So how far away is the closest body of water?

Found out there is a long ditch that runs right to the bottom left and across the road from the pond.

And that goes where?

It is just a ditch that travels out in the country and runs beside the roads.

Good advice here.

Sort of reminds me of this situation in Prairie du Chien . . . .

I have no idea how they can get to that pond though because it is a good distance away and there is a pretty tight fence there at my pond

Wipe them out??



Easier said then done.

I find it easy to wipe them out of area.i do it all the time and what you do is set hard and spend less time there. If it is a river you will only do a job on the main ones that is there and then will have some seed left .For ponds like is talk about it dose not take long to clean them out with open water. through the ice it will take longer.If you find the runs when ice just come in with the bubbles under the ice you will find it easy to get them.That what works for me .

The first 3 pictures are the pond and the last 2 are where the ditch is located. Not sure how they could migrate with the fence there? I had a colony today that had a big rat and a kit in it. I'm not sure if wiping it out is a good idea because of the distance between the ditch and the pond with the fence installed. Let me know thanks!

That 4X4 wire fencing will not deter any muskrat and as has been stated before they travel overland in search for suitable habitat. Catch as many as you can other otherwise disease will most likely take over in that pond and wipe them out for a while.

I have found rats on the highway 2 miles from the nearest mud hole. Their biggest challenge is getting from place to place without being eaten either from attack above or on ground. They see a fenced in pond they probably think safe haven from coyotes and such. Even a chain link fence will not stop them if they want in there, nor the predators either. I'd just concentrate on my trapping skills and catchem all. If there is a food supply and water source they will come, probably from the same place the ones that are there now came from.

That fence wouldn’t stop a coyote, let alone a muskrat.

yes

I would suggest that this pond is past its peak cycle. The ariel images show a good band of emergent vegetation on its perimeter. The live shots show very little. Food is an important part of the CC equation. To summarize, I’ll go out on a limb here, no matter what YOU do this pond will carry less rats in the near future.

That said, trap them hard. Looks like some good conditions.