Muskrat traps, methods, and tricks

This post is for those of you who are absolutely new to trapping, or have recently started setting for muskrats. First things first: muskrats, just as many other animals, are animals of pattern. They have simple routines, and habits that are not hard to recognize.

The first trap that we muskrat trappers utilize is the conibear. This is a kill trap. The muskrat will swim through the square trap, setting off the trigger, making the square jaws snap on the animal. These traps are to be used mainly in two locations. As I described earlier, a muskrat run is a path that muskrats will often travel. Conibear traps are meant to be set in the exact paths that muskrats will travel. Another way to set this trap is entrance to a muskrat den, or hut, also submerged in the water. This is often referred to as "plugging" a hut or den. Any muskrats inside will be trapped as they exit, and vis versa. 

The next trap is my personal favorite. It is a foothold trap. The size you need is called a #1, or possibly a #1.5. These are the smallest foothold traps. These traps are not a kill trap, they are a foot trap. A muskrat will often be drown by the weight of this trap, or still alive sitting on a hut. These traps are the best traps to use above water. Placing a foothold on a muskrat hut is an easy way to kill rats who are coming from the water to bathe in the sun on top of a hut. You can find where rats are climbing up the onto any type of hut by the mud left behind. They will make obvious mud slides when they climb up on their hut and slide down them. This is a great place to set a successful trap. For information on other animals, and wax/dying traps, look out for my next post. 

Back to the Basics - The Mighty Mushrat

If you are new to trapping, this first post is for those of you who are reading about trapping for the first time. The best way to learn about trapping is to trap with someone who is experienced and knows what they are doing. But if you are starting on your own. Congratulations. You are one of the few people left that want to learn the dying trade of trapping.

In this first post, I will do my best to give you an overview of the muskrat. The first step to trapping is knowing the animal you are going to set for, so I am going to provide you with some information needed to trap successfully. 

Hopefully you have seen one of these fuzz-balls swimming around a ditch or pond at some point. If not, that is a muskrat. Now muskrats are most often found in ditches with moving water, ponds, and swamps. They live in two different settings.
In ditches, riverbeds, or small ponds, rats will dig holes just below the surface of the water. These holes will lead directly into the bank, and the muskrats will dig out a small den in the bank. This is called a bank-den.


Muskrats will often build huts in the water that multiple rats are able to live in. They make them out
of mud, dirt, grass, sticks, and anything else their football sized bodies can carry. They make different types of huts, and you will trap differently at each one. Other than the huts where they live, rats make feed beds to sit and eat on. Nearby is usually a crapper. This a small hut where they will go to do their business. Distinguishing these different areas will help you choose which traps and sets to make.

When rats travel, they make paths called runs. These runs are like roads for muskrats; they will use them to get to various huts, or fine eateries. A run that has recently been used will be murky, with dirt stirred up. The same goes with the entrances to huts and dens. You will know how well used they are by the murkiness of the entrance, and how deep the entrance is. If you can feel solid ground on an entrance or a run when the ground is usually muddy, you know rats have been frequenting this area.

Stay tuned for another post on methods and traps when you are in the great outdoors.

Welcome. Watch your step.

Hey guys! I am uber excited to start my blog/daily diary for the whole world to see! I will be posting pictures of my outfits each day, and ----

Sorry, if you are looking for a blog of this sort, just type in "Ways to lose your man-card" in google. I just want to be clear from the get-go... this is not the average run-of-the-mill blog. This is not a giant load of garbage is compiled into one online document like most other blogs. I did not go on a fun vacation and feel the need to post about it. I did not start a new diet and feel the need to post about it. I did not take pictures of my coin collection and write about each coin. A blog like that is what should be placed in a bin and left on the side of the road for Arrowaste to take care of.

If this blog is read and applied, the information entailed will be a guide to trapping animals like fox, coyote, raccon, mink, and muskrat. This blog will teach you more about animal behavior, trapping equipment, trapping sets, and more. 

My name is Jake Los. I have been trapping for over the last four years. I learned to trap from some of the most skilled trappers in West Michigan. This blog is for anyone interested in learning the skill, or working to get better at their trapping game.