Muskrats are found in just about every state of the union including small areas of Florida and California. The name “Muskrat” is derived from their scent glands, located on the ventral base of their tail, which is used to mark territories during breeding season. This scent can be strong and people generally find it offensive. It is common to have such scent marked on homes, sheds, bank dens, boat docks and other areas where muskrat are active.
MUSKRAT BIOLOGY ^
Muskrat are small compared to beaver. The average size is 18″ to 24″, but some have been known to grow over 30″ long. Muskrat don’t live too long; their average life is 2-3 years. Gestation is 25 – 35 days and females in the southern part of the country will produce more than 6 litters a year.
MUSKRAT HABITAT ^
Muskrat are aquatic. They like to live in ponds, streams, swamps, lakes, rivers, roadside ditches and just about anywhere water can collect for periods of time. They will use plants for building dens as well as river banks; feeding dens, platforms and mounds are also commonly constructed of vegetation when available. Muskrat are generally vegetarians, but they will eat frogs, salamanders, newts, crayfish, mussels and fish. They readily eat any healthy plant such as cattail or horsetail and can delete much of the plant life in small ponds or lakes if allowed to do so.
MUSKRAT POPULATION GROWTH ^
Muskrat populations are subject to large change based on both food supply and predatory presence. Since they can reproduce quickly, populations will rebound following a killing flood or regional outbreak of disease. Many areas of the country may not notice them at all and then the following year wonder where they all came from. Raccoon, fox, coyote, snapping turtles and even certain species of fish all find young muskrat tasty and won’t pass up such a meal if presented. Though largely nocturnal, muskrat can be seen at dusk or dawn. Referred to as “water rats” by many, this animal is capable of two kinds of damage.
MUSKRAT PROBLEMS ^
The most common type of damage muskrat commit is in the garden. Being largely vegetarian, they will find the best plants and eat them during the night. Many a garden has been ruined by browsing muskrat protected by darkness. Though you can try sitting out all night to shoot these invaders, you will quickly learn this is not a practical method of stopping them. There are two things you can do to stop browsing damage. The first is to treat plants you want to protect with a liquid repellent called ROPEL. This material is odorless but tastes bitter. Sprayed plants will be ignored by muskrat; they will be forced to find food elsewhere. Treatments will last up to 6 weeks depending on weather. Once they learn your garden has food which tastes “bad”, they will move on to greener pastures and learn to feed elsewhere.
MUSKRAT LIVE TRAPPING ^
If food supplies are limited around your property, you may be forced to trap the active muskrat. This can be done with an assortment of traps. If you prefer to live trap it, use a LT7824, which measures 7″ x 8″ x 24″. This is generally big enough to handle any muskrat you may have and the 1/2″ by 1″ mesh insures that even young small animals won’t be able to escape.
MUSKRAT BAIT ^
Bait it with some of our special MUSKRAT BAIT. They love this stuff and it will work every time. Place 1-2 teaspoons on the trip pan of the trap and just a dab at the entrance. The placement at the entrance will direct them to where they need to in order to enter the trap. Make your sets in the evening and relocate the animals at least 10 miles away.
MUSKRAT DENS ^
Muskrat can also cause damage which is more serious than eating desirable plants. Their burrows can lead to dramatic problems with water levels including runoff, leaks and unwanted flooding. Dens can go unnoticed for long periods of time. Be sure to inspect shore lines when you can. For many regions, this may be in the winter months or during dry spells when water levels drop. Be sure to fill empty dens with dirt and make sure dams have not sustained enough damage to cause them to break. If left unchecked, populations of muskrat can cause massive problems with water levels.
MUSKRAT KILL TRAPS ^
To handle populations which are large or if you want to trap muskrat as a sport, the use of BODYGRIP 110 TRAPS can be very effective. COIL # 1 and LONGSPRING # 1 can also be used but they don’t kill muskrat; they just catch them by the leg. The bodygrip trips will work when used along muskrat runs. These are generally water trails they’ll establish in streams, ponds, etc. where they travel. Muskrat will use these trails over and over. Place a Bodygrip trap in the run and they’ll never notice it’s there.
MUSKRAT TRAPPING GUIDE ^
Coil and longspring traps are a bit more complicated to use. Placements must be along shore lines, close to their den or where they’re feeding. If you are a beginner, we recommend getting our MUSKRAT TRAPPING HANDBOOK to help make efficient trap sets. This guide will help explain where, how and the best sets you can make along watersheds, ponds, rivers or anywhere you want to trap muskrat.
