So I have all these city parks i trap and I'm pretty much hamstrung since I can't use foot holds. And In lots of situations the water Is to shallow for colony traps. We can use snares as long as they are 50% under water. There are countless feed beds and toilets along the banks In the parks.
So school me on trapping rats In these situations.

can you dig a tench deep enough for a colony trap in the run to the feedbed? You could cover it with sod and grass so they would swim under water.

Way to much work.
I thought about building some wire covers to place over the feed beds and toilets then I could use foot holds. But I'm not sure if that would cause some refusals. Maybe If I made then big enough It wouldn't be a problem. I need to be sure I'm not catching some dog walkers dog or some coon. Every thing Is off limits other then beaver and rats.
Snares would be the answer to those problems.

It’s not to hard, no more difficult then snaring rabbits I was doing it back before I could afford traps and used the money to buy those traps

Back then I used picture wire and still do, there are a lot of places around me that can be trapped but thieves are thicker then rats and snares are low visibility

All it takes it placing them in their travel ways in of out of the water

I do a fair amount of mink and muskrat snaring, crossovers and shallow crawlouts/toilets work for me. Newt or Jonesie are the ones to ask

It’s easier to park them in a 160 for me

Maybe try going to the garden section of a big box store and price some of those fiber type plant pot holders. If you can get some about the size of a small pushup put a hole in one place and set a foothold inside where the feed bed is. Just like trapping though the ice. Your stake can go through the trap ring and the pot. Don't know if that is too obvious in highly public areas like you are trapping in or not.

Bryce

take some 2x4s and make some "toilets" if the existing toilets dont get give you enough angle to get your snare deep enough to be legal

I have snared a ton of rabbits and quite a few 'rats but one thing made me quit which may not be an issue with you. 90% of the rabbits and 50% of the muskrats were either totally gone or damaged beyond my use if not checked soon after a catch. Their struggles/sounds alerted every predator (everything eats a muskrat) around and the birds of prey or a mink or a coon or a coyote (or a dog on a leash) came to those sounds and cleaned my snares regularly. So after 5-6 years I quit even trying. That was a long time ago and I used a Petersen knot as the lock on the wire. Still have 1/2 a 5 gal. bucket of the many snares I had made up in my shed (right next to a stack of 'rat floats). Assuming here, you can't use a 110 size BG as snares worked for me everywhere the BG's did with the exception of only fair under H2O. All snaring has come a LONG way since then so you can take this for 35 year old experience. ................ the (slow learner) mike

you can put a weight on the snare extension to hold muskrats under water. course this seems to be a nuisance situation so the pelts arent a concern

What about using a tangle stake to keep the rat under water and off the bank.. And that might cut down on fur damage. And the weight thing could work If the rat could get it out to deep water.

I have tried small BGs and get way to many refusals. Does any one make commercial rat and mink snare..

What are your thoughts of using a BG with a pan and laying It flat In front of a toilet or feed bed? I've made a 160 BG holder that works great. Well I used them In ND and slayed the rats when used as a baited platform. With this system I can adjust the depth and keep It just under water and keeping It off the bottom. But then again I could be catching ducks geese and If a dog stepped on that pan I would be In trouble. But I could use some type of cover.

Newt sells muskrat and mink snares.

Absolutely correct Beav on a BG refusal when its not in a run,,,,,,,, EXCEPT,,,,,,, for me a single spring 160 (159), baited with a lured carrot, impaled on the trigger and in the water about 1/2 of the jaw depth, will catch muskrats here (trigger on the bottom always). Has to be a 159 as the 110 is too small. I use a good lure on the carrot and in some cover (cattail trail) or perpendicular along a bank where the 'rat is swimming looking to ad to the feedbed somewhere else. Don't know why but if I place a BG on a hut or feedbed out of the water, the same refusal occurs here. Dug many a 110 out of house debris when they buried it. Guessing they feel more disturbed when a dry BG invades their dinner table,,,,, so the lure on the carrot, set away from their residence will get me rats. Some folks do not use lure for 'rats and I don't in the Fall of the year but in the Spring, up until the litters are born, it works for me. I catch a few mink when using a 'rat gland lure on that carrot also as they are swimming along and that smell just above the water level gets their interest. Have used a submerged 159, set horizontal (no pan just trigger wires) with bait above, fastened on a 3/8" fiberglass fence rod spreader and caught 'rats but I like the baited-lured carrot set in the normal vertical position as above........ Easier to check for a catch if its gone from position set that way. No ducks or geese incidentals using a carrot (don't use corn) but never say never. Works fur or bounty trapping for me........................................ the mike

Number one footholds with added weight set at dark pull at first light, if there is enough money involved.

The contract states we can only use foot holds If they are set 6' from shore. I hate to lose this money maker so that's why I'm looking at using snares or some type of BG set up. We are already using snares to remove the beaver from the parks.

The Mike on baited BGs. I killed the rats In ND when using baited 160s .So why not use them here In the Madison parks. Well I set 18 baited 160s using carrots and apples. After 2 checks and not one set off trap I gave up on that Idea. I even set near active feed beds and toilets.

Definitely not speaking of experience as Ive never trapped muskrat, but if youre only limit is 6 feet from shore ive seen plenty of people use those hagz brackets on fiberglass poles with a bait holder holding a carrot above it with success. Maybe im missing something as ive only seen on youtube and like i said never done muskrat on purpose just accidentals.
https://shop.j3o.com/products/hagz-bracket

I have caught 1000s of rats on floats and hagz bracket type set ups with bait. BUT on these 4 ADC rat jobs rats don't go to bait type sets. and they don't climb up on floats or any type of platform. Most of the time the bait Is gone The only thing I can put my finger on Is that these 4 jobs are loaded with ducks and gueese and I think they are stealing the bait before the rats get to the sets. The ducks and gueese are feeding all day long while the rats are mostly nocturnal feeders. I'm hoping I can do away with this bait thing and use snares .

Beav: l have used enclosed floats with a 110 sized bg recessed a few inches on each end. I anchor them with a stake in the middle. I then squirt a rat attracting lure down the stake letting it dribble down inside the float. Seems to be duck and goose proof. Get a lot of doubles. Some places they work good , others not so much. Sometimes where possible, I will put them out and let the rats start using them as a protected feedbed before setting traps in them. No Bait used. Probably to late for you to make them this time but maybe something to think about. Good luck.

I like that Idea. I'm going to make a few and try them this fall.
Are you setting close to the shore line? Would It be better to use a pan on those 110s or just spread the triggers.

I try to set them in places that are somewhat protected from wind and waves in or along rat travel areas and just use a normal trigger style.