5 tips for dealing with ferrets and family

Another pest Ben has to deal with is ferrets. Mustelids – ferrets, stoats and weasels – are rarely seen but are present in most rural areas. They are also the most difficult of all predators to trap. Traps that are baited and set every day of the year will catch – on average – just 3-4 mustelids a year. DOC has found the most effective baits are a fishy cat food, freshly killed rabbit or chicken (particularly entrails), or (the longest-lasting one) a whole or broken egg. However, a trap on a well-chosen site set on a natural ‘runway' along a fence or stream will catch mustelids with no bait. ALL traps should have a tunnel because mustelids can't resist investigating them, but it also stop birds and pets from accidentally getting caught.

THE most effective traps allow a mustelid to see right through it. If you suspect you have a mustelid, try leaving a trap un-set for a while so they get used to running through it.

A tunnel can be made out of anything so long as it is strong, has three sides (no bottom is required) and is at least a metre long, with the trap placed in the centre. Plastic or concrete pipe or a three-sided wooden tunnel will work fine.

IF you do catch a mustelid, particularly if it is male, drag its body (genital-side to the ground) around the trap and in a trail in either direction leading into the tunnel to make it more enticing to the next mustelid.