Muskrats were wreaking havoc on my shoreline in late winter/early spring. Some of the tunnels were 25 feet up the bank from the waters edge. I gave myself a crash course in trapping via YouTube and purchased a couple conibear 110 traps. After some trial and error, I caught 2 of the little bastards. The digging activity seemed to stop, and I backfilled all the tunnels, which took a lot more dirt than I expected.
Last week I noticed some cattail cuttings and my leg sank knee deep at a previous tunnel site. They are back. I set the traps again and got one.
So, my question is this just an endless, year-round ritual for pondmeisters? If there is one muskrat, then there are probably more, right? Are there methods of deterrence to keep them away?
I never see them on the bank and just occasionally swimming, so getting a shooting opportunity would be rare. Trapping seems to be my best bet.
