The Ultimate Guide to Muskrat Control: Protecting Your Property

Posted on January 18, 2024 by modernwild

If your property has become a habitat for muskrats, it’s essential to understand their behavior, diet, and control techniques. These semi-aquatic rodents are known to burrow in marshlands and ponds, often causing significant damage to your property. They feed mostly on aquatic vegetation, fruits, and occasionally small aquatic creatures.

Controlling the muskrat population on your property involves several strategies from using muskrat repellents to setting up muskrat traps. However, it’s important to remember that these traps should only be handled by trained wildlife control operators to ensure safety and effectiveness. Stay tuned as we delve deeper into each of these aspects.

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Understanding Muskrat Habitat and Diet

Muskrats are found in wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams. They are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath for up to 20 minutes underwater. These abilities make them well-adapted to their semi-aquatic lifestyle. They build lodges from vegetation near the water’s edge or dig burrows in the banks for shelter. Muskrats are most active at night and can be identified by their distinctive tracks, typically leading to the water’s edge.

As mentioned earlier, muskrats primarily feed on aquatic vegetation such as cattails, sedges, and water lilies. They also consume fruits like apples, berries, and grains if available. While they may occasionally eat small fish, insects, and crustaceans, these make up a small portion of their diet. This knowledge is crucial in understanding how to control muskrats effectively.

Muskrat Control Techniques:

Animal Repellents

Controlling nuisance muskrats on your property can be challenging due to their habitat and feeding preferences. Using animal repellents can be an effective way to deter them from your property. Muskrat repellents can come in the form of sprays, granules, or electronic devices that emit ultrasonic sounds. These methods are typically safe for the environment and non-toxic to other animals.

Muskrat Traps

If muskrats have already taken up residence on your property, trapping may be necessary. It’s essential to use live traps rather than lethal ones to minimize harm to the animal. Remember, muskrat traps should only be handled by trained wildlife control operators for safety and ethical reasons.

Environmental Modification

Another effective method is habitat modification. You can make your property less attractive to muskrats by removing their food sources and blocking or filling any burrows or lodges they may have built. This approach requires regular maintenance, but it can be a long-term solution.

Muskrat vs Beaver

Many people confuse muskrats for beavers and vice versa. While they both live in water and have similar physical features, there are some key differences between the two. Muskrats are much smaller than beavers, reaching up to two feet in length, while beavers can grow up to four feet. Beavers also have a flat paddle-like tail, whereas muskrats have a long, skinny tail that tapers towards the end. Additionally, beavers build large dams and lodges using trees and branches, while muskrats build smaller structures from vegetation.

If you are having trouble with beavers, it’s best to contact a wildlife control operator as they require specialized techniques and tools for removal.

Conclusion

Muskrats may seem like harmless creatures, but their burrowing and feeding habits can cause significant damage to your property. Understanding their behavior, habitat, and diet is the first step in controlling their population. Using repellents, live traps, or modifying their habitat are all viable options for muskrat control. However, it’s essential to seek professional help from trained wildlife control operators when using traps. By following these techniques, you can protect your property and maintain a balance with nature.

If you’re struggling with muskrats on your property, act now. Contact Modern Wildlife Control at 317-847-6409 for licensed and insured muskrat removal services in Indianapolis, Indiana. We serve residential and commercial clients.

What You Should Know about Muskrats Before Trying to Remove Them Yourself

Posted on March 14, 2023 by modernwild

Are you dealing with muskrats around your property? If so, it’s important to know the best way to get rid of them. Trying to remove muskrats yourself can be dangerous and ineffective if you don’t know what you’re doing. Here are four things you should consider before attempting muskrat removal on your own.

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4 Things About Muskrat Removal You Need to Know

1) Associated Risks

The risks associated with trapping or killing muskrats on your own can be very serious. Muskrats have sharp teeth and claws that can cause injury if you’re not careful. There’s also a risk of disease transmission from handling the animals, so it’s important to wear proper protective gear when attempting muskrat removal. Plus, most store-bought traps are ineffective because they don’t target the specific species of muskrat that may be causing your problems.

