1»v 



Figure 50. — Left : Collapsible wire trap used in live-trapping muskrats, placed in bank 

 lead to a den. Center : Same type of trap set on top of a muskrat house. Right : 

 Muskrat caught in a Gibbs net trap. 



veals the bruised, bloodshot areas 

 beneath the skin. When caught by 

 a toe tip or by the tail and not un- 

 duly exposed to sun or cold, a musk- 

 rat usually recovers; but those 

 trapped by the foot or the leg 

 nearly always lose it, even though 

 they, survive the shock and infection 

 which follow. 



Live-trapping of muskrats is 

 often exceedingly difficult, espe- 

 cially under summer conditions. 

 Despite careful handling there is 

 usually considerable mortality in 

 the traps from exposure or injury, 

 and such animals must be skinned 

 for the pelt. A variety of live traps 

 have been used but none is com- 

 pletely satisfactory. The most suc- 

 cessful and widely used is a col- 

 lapsible, rectangular, treadle-type, 

 wire trap that can be used in bank 

 leads and runways or on top of 

 muskrat houses (fig. 50), Baits of 

 carrots, apples, and corn are often 

 used, but in southern marshes where 



food is ample the year-round, they 

 are less effective. 



On some marshes where bank 

 muskrats are present, it is possible 

 to dig out the burrows and take un- 

 injured animals. In clay hardpan, 

 with little or no peat, and a maxi- 

 mum water level of 4 inches, stop- 

 ping up the runs and breaking open 

 the houses is often the most prac- 

 tical and economical method. The 

 rough vegetation should be burned 

 off, all runs plugged, and the sur- 

 rounding tunnels stamped in. The 

 nest material is cleared away with a 

 potato digger to reveal the plunge 

 hole, and the muskrats are easily 

 caught when they stick their noses 

 above water for air. 



Handling Live Muskrats 



High mortality generally accom- 

 panies attempts to hold and trans- 

 port live muskrats (fig. 51). Ex- 

 cept in cold weather, the animals 

 cannot be held in any numbers in an 



37 



