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Other Activities => Trapping => Topic started by: JODakota on December 22, 2014, 06:09:47 PM


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Title: Leaving some for seed
Post by: JODakota on December 22, 2014, 06:09:47 PM
Question for you guys with colony traps. When trapping rats, when do you decide to pull the sets? Do you clean them out or leave some for seed?
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: JODakota on December 27, 2014, 07:02:55 PM
Nobody wants to touch this one huh?
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: CoryTDF on December 27, 2014, 07:03:51 PM
I'll touch it!
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: Turner89 on December 27, 2014, 07:05:40 PM
I'm thinking I may have cleaned them out for awhile in my spot. :dunno:
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: JODakota on December 27, 2014, 07:06:36 PM
I'll touch it!

Hahaha Cory, I don't believe there is anything you won't touch....
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: 3nails on December 27, 2014, 07:07:57 PM
 Just about every drop of water is attached to another where I trap so "re-seeding isn't far away. I'll trap a spot until it isn't worth the gas to drive to it and move on. So far the same spots have produced equally over the years.
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: JODakota on December 27, 2014, 07:12:07 PM
I'm thinking I may have cleaned them out for awhile in my spot. :dunno:

I understand when your restricted to cage traps that it can be hard to control your catch rate when it comes to rats. But there has to be a limit to how much you take, that is if you want to continually trap the same areas. My limits is 4 rats per hut, then I pull my traps. I bring this up because of a talk with one of our local game officers came out and found me on my line a couple weeks ago. We were talking and he was surprised I was using just leg holds. I told him I like to leave a few left over. He found that surprising because everybody will use colonies and wipe them all out. He told me he appreciated that, said he didn't see a lot of that anymore, so I was curious how you guys do it. Wipe em out or pull after a certain amount?
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: eburgtrapper on December 28, 2014, 07:40:06 AM
I dont worry able leaving any. Like 3nails said i leave traps til im not catching enough to make the drive. even where i live on the eastside, water connects every where and its not far for a new family to move in.
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: pnwmtnmn on December 28, 2014, 07:55:22 PM
I will set the traps for a set number of days and pull them, whether I am catching a large number of rats or not.
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: buglebuster on December 28, 2014, 08:05:52 PM
DISCLAIMER: I did this when I was 10-14 years old and just having fun!

I grew up on the wenas creek and over the winter I could catch a rat every couple of days using an apple slice set on the pan of the trap. I never ran out of rats to trap and that was with shooting a few here and there. I don't think I would worry about leaving any :twocents:
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: JODakota on December 28, 2014, 09:25:24 PM
I will set the traps for a set number of days and pull them, whether I am catching a large number of rats or not.

That is nice to hear! Guys who are saying don't worry about leaving any will soon be going through what the north is. Muskrats are losing ground and quickly.
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: 3nails on December 29, 2014, 04:56:02 AM
I will set the traps for a set number of days and pull them, whether I am catching a large number of rats or not.

That is nice to hear! Guys who are saying don't worry about leaving any will soon be going through what the north is. Muskrats are losing ground and quickly.
I can see where in drier regions this could be a concern. On the west side of the state, in most areas, there is so much water that can't be trapped combined with very few trappers it's not a concern.
Title: Re: Leaving some for seed
Post by: cat daddy on January 03, 2015, 04:58:59 PM
I move traps every 2 days regardless. I get the cream the first night and a few stragglers the 2nd check then time to move. I trap the same ditches every year and catch about the same amount of rats
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