You can start a career in Pest Control :joy:

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They have been more gentle than minks. don’t catch a mink!

I thought we don’t have voles here but somebody at the senior center said she has them. She lives near the railroad tracks.

Haha! I once had a short tail weasel (Ermine) in my house! Ended up nabbing it in a paper bag (not recommended) and got it across the road to release near an old barn. Had quite the nasty disposition. No idea how that little bugger got in the house.

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Hah ,!
Sounds like ,” my side of the mountain.”.
Read when young.
. .
Listened to it again recently on YouTube.
Now I know how I ended up where I am……

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Yes, there is a western vole - mostly displaced in southern California by housing. Formerly they were a #1 food source for fox, coyote, and raptors.

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Ahmad
This was from today. Not sure if I am a pest controller or a zoo keeper.

@mrsg47 Never caught a minx. Never seen one.

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So . . . pray tell . . . how do you get a skunk out of that trap without getting sprayed??? :pleading_face:

It is an art involving canvas tarps, PPE, and a long pole to trip the release hatch.

Very easy , Karen.

My trap is Havaheart trap.

I carry a large tarp in both hands in front of me from the waist to the ground. Make sure the skunk cannot see any body part from my feet up to my waist.(it cannot look up beyond the waisr being inside the trap).

Once I reach the trap, I reach down to lift a lock bar on both ends. Standing over the trap, the skunk cannot see me. After the trap is unlocked, I turn the trap to its side. The skunk walks out.The whole time, I still hold the tarp in front of me.

You can try this method without a skunk in a trap. It is easy. I have done this safely a dozen times,

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Yep you’re a zookeeper!:rofl:

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i do it the same way. havent been sprayed yet. another way is to permanently cover the top/ sides of the trap with a piece of tarp .

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My parents had a really bad mouse infestation one fall and an ermine let themself in (probably through the same holes the mice were using). They would see it scurry through with a mouse it’s mouth every so often. They let it do what it does best and a few weeks later they were 100% mouse free and the ermine moved on never to be seen again. They are extremely prolific predators. They often just kill to cure the itch more then for food much like a cat. Researchers have found weasel caches with dozens of uneaten mice.

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The Ermine in the house was at my old place, a late 1800’s farmhouse victorian with plenty of places for it to get in. Where I live now, we saw one in a brush pile in winter, it was as white as the snow. Haven’t gotten a short tail on the game cam, but do have a mink and Fisher.

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I admit I have not seen mink, ermine or weasel in real life. I have only seen a pet ferret. It was noisy and smelly.

I don’t need any of them in my backyard if they plan to eat my fruit. If they only eat mice and squirrels, they are welcome.

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ermine and mink are reasons ive added fine hardware cloth to the lower 3ft. of my chicken runs. them lil’ buggers can squeeze though the 1in. chicken wire. seen a few around.

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Went away for 3 days. Came home last evening and saw these.
Bunnies’ work

And chipmunk or squirrels’ work

This one I was not so sure. Squirrel? Can @thecityman or anyone else guess?

Looks like they need to be fed onebite.

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Well then, get to work with fencing!