Pulled cat sets today darn cold here badgers not moving yet, then I hear back from a guy about several rat spots that will dry up this summer he says I’m good to go so things turned around quick and just in time.

Now do I cut the huts with this cold when they are solid or wade the ankle deep slough in the spring hoping the make it to then? I have a few more rat sloughs to look into also all places I trapped skunks for people before.

No hut cutting allowed here.We can trap through the ice ,but cant cut into huts.I do a little through ice trapping,,till the ice gets to deep to make it worth it.Wich means now.I like spring rat trapping cause they will crawl up on anything,,plus I like getting the big spring glands.Just have to deal with the back biting.

Hope for a warm spring, love using Floats in the spring and beats chopping through huts!

I’d do the through the ice thing but it might be all mud no depth to the sloughs now they are about to dry up. I might hit the smaller hunts to see if they are there and moving around any. I have some deep stock dams I can do through the ice but the floats and glands sounds like a better deal to me.

Floats, funnels and colony traps I got so I’m covered there between those and a pile of conis I can put the hurt on them just need some open water then.

If they are that shallow there is a good chance they froze out.

Very likely in some places some are dry already just not seeing any out and about like when they froze out in past years.

Always loved spring muskrat trapping.

Yes, really worried where I saw rats this fall if they froze out. Potholes were really drying up fast. We had a nice spring last year, I think we had lots of open water around the first week of March.

Too cold to bust huts this week. Next week looks a LOT better.

You can prod them with smooth stock before busting into them to see if they are froze out or not. The south sides of the huts should be softening up with the next warm snap.

Thanks for the prod tip.

i am afrad this long cold spell froze most of ours out...... i think they were doing good till cpl weeks ago..... id say most of the slues had 2 ft of water at best..... im sure there solid to the ground now...... can they live a while eating on their hut??

Jerry... If you you can get to them now without opening hut... use your colony traps. If they are going to be dired up in the spring... get them now before they start the heavy breeding... better fur and not as nearly as much cutting on each other.

Garry-

I just trap the small pushups and feeder huts. I leave the big 3-4' tall huts alone. Just not into chopping into them things, plus the rats still have a place that they can get to.

When I cut the huts I pull out a lot of the old cuttings and seal it up with that and snow and when I’m done checking sets better then new and yes I do the same when I pull my traps.

anyone ever try a little chainsaw to open em

Tile spade is what I use it kind of gives you a feel for the huts make up, some are hard as a rock some are mattress like and those I pass on just a mess to put back together.