Now that cat season is over, I still have a skeleton line going for coyotes, that are an easy check on the bait station snare line, but if we could get an extended warm spell to coincide with a time that I am not on a job, I would seek out a slough full of rat huts and pursue that. On the way south this last weekend I couldn't believe the apparently untrapped rat houses I was seeing once I got south east of Grand Rapids.

There is some country that looks like it needs trapping.

I have a couple snares out around the hog gut pile behind my barn. Nothing too exciting. The sixty degree positive temperature swing makes me look at nearby rat sloughs, too.

Still trapping some bait stations. We trapped some rat huts this last weekend but only the biggest of the big one weren't froze up. It was disappointing to look at a pond with 15 huts and only 2 weren't frozen tight. Coyotes and reds still moving tho.

That tells me that I should go quite a ways south if I want to find live houses.

South of Alexandria for sure. Don't have any snow for insulation down here.

I'd think you have a pretty good bunch just south of you Les, no?

Osky

Yeah, I've been pulling a couple rats and beavers yet. Couple snares out. Pulled everything today for a couple week break though. I'm having the same findings as many other guys. Lots of rat huts that are froze up tight.

Well then all the rats would be in the open houses. No?

That's what I thought but for whatever reason it wasn't the case. The huts where so big that we where up to our shoulders before we would get to the opening so it was hard to place the trap well too. Think the coons will be moving with the warm weather for a few days?

Correct, at least in one of the sloughs I was on. The one slough I set that only had 2 open houses, I caught 8 rats in four days in those 2 houses. I then pulled for other reasons. 100% catch rate over 4 days in those two houses.

If central MN has frozen huts, so do I, although I would certainly check them out. I have a few pockets I haven't scouted yet .

Got it Les. If they get me all put back together your welcome to come down and put the hurt on some beavers.

Osky

I believe that bank rats near the deeper water are always the survivor rats. All the houses can freeze up and you still have rats the following year.

Of course houses are froze up. Unless you werent outside to realize it but it was cold. If there are still rats there they don't die, they move. Probably to bank dens if it's a small location.

Winter rat trapping requires patience. Sometimes you just have to shut it down for a couple weeks.

Spent the weekend checking out and setting up a large farm I just acquired. Todays check had 2 coyotes hanging near the farmers "dead pit", 1 fox in a hay set just out from a field row intersection, and a giant coon plugging up a fence cross under that had been used several times by coyotes. Out of boredom this afternoon I cut a dozen snare poles to go set on a couple easy beaver ponds tomorrow. The fox are still looking good so I will set on sign if I come across it. Will be back to work again in a couple weeks so I plan to run until then.

Oh , they will put you back together again, I hope they orient your feet and hands the same direction....Thanks for the beaver trapping offer too, You might see me.

The last fox I caught (two days ago) looked great too. Not a lot of sign of them though .

I pulled everything before NewYears, just no sign anywhere. Got wind of a lake with lots of rats that is about 5 minutes from the house but you all have me worried about frozen huts now!

I didn't pull the coyote snares on bait stations, they are easy to check. The deeper in, beaver flowage cat snares got pulled when that season ended.

I have my eye on a few rat sloughs around here, just waiting for a warm-up. I was hoping for this weekend but it looks like we are headed back to the deep-freeze!