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Post by cnyh2ofowler on Dec 15, 2014 12:00:05 GMT -5
I am trapping rats in a swamp and have a few questions about the "push ups" or "feed piles" I see. I understand these are different from the rat houses which are bigger, dome shaped and have a chamber in the middle for rats to live in. The feed piles seem to be made of a finer material, are steep on one side and sloped on the other side. Do these also have a chamber inside or are they solid? Is this food for the rats, if so, how do they access it when the swamp freezes? I have caught rats on the sloped side in legholds but can you trap these feed piles through the ice. thanks for any help.
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Post by slyfox74 on Dec 15, 2014 15:07:49 GMT -5
Push ups are very similar to actual rat houses. They usually have a chamber inside that the rat climbs up in to feed and rest etc. My understanding is you're not to set a trap within 4 or 5 feet of one. Feed piles or feed beds are altogether different but they are only effective in open water situations. As a good rule of thumb, if it sticks up above the water or ice line and makes a mound, don't set on or near it. Just my .02
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Post by nyredfox on Dec 15, 2014 15:25:05 GMT -5
If constructed by a rat and said rat can take shelter, it's a house.... Must be 5 feet away.. Came directly from 2 separate reliable DEC sources... So that's the rule I live by...
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Post by oldman50 on Dec 15, 2014 16:57:33 GMT -5
I also trap a large marsh and these guys are absolutly correct. Have to stay 5ft away from them. Set the runs going to them. Put the trap on the bottom and place something above it to make them dive. If you mark all the runs now it will make it easier when the ice forms. Big marshes can be frustating to trap, so keep at it and keep movig traps. You'll get them.
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Post by cnyh2ofowler on Dec 17, 2014 14:42:30 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. I pulled these traps because of the rising water and will not reset on the push ups. Last year I found where something had dug into a big house, it was kind of neat inside, there was a hole and a shelf where the rats must sleep. Every fox that had come by stopped and looked in the hole. By the time I got back in there the ice was gone. Would have made a nice set for the fox. Does anyone trap these frozen marshes for fox?
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Post by slyfox74 on Dec 17, 2014 18:39:10 GMT -5
Again, you can't set a trap (any trap) within 5 feet of the house. This includes setting for animals that aren't muskrats. Most of that should have been covered in your trappers education course.
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Post by kirkwooder on Dec 17, 2014 20:25:47 GMT -5
I've had pretty good luck setting blind trail sets right on the ice if it is covered with a little bit of snow. Chop out a trap bed, set a trap, stake into the ice(I use a 1/2 drill and a re-bar stake. I drill the hole all the way through the ice and it will fill with water, tap your stake down in and it will refreeze there.) and blend it in with some snow. If the weather doesn't thaw and freeze they tend to work well.
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