How to Keep Muskrats Away



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How To Get Muskrats Out Of Your Pond
Muskrats are very common animals in the wetlands and swamps of North America, but when it comes to having muskrats on your property then they can quickly become a massive problem. These aquatic rodents are very successful breeders, and can multiply in numbers within months after inhabiting a garden pond. They will dig tunnels in the land adjacent to the pond to live in, and they can actually destabilize the floor of the pond and cause leakage from the pond into the ground surrounding it.

Removing Food Sources For Muskrats
One of the best ways to get muskrats out of your pond is to remove the food that makes your pond such a great place to live for these animals. This may reduce the attractive looks of the pond for a little time, but it really can help to drive these animals away, as they will look to have a habitat that does offer plenty of food. Muskrats will usually eat the plants and small animals that live in and around the pond, so by taking away the cat-tails, water-lilies and other plants in and around the pond this will make moving elsewhere a more attractive option for these pests.

Trapping And Removing Muskrats
Because the population of muskrats it will often be impractical to try and deal with muskrats by using one or two traps. If you have caught the infestation early enough then you may only catch one or two muskrats before solving the problem, but in many cases you can be trapping these animals for some time.

Muskrats aren't particularly bright animals in terms of avoiding traps, so both live traps and lethal traps can be used very successfully. In terms of the cage traps, these will usually be placed in the shallow parts of your pond or even on the shore of the pond. Some of the lethal traps can actually be placed over the underwater entrance to the burrow, which will then be almost certain to kill the first one to hit the trap. In terms of baiting your traps, most people will have some success using almost any vegetables, but particularly parsnips and carrots, along with sweet apples and oil of anise.

Repellents And Poisons
There are a number of animal repellents on the market which claim to be able to repel muskrats from your pond, and they will usually be in a grain or liquid form which would then be sprinkled around the pond. The problem with these repellents is that the deterrent from a particular scent will fail to outweigh the benefits of staying in the pond, so they will often be less effective depending on how long the infestation has been present.

Poisons can also be a problem as it will not only kill the muskrats, but it will often be eaten by many other animals that will be attracted by domestic ponds. In some cases, the muskrats may actually die in the water, and this can contaminate the entire pond.

Preventing Future Muskrat Infestations
If you find that your pond is attracting repeated muskrats, or you live in an area which is particularly prone to muskrat infestations, then you may want to take preventative measures to change the habitat.

One of the best things that can be done is to change the pond itself, as muskrats are particularly attracted to bodies of water which are at least six feet deep and have relatively steep banks which can be used to burrow into. A gentle slope into the pond rather than a steep slope will make it very difficult for the muskrat to burrow, which is usually the simplest way of changing a pond to repel muskrats.

More in-detail how-to muskrat removal articles:


Information about muskrat trapping - analysis and methods for how to trap.
Information about how to kill a muskrat - with poison or other methods.
Information about how to catch a muskrat - remove one stuck in the house.
Information about muskrat repellent - analysis of types and effectiveness.

This site is intended to provide education and information about how to keep muskrats away from your house, yard, garbage cans, shed, so that you can make an informed decision if you need to deal with a muskrat problem. This site provides many muskrat control articles and strategies, if you wish to attempt to solve the problem yourself. If you are unable to do so, which is likely with many cases of muskrat removal, please go to the home page and click the USA map, where I have wildlife removal experts listed in over 500 cites and towns, who can properly help you with keeping away muskrats.

Click here to read more about how to get rid of muskrats.

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