Weasel in the House!!

Does anyone know of a way to catch a Weasel?

We have mice in our Tiny House and with it being so cold outside, a weasel has chased them into our house. Mice both me, but not so bad as a weasel. As is we had to pick up our Bunny Cage so that our pet bunny did not get attacked, but the weasel has to go!

We have a Have-A-Heart trap, but it is for bigger animals. Any idea on how to rid this house of a weasel?

Oh dear! It is starting to sound like 'the house that jack built'.  Other than getting a good terrier.......

I've read that people used to take an empty baby formula or coffee can and put a rat trap with bloody meat in it. It's how fur trappers would get them for pelts. Not sure how well it works or if it's really ideal for indoor use, but it's a thought

there is a guy named Joseph Carter, or theminkman on you tube. i would try give him a call out and see if he can help.

Do you know where/how the mice or weasel is getting in? These need to be sealed with steel wool and expanding foam insulation (wool prevents gnawing, foam prevents dislodging).

The only times I've dealt with this it was summer and once all the doors and windows were left open it left of it's own accord. Doesn't sound like an option for you though.
In this case you need to remove the food source - no food, weasel goes.

Mice traps with a few finishing nails driven through where the snap arm comes down (impales them on nails); water bucket with rod and tin/pop can on it that holds bait and revolves, dropping them into water.

Weasels seem to anecdotally be attracted to movement (trappers use bird wings above traps). Perhaps some dangling object in the trap and the trap set on an angle so weasel runs UP into it??

Make sure you leave an exit for the weasel, and be sure he is gone before completely sealing the house up - you don't want to trap it IN the house.
Good luck.

Lorinne Anderson wrote:Do you know where/how the mice or weasel is getting in? These need to be sealed with steel wool and expanding foam insulation (wool prevents gnawing, foam prevents dislodging).

The only times I've dealt with this it was summer and once all the doors and windows were left open it left of it's own accord. Doesn't sound like an option for you though.
In this case you need to remove the food source - no food, weasel goes.

Mice traps with a few finishing nails driven through where the snap arm comes down (impales them on nails); water bucket with rod and tin/pop can on it that holds bait and revolves, dropping them into water.

Weasels seem to anecdotally be attracted to movement (trappers use bird wings above traps). Perhaps some dangling object in the trap and the trap set on an angle so weasel runs UP into it??

Make sure you leave an exit for the weasel, and be sure he is gone before completely sealing the house up - you don't want to trap it IN the house.
Good luck.

The food source is mice, and sealing this place up is tough because it is an old fieldstone foundation. We are thinking about using expanding foam on the inside of the rock foundation sometime though. The insulation guys have told me rodents are detracted by the commercial stuff that is sprayed on. That will inevitably make my house warmer as well. Just expensive.

Great advice about the steel wool and chewing. On this house we used 25 cans of mouse spray insulation to deter chewing, but I am not sure how effective it is. Great to know!

What _can't_ they climb? How big is it?

Put a mouse or two in the bottom of a glass gallon milk jug, think the weasel could get out? 5 gal carboy?

Any good with a .22 target pistol?

How come it hasn't finished off all the mice yet?  Oh... Duh!  More keep coming in?

When we had squirrels a couple times I fantasized about weasels. <g>  

Little monsters need to eat a lot of meat every day.

When I had mice this year, I put out traps, but the only traps available here are big, for rats. Scary things, like I'm afraid I'll break a finger. My mice were so small they would just climb up on the trap and gnaw the sides of the nut I had wedged in it for bait. I even watched them do this, the little rascals! Then I used poison and they disappeared. Then a predator arrived, but it wasn't an unwanted weasel, it was an attractive cat, so now poison is no longer on the menu.

When the mice came back, I used glue traps, ugh, but very effective. Maybe if you use glue traps, some mice will stick, then the weasel will try to eat them and get stuck. But I don't know.

> glue trap

Wow! What a thought. Having seen a cat get stuck on a couple of glue traps, I can only imagine the biggest most gawd awful mess in the universe happening in triple fast forward Ultimate 3-D floor to ceiling, left to right, everywhere!!!

It  might almost be worth it just to see, provided you didn't die laughing or split a gut and five pieces of furniture trying to nail the slick little monster before he totaled the place. <G>


Rufus

Rufus Laggren wrote:
Wow! What a thought. Having seen a cat get stuck on a couple of glue traps, I can only imagine the biggest most gawd awful mess in the universe happening in triple fast forward Ultimate 3-D floor to ceiling, left to right, everywhere!!!

Yikes! Thanks for the warning. I'll remember to only ever set glue traps in a closed storeroom or cupboard where the cat can't get at them.

We have stopped the weasel from getting into the house with another can of spray insulation.

We also got a cat, and while the ad said a "young cat", we were expecting a teenagerish cat...nope a 8 week old kitten, but we took her anyway, and she seems like she MIGHT be a good mouser. She is very playful. We shall see.

Myself, I never liked cats, like ever, ever liked cats, but being a Tiny House, the fact that I sleep on the couch, and that I am a Trophy-Husband and thus am home all the time, the kitten and I have become attached. I think it is just because I have someone to interact with now. Our bunny is antisocial, our dog has to keep watch of the sheep, the sheep...well they are just sheep...so the only one that is around a lot is me and the kitten. She thinks she is a parrot though and perches most of the day on my right shoulder.

In my experience, mouse traps work well if you bait them without setting them.  I use peanut butter for bait.   This gives me the opportunity to monitor whether I have a mouse problem.  When the bait disappears I know there are mice.  Only then do I set the trap.  By then I've trained the mouse to be careless and it will be in the trap shortly.

Sounds like you  might have found a good cat, Travis. They tend to get distant and invisible once they pass 1yr, but sometimes they "get attached" and maintain active interest. I suspect you reviewed some info before considering the kitty, but I'll add, JIC, that if it's male and doesn't get neutered, it _will_ likely piss all over the place. They mark their territory, including your bedroom slippers! Females sometimes do it also, but not often. But an unneutered female will produce a cat opera under you window at least once or twice a year and probably gift you with a whole 'nother family. <g>

Cheers,
Rufus

As a fellow "non-cat' person, I too had a very special bond with a very special cat.

Being that there are no other cats, as with most young animals it will adapt to and mirror the 'animals' around it. Foster kittens raised by my MinPins act very dog like (come when called, go for walks, greet you at the door) because all they have to model their behavior after is the dogs.

Cats CAN be trained in agility and other competitive fields also - so teach/train it however you like, to do as you like for a companion.

Basic Cat Care:  do get it "altered" as soon as possible (surgery cost is based on weight and whether it has had it's first heat). Unlike dogs, they tend to cycle much more frequently - easily four times a year! Vaccinations (8, 12, and 16 weeks old for the core vaccines, 4-6 mths old for Rabies), dewormer and anti-parasitics (fleas,ticks etc) will also need to be done regularly.

What's her name?