Advances in net design

I have just started to go ferreting again after a few years out of the game. The nets are different as I used to use hemp and thin nylon, but I am having a particular problem in one field. The rabbit holes are on an almost vertical sandy bank and I cannot get the nets to lay right. Is there anything I can do to correct this?

Absolutely. Ferreting may have changed a little since you last went out but not that much. We may use different twines now on our nets, mostly synthetic, but the way in which we lay them is exactly the same. Your problem is all to do with the laws of physics. If you lay something vertical, gravity will force it down if not supported.

I was shown the remedy to this problem by a good friend and mentor, Bob Merrin. He used a golf tee, but in reality you can use any small twig or drinks stirrer. When you have a hole that requires a vertically set net, place the net over the hole, lay it as normal but at roughly 12 or 10 and two o’clock, push a golf tee or stick in and use this as a scaffold to hold your net in place. The tee/stick will hold your net but not have enough friction to hamper its pursing action.

The other option is to use a pokenet, which has two pegs, and use the same tee/stick combo, but it will purse equilaterally. This is one of the lovely aspects of ferreting. Nothing is the same for everyone and we all continue to learn new tricks. SW (as shown)

On vertical surfaces, use a stick or golf tee to hold your rabbit net in place