2 checks so far on the property and the body count Is 21. Must have set a 100 dens most look un used but I'm setting them just to make sure.
Ran out of traps the first day and moved the un sprung traps to new locations today. At $25.00 a chuck not to bad. Well I'm not charging enough according to Boco.
Also caught 10 rats @ $10.00 each along with a $200.00 set up fee for both critters. Then next year I just charge them a straight $300.00 fee.

Rats are not worth skinning and next year I'll have to start earlier on the chucks since most of them are also shedding.

Way to go beav,just think how much loot you'd have if you were charging the going rate of $75,lol.

Is that $75.00 Canadian? LOL

Yea,Beav, not that green monopoly money you use down there.

WTG Mr. Chuck

Chucks are mostly shedding ? What do you do, pass them off as rats if they aren't ?

Ok, Southern boy here...what’s a chuck? And got a picture?

Wood chucks or ground hogs.
Les you mean to say there Isn't a market for wood chuck hides LOL I'm betting some of these males are pushing 10 lbs.

The glands are worth something but I'm not going to mess with It.

Thank you sir. Don’t think we have those down here.

Groundhog skins have pretty good fur if you get them right when they come out of hibernation.They shed very quickly though once out and about.
One time I tanned a few and made some trapper hats with groundhog on the outside and red fox on the flaps.
I had people asking for them after seeing those, but I never made any more.

I suppose you could put a 10 pound chick on a 6 pound muskrat stretcher, if you tacked it up loose, lol. I forger where them 6lb rats came from.

Grind them chucks up for yote bait. Can it get any better?

Les you stretch them on coon boards. The top end works perfect.

Would work great for bait but I got way to much bait know.

Unless you want to make awesome yote bait outa that meat and sell the glands to us luremakers.

not much is better!

Not catching many rats at this time. I told the guy that It would be more effective If they let me trap the rats In the late fall. They think they have 100s of rats but that's not the problem.

Are you just using body grips at the entrance? If so, what size?

6 more today and I found 28 more holes on 2 other dikes. Moving traps on Tuesday.

160s In the den entrances. A few years ago I had about 60 RBGs ( round Body grips)In the 160 size. They were perfect for chuck trapping. But since we lost our road Right away trapping I down sized and they all got sold. The square ones work but the round ones fit the holes better.

Thanks Beav. Don't have any around where I live. I was just curious what you were doing. I know some guys that used 220's but had to open up the entrance a little to fit them in.

5 more today moved traps to new locations. Will pull tomorrow.

beav the chuck whisperer! lol

Pulled today. Ended up with 38 chucks and one rabbit and 5 muskrats.

in a few months you can go back and do it again! those little buggers will travel miles for unoccupied homes! I have one barn I religiously catch 15-20 from every spring and usually by mid summer the owners calling saying there back! Im not 100% certain but I believe they have close to a ten mile square circuit of family groups! I only target the ones that destroy out buildings

And you never get them all.

I see a half dozen of them everyday out on the line, doesn't matter if it's forest or fields.

Groundhogs are my favorite nuisance call. No ladders, no waders, and they keep making more of them!

At one den entrance along the base of a pole building I caught 33 in 60 days. The following year I caught 18 in 30 days. They can’t all live there. Traveling males looking for women and young looking for a home.

This time of year the female will stay in the one den, and the male will bounce around. If the female is taken out then the den will be visited by another GH, I believe to just check things out. I see a 2 or 3 day stay then move to another den until another female may take it. or if it is not taken by a female having pups then every male will include it in to the circuit. about the end of July into august the pups will start to disperse and one den can be used by many GH until fall when they set up winter den then they will stay put. Beav your not charging enough, when you add ins, gas time tools and operating cost.

Do chucks go Into hibernation at full primness or do they prime while sleeping?

Maybe I will have to raise my rates next go round.

Beav what happens to me on large contract jobs is I get a lot of hogs taken fast, then a shut down or slow up on catch rate for 2 to 3 weeks, then a trickle catch until august then another increase in catch. If you are charging per animal, you may want to trap till the shut down or slow up, then hold off 3 weeks or until august then go back in so you are not loosing money with checking empty sets. Just a thought for future. I flat rate on the smaller jobs where I have a good Idea of what I will be taking and control my time on the job on what is needed or on large season contracts, I charge a daily rate based on what my anticipated time on job is. so I do not loose money I sell the job as solving problems not trapping. IMHO

Spot on Jonesie caught about 90% of them In 3 days. In fact I caught some by the time I had got done setting and went back over the line. I moved traps to new locations after every catch. Then like you said It just went dead.

I'm going to wait till fall to start trapping again. Then I can trap the rats and the coon off this property. I won't be able to get paid for the coon but the rats are In the mix.

This Is the Madison Metropolitan sewer system and they have 8 settling ponds on the property. They are all diked with roads on those dikes so It's pretty easy trapping.