# muskrat issues



## jmckeon

i currently have muskrat issues in my pond i have shot one already but have noticed i have more than one. what is another way to get rid of them besides shooting them as it seems every time i see the bugger/s they are gone by the time i get my gun


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## 8 Point

Just set up a few traps.


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## jmckeon

dont have traps to use either was thinking poison but i dont want the dog to get in to it


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## Liver and Onions

30 years ago I was in your shoes. Couldn't seem to keep up with problem with my shotgun. I bought 3 traps and got a two minute lesson from a friend and began to take care of the problem that night. Traps are cheap, last a long time and muskrats are pretty easy to trap. I still shoot one or two a year when they start to use a hard to trap spot under a willow tree.

L & O


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## fr3db3ar

sounds like good target practice to me.


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## hplayer13

please still keep in mind it's illegal to shoot them so if you decide to do so, please don't post it on here.


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## 22 Chuck

I wonder how you would have responded if a trapper had asked to trap the pond-last fall??


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## Liver and Onions

hplayer13 said:


> please still keep in mind it's illegal to shoot them so if you decide to do so, please don't post it on here.



Simply not true. 

L & O


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## hplayer13

http://www.mi.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10363_10880-31600--,00.html

_ CANNOT Shoot a muskrat, beaver, otter, mink, fisher, or marten except under DNR permit. Coyote, fox, raccoon, bobcat, and badger may be killed in traps by furtakers using .22 caliber or smaller rimfire firearms, except for junior fur harvesters with trap-only licenses._ This can be found in the last paragraph on the link.


Simply IS true. You can't shoot them without consent of the DNR. Even if they are causing damage, you have to wait until the DNR approves.


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## Liver and Onions

hplayer13 said:


> http://www.mi.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10363_10880-31600--,00.html
> 
> ..... You can't shoot them without consent of the DNR. .......


That is correct. Had you originally said that they can not be legally shot without DNR approval, plus you need to follow other safety rules, you would have been right. I could've said that in my reply too.
Bottom line, musrats are not sacred, they can be shoot.

L & O


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## Firefighter

I suggest contacting a licensed animal damage control specialist. 

They also need to deem that the rats are causing damage. Just because you don't want them there doesn't constitute damage.

Also, season on muskrats closed 2 months ago, so the only LEGAL way to get rid of them is for a licensed specialist to come take them out of season (or have a CO come out and issue you a special damage permit, given their actually doing damage of course).

Hope this helps. 

Try to aviod posting your shooting expolits


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## hplayer13

Liver and Onions said:


> That is correct. Had you originally said that they can not be legally shot without DNR approval, plus you need to follow other safety rules, you would have been right. I could've said that in my reply too.
> Bottom line, musrats are not sacred, they can be shoot.
> 
> Sorry for the misunderstanding LO. Although shooting muskrats that damage your land is not as bad as a poacher baiting shooting a monster buck on someones elses land with a gun on November 3rd, it is still against the law given the circumstances so just try to avoid posting this


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## Liver and Onions

Firefighter said:


> I suggest contacting a licensed animal damage control specialist.
> ........


I disagree. Do you contact a licensed animal control specialist every time you need to deal with mice, groundmoles, red squirrels, woodchucks, racoons, or skunks ? I doubt it. Most of us have both the skill & knowledge to handle these pests and we do so with spending a lot of money. 
Muskrats are on the move every spring & fall so those of us who live on lakes and have experienced extensive shore damage need to take of this problem twice a year and not wait for trapping season. Are we supposed to spend a couple hundred a year on muskrats when a couple of traps or our shotgun does the trick for next to nothing ? Muskrats are easy to trap providing that you have the strength to set the trap and the coordination/mobility to place them in front of a tunnel.
Shooting them is even easier and legal providing that......

L & O


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## Firefighter

Liver and Onions said:


> I disagree. Do you contact a licensed animal control specialist every time you need to deal with mice, groundmoles, red squirrels, woodchucks, racoons, or skunks ? I doubt it. Most of us have both the skill & knowledge to handle these pests and we do so with spending a lot of money.
> Muskrats are on the move every spring & fall so those of us who live on lakes and have experienced extensive shore damage need to take of this problem twice a year and not wait for trapping season. Are we supposed to spend a couple hundred a year on muskrats when a couple of traps or our shotgun does the trick for next to nothing ? Muskrats are easy to trap providing that you have the strength to set the trap and the coordination/mobility to place them in front of a tunnel.
> Shooting them is even easier and legal providing that......
> 
> L & O


Seeing that you're looking for an arguement...

Unless you have had a CO or other DNR rep come to your property and actually deem your problem animals a "nuisance", it is ILLEGAL to take them OUT OF SEASON.

If you have not had the DNR come out and justify your case against 2 or 3 muskrats (which I highly doubt they'd grant a permit for that anyways) a Licensed Animal Control Specialist is considered their designate, and may, if they feel the animal is justifiably removable, take those animals out.

