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Mink in my garage!


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Need some advice here....

Yesterday my wife called me at work and said "I'm watching a weasel run around on your work bench right now!". Since we've seen a specific weasel in our back yard by our creek more than once I thought she really might be looking at one. She backed the car out of the garage and then the thing just started running all over in the garage but she couldn't get it to go out the door! It climbed on everything it could in there. She had to get to work so she just left it in there! So all day I'm sitting at work thinking about it chewing up all my stuff, my antlers, my bow string - etc. etc. smile.gif

She got home last night before me and sure enough, it was still in there and this time it was just sitting on my Block target watching her. I was on my way home so I punched the pedal and got there cause I wanted to eradicate the little bastard!

I finally made it home and I see it run across the floor and under my work bench - it was a WHITE MINK! (or at least what I thought was a mink - it was about 1/4 the size of the weazel we've seen in the yard) She didn't know the difference, and just thought it was the weasel we'd seen and it changed from brown to white like they do in the winter. It was a pure white mink with a black tipped tale. I've only seen one mink in my life - are these normal? Does it sound like a mink? Maybe I'm way off. I've got pics, I just have to download them.

So I only got to see it for like 10 seconds. I of course don't want it in there chewing up my dump or making a nest but I could not find that little bastard for the life of me after he ran under my bench! I pulled everything out away from the wall to no avail.

There was dropping and pee spots on about every flat surface in there when I started pulling stuff out and I didn't see any fresh droppings this morning.

If this little bastard comes back, can I do like a little 110 coinbear bucket set for him? I just want him out of there!

I'll post pics this weekend of him.

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Shootto kill, mink are actually pretty large about 10-15 inches in body length, I'm thinking you have a weasle. That doesn't really matter, you just want the varmint out. When I've had creature in my garage, what I do is leave the door open about 2inches at most (so others wont wander in at night). Then shovel a light layer of snow just outside the garage door the whole length. This is to give you a clue if the animal came out you will be able to see the slide under the trail in the snow. Doesn't work so good with summer pests. Hasn't failed me yet and those critters really dont want to be in your garage either but they have ho way out cause they likely wont leave in day light and of course we close them in at night. Good luck let us know.

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Thanks - this thing has me mind boggled. I wish I would have downloaded the pics last night. I've trapped all my life, but never really had any encounters with mink or weasel, so I'm just confused as all hell right now. grin.gif I was just looking at pics online of weasel and mink and some pics I see of mink do make them out to be a lot larger than what I saw last night. I also though weasels were a lot bigger, but maybe I've got the two completely confused.

You're idea sounds great, except for the fact that I don't really have any snow to do that with. I'd have to scrape my whole yard up to get enough to block the entrance except for the little way out for him.

My wife is gonig home for lunch today, I'll have her send me the pics of that little pesky critter. grin.gif

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Okay, so I just finally found a HSOforum that compared the two and I do clearly have a little weasel. The site shows one exactly like what I saw last night - white with a black tipped tail. Ya learn something new every day! All this time I thought mink were smaller and weasels were bigger.

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On positive note, we hunted in a deer camp a few years back that was notorious for being mouse infested. Well the second year I was there, a weasel supposedly was sighted in the trailer and low and behold there wasn't a single mouse sighting in the camp that fall. Other than the strong musk glands on a weasel I think he was the lesser of two problems...

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Shoot....I don't think the little guy will gnaw on anything unless it wants to eat it? Let him be and you have the very best mouse eradicater around!

I don't know though, those things have some of the evilest smelling musk you ever smelled....extremely nasty.

If you irritate him and he puts down some of that stink, your gonna remember that little guy for awhile! It doesn't take much...they don't have much, but a tiny bit goes a long ways.

I've got it on my hands before when skinning and to me anyways, it smells worse then a skunk! If you want him out and he doesn't leave on his own, a rat trap from the hardware will seal the deal for ya.

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Yep, a weasel is the best mouse trap you can get. My grandfather use to leave the door to their grainery cracked open just so the weasels could get in. They never had a problem with mice as long as a weasel was around. But, I'm not sure I would allow the stinky critters in my garage...

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Put some dog food out for him to eat and he'll be your best friend.....we had one that had gotten inside the shack and came out and ate dinner with us....funniest thing ya ever saw until ya have to clean up the doo doo.....just don't scare him or you'll have a smell that just won't leave.

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hey shoot, I wasn't talking about trying to block his way with a bunch of snow. I used the snow as a way to track it to see if it slid under the door, just to track it. A light layer the whole length of the door and you should be able to see in the morning if it came out.

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If you go the peanut butter and rat trap route, take one of the newer, fridge friendly pop boxes (long skinny ones), cut it in half and slide the trap in, I took care of the streaked chipmunk in my garage and 9 others in the outside storage area that way. Only one way in, snap and done....

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Hey, trap him and let me have it, I already have 1 and will be glad to get more, I have no more mice at my place, I love the little critters. I'll trade you a case of your favorite "barley pop".

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If you want to catch the weasel alive so you can release him, use a round minnow trap, the kind with the funnel ends. Bait it with some red meat. They enter through the funnel and can't find their way back out. Be careful releasing them, they have sharp teeth.

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Update for you weasel fanatics out there - I have taken care of him. I know some of you think they are great and all, but I for one do not like coming home to piles of poo all over my work benches and pee stains on all of my stuff. I opened the garage door Friday night and flipped on the light and he jumped up out of my big 55 gal garbage can. He then jumped down on the foundation ledge behind the garbage can lid where he was promptly greeted by a size 12 Wolverine boot. I didn't see the point in letting a stinky varmit live in my garage and dump all over everything I own.

I could not believe the amount of [PoorWordUsage] and pee I found that night which was all one days worth since I cleaned it all up the night before.

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Definately a weasel due to the black-tipped tail and size.

Great mousers, but I wouldn't want one in the garage. Once he makes himself at home, you will never get rid of him. He was quite tame for there are many around, but you hardly see them.

Live trap or boot, I would have gotten rid of him....

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