Furriers have trapped more muskrat than any other animal and leghold longspring traps have caught the majority. Since it’s introduction, the Bodygrip has become the favorite of most trappers. The difference is that the bodygrip is a true kill trap. It needs to be set at den openings, muskrat runs (trails along shoreline or stream beds where muskrat travel where you can see the path) and culverts. There are many other sets that can be used as muskrat are easy to trap and the set you use is limited only to your imagination.
MUSKRAT TRAP LURE ^
Leghold traps can be just as easy to use and will enable you to make even more sets than the Bodygrip. Make sets on feeding mounds, shoreline or where you know there is activity such as in your garden. The longspring or the coil design will work well. These sets can be baited and you can even use some MUSKRAT LURE to make territorial sets. These will generally attract local muskrats and will get them by appealing to their marking and territory scenting instinct. Again, our handbook gets into detail of how to make these sets.
MULTIPLE CATCH MUSKRAT TRAPS ^
If you have even larger populations to control, the use of COLONY TRAPS can prove to be helpful. These are set along runs and will catch unknowing muskrat which will literally enter as they move about. Once inside, they can’t escape. Set these along muskrat runs and pathways you know they are using. Colony traps are limited in the type of setting where they can be used but could prove to be helpful when trying to control local populations which have grown too large and where making simple sets over vast areas is needed.
Muskrat can become quite a problem in urban areas when they decide to feed on local gardens and plants which are needed for lakes and ponds. Their burrows can cause water to run off at alarming rates upsetting delicate balances of ecosystems. Spray Ropel on plants you want to protect. Live trap if you have a small number of animals which are causing the problem. Employ Bodygrip and leghold traps if you are having to control large numbers or if you want to trap for sport. Colony traps can prove helpful when dealing with large numbers as well. Our Muskrat book should be able to assist you in learning many sets needed for the different environments you are likely to encounter.
alex says
I have a muskrat problem in my swamp but I don’t know where they live. What should I do?
Tech Support says
@alex: You state there is a muskrat problem so you either see evidence or damage somewhere. Are they eating a crop, making dens or chewing plants? If you are finding muskrat scat, damage to plants or muskrat runs, all you need to do is place one of the live traps we have listed above where you find this activity. Bait it with our food bait and you’ll quickly start catching any that come around.
LT7824: https://bugspray.com/traps/cage/live-trap-7-x-8-x-24
Muskrat Bait: https://bugspray.com/traps/lure/muskrat-bait
gary says
I have a problem with muskrats making a home in my dock destroying the styrofoam floats. My dock is on a river in a backwash with no current. How can I get rid of them? Have tried rat poison with no effect.
Tech Support says
@gary: In some cases you can use the tunnels and dens they make in the styrofoam to your advantage. I’ve trapped them by using the BG110 traps placed directing in front of their exit holes so when they exit, they instantly get killed. But I’ve had just as much success using the Live Trap and Muskrat Bait (these are listed just above your question with links to our cart). Live traps in this situation are very easy to use and should get results immediately without all the mess.
Nannette says
We have a muskrat that keeps eating our koi and goldfish from our water garden. We have set a live trap on the edge but have had no success. We have lost hundreds of dollars of fish over the past years. What do you suggest? Thank you!
Tech Support says
Muskrat are easy to live trap so your lack of success makes me think you’re either using the wrong kind of bait or it’s not a muskrat that’s taking your fish. We routinely see raccoon, cats, bob cats, coyote, fox, otters, weasels, hawks and even rats steal fish from small ponds so don’t rule out these potential thieves unless you’re 100% it’s a muskrat.
With that being said, we always recommend a slightly larger live trap when the target animal might be something other than a muskrat. So in this case, start deploying one this size:
LT 11x12x30: https://bugspray.com/traps/cage/live-trap-11-x-12-x-30
Next, be sure to use fish as bait. Any dead bait fish such as a carp or goldfish will do; a can of tuna might work but our Salmon paste is also very effective and something the above listed predators cannot resist.
Salmon Paste: https://bugspray.com/traps/lure/salmon-paste-16-oz
With the larger trap and our Salmon paste as the trap lure, the odds will shift to your favor and should enable you to catch most of the animals listed. For now I suggest you give this configuration a try and see how you fare.
R W B says
My problem with muskrats is that his den is right beside my waterline. My water line runs through my lake and the pesky varmint built his condo right next to my water line. My question is do you think there is a chance he or she might chew through the line?
Tech Support says
There is always a chance of muskrats chewing through pipes, culverts and other “pipes” in the yard. I suggest you trap them out to avoid any problems. This is easy using the trap listed above and some of the Musk Rat bait.