Period.

The following animals can be taken year round, with proper licensing, on private lands:

opossum 
porcupine 
red squirrel 
skunk 
thirteen-lined ground squirrel  
woodchuck 
weasel


English (house) sparrow
European starling
feral pigeon (rock dove)
Muskrat is not on this list. Please stop trying to justify the illegal taking of them.

If they are actually doing damage, follow the proper procedures to get them taken care of.


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## jmckeon

that is all i am worried about it how much it is going to cost to replace what they have destroyed.. such as my ponds edge and plants round the pond that cost alot of money to land scape also they are destroying the bank we built up a few years ago and landscaped for the deer and turkeys to come in so we can see them and watch them do what they do(not hunt them either) i estimate that they have cost me bout 500-1000 in damage already and just want them dead by any menas since i have no traps and trapping expierience and own a gun that is and was my first solution not saying its right but it is effective


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## Firefighter

If they're actually causing that much damage...

Call the DNR. Get a single use damage permit.

Go to fntpost.com and buy a couple 110's or footholds. 

Do a little reading about muskrats in the trapping forum or go to trapperman.com.

For less than 15 bucks and a little research, you could take care of your problem efficiently, legally, and by yourself.


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## Liver and Onions

jmckeon said:


> ..... i estimate that they have cost me bout 500-1000 in damage already and just want them dead by any menas since i have no traps and trapping expierience and own a gun that is and was my first solution not saying its right but it is effective


I know your pain, anyone who lives on a lake and has muskrats destroying their shoreline also has gone and is going through the same thing twice(spring & fall) every year.
I would post your problem over in the trapping forum and a trapper that lives near you may volunteer to stop by and they can show you how to trap these animals. It will take 2 minutes to become a muskrat trapper......no kidding. You will want to buy you own traps on line or from a hunting/fishing store. From my 30 years of experience, you are going to have new rats to trap EVERY spring & fall. In the fall, you can not wait until the pelts become prime before trapping. By then they will have done a lot of damage. 
Shoot straight & learn how to trap,
L & O


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## Rustyaxecamp

Like others said, shooting them is 100% illegal without a special permit. There is no rule like yotes or **** "about to do damage".

Learn to use a trap or call a trapper.


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## 22 Chuck

Still wonder: what would you have told a trapper last fall when he asked premission to trap??

I have a similiar situation near me regarding beaver. I was to to take a hike. I have been formulating my response when the assn pres calls about the next beaver 'infestation'. Our trappers assn is opposed to any shooting of beaver.


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## LyonArmonial

*shakes my head* listen, i know its illegal to shoot them, and i have them in my pond behind my house. i know what kind of damage they cause. my suggestion would be to get one of those chopping traps that you stick in the ground where their tunnels are. when they go through, they get their little heads popped off. other then that, please contact the DNR and have them come out to you. you dont want to be going to jail because of the little buggers, do you?


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## slammer

Firefighter said:


> Seeing that you're looking for an arguement...
> 
> Unless you have had a CO or other DNR rep come to your property and actually deem your problem animals a "nuisance", it is ILLEGAL to take them OUT OF SEASON.
> 
> If you have not had the DNR come out and justify your case against 2 or 3 muskrats (which I highly doubt they'd grant a permit for that anyways) a Licensed Animal Control Specialist is considered their designate, and may, if they feel the animal is justifiably removable, take those animals out.
> 
> Period.
> 
> The following animals can be taken year round, with proper licensing, on private lands:
> 
> opossum
> porcupine
> red squirrel
> skunk
> thirteen-lined ground squirrel
> woodchuck
> weasel
> 
> 
> English (house) sparrow
> European starling
> feral pigeon (rock dove)
> Muskrat is not on this list. Please stop trying to justify the illegal taking of them.
> 
> If they are actually doing damage, follow the proper procedures to get them taken care of.


I have actually heard a CO say "if they are on your land you can consider them about to do damage" This was is reference to coyotes but I am not sure why they would consider a muskrat much difference.
Anyway, if they can be taken because they are or are about to cause damage you do not need to wait to prove to a CO before you shoot to kill.


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## bradym54

geesh cantyou gusy understand the law?! dont matterif they are doing damage or not its illegal!!!! get that in your heads geesh


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## Firefighter

slammer said:


> I have actually heard a CO say "if they are on your land you can consider them about to do damage" This was is reference to coyotes but I am not sure why they would consider a muskrat much difference.
> Anyway, if they can be taken because they are or are about to cause damage you do not need to wait to prove to a CO before you shoot to kill.


 
Harry,

While that may be true for coyotes (which can be taken by the landowner or leasee year round when causing or about to cause damage blah blah blah), it does not hold true for all species.

I'm pretty fresh on this stuff. I just aquired my ADC license. 

Just don't want to see anyone get in trouble.


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