Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Mink

I had a Mink last weekend in my pond checking out the Muskrat holes. I understand they eliminate muskrats but am wondering if they kill fish and if so do they kill enough to worry about.

I would love to have them keep the rats out, but wonder if there is a downside.

Brian

As a youth, I trapped. Doing so, gave me a strong respect and liking for mink, fox, and other critters.

Per an internet search, mink eat muskrats, voles, rabbits, fish, birds, frogs, salamanders, crayfish, clams, and insects, chipmunks, crayfish, birds, waterfowl and rodents. I'm personally more than willing to trade some small fish or birds to have the mink around and keeping my muskrats under control.

While mowing down some tall weeds around my lake last summer, I saw three different mink. Only later when an owl flew over did it hit me that I just eliminated their cover and made them a lot more vulnerable to predation by owls and such.

Mink are oportunists & will take whatever prey is presented to them.
Like Rangersedge I know what it's like to run a trapline. To be sucessful one must become very familiar with their quarry.
Many a mink has been caught while swimming underwater catching fish.
I would think a mink could do damage to someones small water garden pond with expensive Koi, but would not be concerned otherwise with their fishing ability.
They will take ducks & raid nests.

I would not count on them controling a muskrat colony, though they will try.

Ric's right on both counts. I should have said "helping keep" instead of "keeping" and mink would be a concern with ornamental fish ponds. Witnessed mink predation put the hurt on a friend's expensive ornamental fish; but I'm not worried about mink hurting my fish population in any of my fishing ponds.

As of yet, I still don't have any significant muskrat numbers in my lake. If I do get them, I will wind up setting out a bunch of 110 traps and hoping I don't catch mink. That is a strange change from my youth when I set out muskrat traps dreaming about catching mink.