LT7824: https://bugspray.com/traps/cage/live-trap-7-x-8-x-24
Muskrat Bait: https://bugspray.com/traps/lure/muskrat-bait
Lola Vanslette says
I have a family of muskrats that are living in the crawl space under my house. They are getting into the house and rummaging through everything. I am deeply concerned because I have a two-year-old and a newborn baby in the home and must get these out of here asap. I live in Northwestern Vermont across the road from Lake Champlain and am not sure of the laws, but they have to go.
Tech Support says
This is an easy one. Set out anything you think they’d like to eat. If they’ve gotten into any specific food item thus far, then you should already have a good idea of what it is they’d like to eat. Next, set out one of our live traps where you’re seeing the activity. The LT5518 or LT7824 will usually do the job. You should be able to trap them quickly and relocated them at least 10 miles away to insure they don’t return.
Live Trap: https://bugspray.com/traps/cage/live-trap-5-x-5-x-18
LT7824: https://bugspray.com/traps/cage/live-trap-7-x-8-x-24
Brady Larsen says
A muskrat has chewed through some wires on our boat at Bear Lake in Utah. We’ve seen that he has a nest under a floating dock in the lake. Probably a good 100 yards from shore. Where would be the best place to set a trap? Live or kill?
Tech Support says
In my experience, the best way is to either use the kill traps by placing them over any “den” entrances they make on the dock. This will be in the styrofoam and many times easy to find.
Now if it’s not your dock and if there is a chance someone might not know what you’re doing and get hurt by handling one of these traps, I would refrain from using the kill trap altogether so only use it on your own private dock where children and pets won’t be a concern.
BG 110: https://bugspray.com/traps/conibear/body-grip-110-5-x-5
The next best option is to live trap them by first establishing a feeding location. Do this on your dock or the dock where it’s living by placing out some Muskrat lure.
Muskrat Bait: https://bugspray.com/traps/lure/muskrat-bait
And once you get them feeding on some, set it out inside a live trap for a quick kill.
LT7824: https://bugspray.com/traps/cage/live-trap-7-x-8-x-24
Tate Bailey says
I have a problem with the muskrats eating my grass in my yard.
Tech Support says
No doubt this can be a problem. Muskrats will forage on nearby food supplies and as fall turns to winter, they will many times feed on grass since their preferred food supplies will be diminished if not altogether gone till next spring.
I suggest you review our article above which goes over several ways you can stop this unwanted behavior. Liquid repellents may be effective if it’s a small area you need to protect. Alternatively live trapping is usually most effective and cost efficient way to proceed for the long run.
cathy mcdonald says
We have a muskrat (or several) that have chewed the transducer cable on our boat. We only see evidence of clam shells on the dock ladder. We are in a cove so the muskrats must live nearby but not on our property. Will the bodygrip work laying on a ladder step? Is there some other method to kill them in the water? Someone mentioned a solar mole sonic stake placed in the water next to the dock would work — too good to be true?
Tech Support says
We carry the vibrating Mole repellers and though they seem to work quite well when used in the ground for voles, moles, etc., I can’t say you’ll get the same result when used in water. Especially if the active muskrats are living near the dock.
Sonic Mole Repeller: https://bugspray.com/repellents/sound/sonic-mole-chaser
As for the Bodygrip traps; they definitely would do the trick. But you’ll need a pathway you know the animals are using to make a good set.
Now if you suspect they’re climbing the stairs to use the ladder as a landing area to feed, you could set several traps around the one rung of the ladder so that no matter where they come up from, they’ll have to pass through one of the set traps. This would cause them to meet a certain demise.
BG 110: https://bugspray.com/traps/conibear/body-grip-110-5-x-5
I believe one of these trap stands might help make a good set too:
Trap Mount: https://bugspray.com/traps/conibear/stand-window-mount
Unfortunately, I also believe once you kill 1-2, the others will become trap wary and avoid the area which will lead to a tougher problem to solve since you currently know where they’re active, what they’re doing, etc.
So in the long run, I believe if you set out some fish or Salmon paste just above the ladder, on your dock, I’m sure they’ll smell your offering and forage up onto the dock to accept the food. And if you can get them to come up to feed on your placement, then live trapping them would prove to be the most effective method. It would no doubt be very easy to deploy and in the long run, the least messy and safest way to proceed.
Here are links to the trap and lure that will do the job. Please show your support for our business by purchasing the items we recommend from the links provided. Remember, this is the only way we can stay around and be here to answer your questions and keep this valuable web site up and running. Thanks for your business!
LT7824: https://bugspray.com/traps/cage/live-trap-7-x-8-x-24
Salmon Paste: https://bugspray.com/traps/lure/salmon-paste-16-oz