2) Legal Regulations

In addition to safety concerns, there are legal regulations surrounding muskrat control methods. Many states require a state wildlife permit in order to trap and kill muskrats, and some areas may even prohibit certain types of traps. Before attempting any kind of muskrat removal, it’s important to be familiar with the laws in your area.

3) Muskrat Identification

Before you can attempt muskrat removal, you must first identify a muskrat infestation. Look for burrows and signs of feeding near water sources or on your lawn. Muskrats also leave behind droppings that are similar to those of other rodents — they’re small and black with a white tip at one end. You should also check for damage caused by muskrats, like gnawed trees or damaged vegetation around bodies of water or irrigation ditches where they may find food.

4) Muskrat Damage

Finally, it’s important to know what kind of damage muskrats can cause. They have been known to wreak havoc on crops, destroy vegetation, and disrupt irrigation systems. They also carry parasites and diseases that may be dangerous to humans and other animals in your area.

Get Rid of Muskrats Safely and Humanely

Knowing these four things is important if you’re considering muskrat removal. Remember that it’s much safer and more effective to hire a professional for the job than try to handle it yourself. With the right knowledge and expertise, you can ensure that your muskrat problem will be taken care of safely and quickly.

If you think you have a muskrat infestation on your property, don’t wait! Contact Modern Wildlife Control at 317-847-6409 for safe and effective animal trapping and removal services for muskrats in Indianapolis, Indiana and its surrounding counties. We serve residential and commercial customers.

What to Do if You are Dealing With Muskrat Problems

Posted on July 14, 2022 by modernwild

Is it a beaver? A groundhog? What is a muskrat and why are they such a nuisance? These are all the expected questions of a homeowner dealing with a nuisance muskrat problem. Continue below to learn how to get rid of muskrats safely using safe and humane methods of animal trapping and relocation.

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Muskrat Removal and Control 101

First and foremost, it is important to understand that animal removal for wildlife like muskrats is exclusively for professionals who are licensed to work with woodland critters. Although you can take matters into your own hands, there are laws governing wildlife removal and control, and the local ordinances may not permit you to do so legally.

For instance, homeowners are not allowed to poison or kill any animal on their property except for mice and rats. Killing or even tampering with a critter classified as exotic, wild, feral, or endangered, especially during their breeding season, can lead to civil and criminal penalties. Most often, homeowners are slapped with a massive fine. It is important to check with your local and state wildlife agencies, wildlife enforcement officer, or county game warden about the regulations surrounding wildlife trapping and control.

Furthermore, professional Indiana wildlife control operators retain the proper training, knowledge, resources, and equipment to safely get rid of muskrats and relocate them to a faraway habitat suited for their species. For these reasons, it is critical that you enlist your muskrat removal and control needs to a qualified authority.

Muskrat Trapping

Two-door live trap cages are the most commonly-used trapping devices for removing nuisance muskrats. These traps are designed in a way to safely capture a muskrat without harming or killing it. More advanced traps are designed for immediate carry and relocation. Your wildlife control operator will use particular types of muskrat-specific bait to attract muskrats to the traps, such as fruits and vegetables like carrots, parsnips, and apples, or even aniseed (anise). They will also know how to tactfully position the trap for the highest chances of success.

Muskrat Repellent

After your trusted wildlife control operator has successfully caught and removed the local nuisance muskrats that have been disturbing your property, you can take matters into your own hands with some animal-proofing work. Not only can you fill muskrat den holes with heavy rocks and lower the level of your pond by 2 feet in the winter, but you can also make your own, non-toxic animal repellent!

This can help abate future muskrat activity. Get yourself a large plastic spray bottle and fill it 3/4^th of the way with clean water. Then add putrescent egg, capsaicin oil, and cayenne. Spray the solution around the perimeter of your property or in areas where muskrats like to hang out. Be sure to keep children and pets away from treated areas.

Are you looking for trusted, professional assistance with nuisance wildlife like muskrats and beavers? Contact Modern Wildlife Control at 317-847-6409 for licensed and insured muskrat removal services in Indianapolis, Indiana. We serve residential and commercial clients.