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Joined: Aug 2009
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Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Aug 2009
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Hello, We just purchase a property with a 1 acre pond that I recently had repaired because of it leaking. The leaks were caused by a number of things. The dam had a large amount of trees; it was also heavily damaged by muskrats and crayfish holes. While repairing the pond my pond guy found the den and was able to remove the muskrats. He was also able to repair the crayfish holes. My question is how can I prevent the muskrat’s returning and what should I do about the crayfish. My pond guy said when I find a crayfish hole on the dam that I should pour a little seven (pesticide I think) and push a rock into the hole and cover it over. As for the muskrats he gave me a name of a local trapper but he can only trap during certain season. Any suggestions? Before After
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Joined: Oct 2005
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Hey backld; welcome to the pond show, my man! You landed in the right hole place. I'm fighting a similar issue right now. The second page has some answers. (edit: nice work cleanin' house)
Last edited by Brettski; 08/28/09 11:15 AM.
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 14,037 Likes: 300
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: May 2004
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Howdy, backld.
Keeping tall grass & other muskrat favorite eats like cattails off the edge of the pond should help keep them from wanting to move back into your banks. With the edges all cleaned up, you've got a good starting point.
Trapping itself is not too difficult and the proper sized traps are available in the $5 - $10 range. If you live on the property, checking your trapline once a day as required by ODNR should be fairly simple. If this is an option for you, we can help steer you to the necessary resources here & elsewhere in time to be ready for Ohio's muskrat trapping season this coming Winter.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Joined: Jun 2007
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099 Likes: 23 |
Ohio may be different, but most states allow traping 'Nuisance" animals at any time. The animals just can not be used for anything other than fertilizer and of course pelts can not be kept.
Great clean-up!
Last edited by Rainman; 08/28/09 02:24 PM.
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Joined: Oct 2007
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Start here: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/Home/fishing/pond/animals/tabid/6215/Default.aspxIt says the best way to control them is to trap during the state's trapping season, but I would bet all is really required is to call your local dnr office and let them know you are removing them due to pond bank damage. That's the way it is in Missouri (where I live) and most states in the midwest.
12 ac pond in NW Missouri. 28' max depth at full pool. Fish Present: LMB, BG, RES, YP, CC, WB, HSB, WE, BCP, WCP, GSH.
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Wow! What a great redo of the pond...
Another option to consider is to bury chainlink fencing along your dam, to prevent them from burrowing past it. Also, placing rocks along the dam can help make it less desirable to rats.
A healthy bass/catfish population should help to reduce the crayfish population and therefore mitigate the damage they may do.
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Joined: Nov 2004
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 7
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 7 |
Thanks for all of the answers. I'm thinking of doing this around my pond. http://www.rockchuckers.com/
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Welcome, backld. Lots of sound advice has already been offered. I have a 1.5 acre pond with a max depth of about 20 feet that was drained halfway down by muskrats. Another option to trapping them is to just use poison. So far, I've found that high speed lead projectiles induce a nearly instant case of fatal lead poisoning that seems to prevent the afflicted rat from getting back into the game.
Once I find the dam holes and get them repaired, I am planning on lining the face of my dam with riprap so the rats can't burrow there anymore. The chain link fencing is a great idea, too, but the riprap will also provide something interesting for the LMB in the pond.
Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.
Last edited by Todd3138; 09/26/09 04:52 PM.
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,730 Likes: 289
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,730 Likes: 289 |
I thought that another option is to have a very gentle slope on the dam. I think that muskrats prefer a steep bank to burrow in. Combined with Winter trapping, this has worked for me. The crayfish around here burrow straight down on shore (looks like a mini volcano), but have not caused me any problems. The population in the pond is low, maybe due to fish and herons? I also installed a rat guard on the 15" overflow pipe, mostly to discourage the beavers. No beavers yet, but I'll know better in a year how this is working. I do have a bunch of teeth marks through the paint on the guard, so something was not happy with the new bars covering the pipe.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Got any pics of your rat guard? I'm curious to see what exactly it is.
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,730 Likes: 289
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,730 Likes: 289 |
I bought the band type rat guard from AgrDrain (see at link below). I considered building one, but intalling this one was a snap. The in-pipe ones might be better in some applications, but I did not want to impede any of the flow in my pipe. http://www.agridrain.com/pipeproduct.asp?prodtype=107
Last edited by RAH; 09/27/09 12:30 PM.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Nifty. Is the plastic rigid? I assume it would have to be or they'd just push through it if they were so inclined.
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,730 Likes: 289
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2009
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Article in PondBoss mag this month about this...just sayin...
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