I found a person who has a couple of pet ferrets who let me observe them for a day enter/exit a scaled box w/ side missing and two different hole placements/sizes to see what goes on. I think a ferret is a good proportional match to an ermine in body shape so I think what I was seeing can be compared confidently.

With the hole less than approx half the body length high(inside/outside) the majority of the time the ferret placed its feet on the hole bottom,head inside, and pushed itself well into box with rear legs before planting front feet. Some times they slip head inside and drop feet near inside of box(where trap pan would be). It seemed that when the did this they were hesitant to enter the box fully and were holding themselves back for some reason. Both entering and exiting feet were placed near hole before stepping up to hole bottom.

With hole higher than half of body length(inside/outside) the ferrets would place feet on bottom of hole, head inside and tip and drop feet to just inside hole (where trap pan would be) pull rear feet up to hole and then push into box. When exiting they kept front feet somewhat farther back from hole before stepping up to hle bottom.(possibly not where trap pan would be or very close to pivot point of pan).

With hole higher than half of body length on inside but lower on outside( books stacked in front of hole) ferrets placed feet on bottom of hole and jumped into rear of box(over where pan would be) about half the time, dropping staight down the other half. Again exiting they stayed farther back from hole.

With hole higher " " " on outside and less inside(books stacked inside) ferrets placed feet on bottom edge of hole, head inside and dropped front feet to just inside box(where trap pan would be) than pulled rear feet up to hole before pushing inside. Exiting they placed front feet near inside of hole(where pan would be) before moving front feet up to bottom of hole.

2" hole(proportional to 1 1/2" for ermine) was tight and added a lot of squirm to entering/exiting and they placed feet less consistently in the same spots. 3" hole(prop to 2" for ermine) was much more consistent and they hesitated less.

So the highest percentage pan placement I observed would be right inside hole where the hole is at least half a body length high BOTH inside and outside the box. Meaning a box pushed into the snow or not being palced back on top the snow after a dense snowfall doesn't give you ideal placement for clean hole catches.

Hole higher than 3/4 body high(books under box) limited willingness of ferrets to enter, even with food inside( of course they were not overly hungry). I tested this because I am curious how high a hole could be because I would like to see how much a higher hole in climb proof material(vinyl, metal) might limit shorttail shrews entering(no stopping pigmys, they can jump like a flea) as they are what spring most my traps, only a few mice.

Goig to make up a couple ox test boxes w high hole to see what gets in.

I was kind of wondering about how they enter a hole and what not. I had this idea of trying a box a bit taller (so the trap would still fire) and setting the trap on a platform so the pan would be just below the hole a 1/4 to 1/2 inch. I was just thinking it would give a hit closer to the shoulder erea being they wouldn't be going down actually, rather forward or even with the back legs on the ground yet(upward) when the trap fires.

crazy weasel: thanks for the pics and info looks like a good set up. I am going to make some up for next year to use along with the boxes.I thought about this type of a set after my dad told me thats how he trapped weasels when he was a kid, of course Im not sure if there was a exposed bait law back then they just nailed the trap to fence posts and trees with trigger baited.

Has anyone tried or caught a weasel in a Lil Grizz?

I seen a pic awhile back here where someone got one in their house/ garage or something.

Upnorth et.all

Glad You plan to try some of my inventions. They do provide an alternative to some good spots that just otherwise get ignored. I plan to post a new idea soon and plan to try it next year. It is another variation of the 5x5 PVC. This one has good potential to be rodent proof! I will post pics soon and will ask others who are interested to give it a try.
I also need to explain a rat trap modification when using 5x5 PVC.

I had two mice and piece of hamburg and a piece of beaver meat in abox the beaver meat was gone one mouse was in the trap and the other right next to it with the hamburg i pushed them back and same thing this morning i dont know if its a weasel or cat probably cat.

Let's start off with this ?

Whats wrong with this picture? Other than my trap is snapped and I have no weasel or anything else for that matter.



Now for Drake.

I liked your post about how they (ferrets) reacted to different hole height positions and such. I was wondering a few things regarding that type stuff myself. Thanks for shareing.

It wasn't a weasel which may act very much similar or very different? They do have a similar type body shape/build but bigger. Also the difference in one being tame and the other being wild could be a factor?

Anyway today wasn't very good for a theory of mine. I run my boxes and the ones where I'd cut some out were in new places. This pic is the only one that had any activity until today.


So I wanted to see how they worked. Let's just say I may not be making any like this as I'd thaught as a test. All had snapped traps, 3 of which I am certain were weasel. The other 3 I was unable to unable to tell.

Did you try any type of hole where the top had been cut out? Has anyone else tryed a box with a similar type hole? What are the results or lack there of?

grizz,,,put a couple wraps of electrical tape on the jaws to keep those springs from disconnecting. it will also keep that spring leg from puncturing the hide when a weasel gets caught off to the side. ive had this happen before.

As all my first boxes are make from 5x5" vinyl tube and designed for a different style trap(which I am no longer going to use-quality issues) I have bee working to retrofit wood traps into them. The holes were original in the center of front(low) I have been working on getting the hole higher because I think it is best for clean entrance catches. My first change was to refront a few boxes with vinyl soffit material and recut hole(1 3/4') at very top of front(touching top edge). I also cut away the top of the hole(to "U" shape) for easy ermine removal. But still only 1 3/4x1 3/4. Maybe your opening is too tall and they are leaping over trap easier. They move like a slinky so maybe with the tall opening they get both front and rear feet on hole bottom before going in. They seem to like to get their body weight onto their back feet before moving ahead if they can. I am trying to get mine even a little higher by placing spacer under bottom of box.

Next batch are going to be a different style.

when setting boxes out (not in a tube) where do you like to set then in a brush pile or out next to it in the grass or out in the open...?

I look for an item that sticks out. Maybe a burnt stump on a weedy fence line or similar and set next to it. If I was setting boxes in a small overgrown patch with good cover again I would look for an item that stood out. In brush piles I set on the perimeter and if there was a protected area under a canopy of brush I would favor it.

While brush piles do produce Weasels it seems like more often then not they are home to small females. Perhaps kits that stayed where they were born. These areas are often used as nesting area,s , kind of a nursery of sorts and lately I have been avoiding them.

I've got some liver , anise & glycerine for weasel bait. How much glycerine am I adding to the liver to keep it from freezing? I have about 50 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" pieces cut?

i found my first ever weasel sign last night!!! it was a tunnel coming from a little marshy pond to out in the field. i put a piece of cardboard on my rat trap trigger. added mor liver and anise and moved the box along the marshy area. hopefully i'll get on by the end of the week!! wish me luck P.S. the marshy area had this big brush pile so i put it near there. will post pics next weekend

Few things I have found help this weekend, the littel packets of salt you get at resturants are perfect for salting your bait to prevent freezing, and the little plastic cups baby food comes in are great for putting bait in. Fill with liver and just take the lid off and drop it in the box.

As promised a few pics of everyones hard work.
And a few what not to do items.
This is what happens when weasels are not immediately skinned. their gut digestive juices are very causic to the hide.

Grader going through sent in weasels and grading

A good way to send when you have a group

size of a least vs an ermine. Canadian tooney for size. Not the best board form..

An early (3 days) longtailed weasel, eastern form, note brown hair, off colour of leather