So many cheesy weasel puns can be made right now; but first, let’s figure out how to get rid of weasels that may be disturbing your property.
First, we have to determine where the weasel is hanging out. Their ideal environment consist of spacious land that is abundant with two major factors: food and water; meaning that they can be in your backyard, or barn in most cases.
There are three different methods of getting rid of weasels:
- Exclusion
- Trapping
- Repelling
Let’s break it down so that you have a full and easy understanding of how to kick out your little weasel.
Exclusion
Exclusion simply means using some sort of border to box out the weasel from entering an undesignated area. It’s also a fairly easy setup choice for a professional, or novice! Learn these steps to successfully exclude your weasel from your land:
- Find all of the entrances and exits that it may use, and close them off with a sealant.
- Use metal or mesh fencing to create a barrier around their food source and den openings
Fencing works well because they can’t use their needle-like teeth to bite through it.
Trapping
Trapping is an effective way of getting rid of weasels. They can be quite swift, and yes, they do carry diseases, so this could be a tricky process depending on the trap that you use, but it has a high chance of getting the job done:
Decide on a Trap
A live trap cage is the general consensus for a good choice
Either an extra-small, or small sized one-door or two-door trap will be your best bet
Pick an Effective Place for the Trap
These locations are prime real estate for your pest
Near the weasels primary stream of hydration
Next to its food source (like a chicken coop)
Inside of the barn, or poultry house
At the bottom of their favorite trees
Bait It!
Fresh meat, poultry, or eggs are preferred as the best bait for weasels.
Place your bait in the far back if you are using a one door trap, or directly in the center of the cage, near the trigger, of a two-door trap
i) Place the bait deep into the cage so the weasel can walk its entire body inside of it
ii) Position the bait far enough from the wall so that the weasel can’t simply reach in from the outside and grab it.
Set up the Trap
Be sure to camouflage the trap with the natural environment
i) Sticks, dirt and grass for outside trapping, and hay for indoor, or in-barn, trapping.
You’ve Trapped the Weasel!
It’s now time to pick it up and relocate the animal (if law permits. Check your local animal control listing.) Keep in mind:
Weasels do bite, so wear heavy duty gloves
Carry the cage steady to keep the weasel calm
Relocate the animal six to ten miles away from your property
Trapping Tips
- Make sure that the cage is on an even level surface.
- When releasing the animal, stand behind the cage so you don’t startle it
Repellents
Repellents have a high possibility of working, depending on the strength of the deterrent. You have a couple of options when it comes to this choice.
Electronic
More specifically, motion-activated sprinklers! This is a great idea because:
- It truly does spook out the weasel and make it run away
- It’s non-lethal, so it won’t harm the weasel, your plants, or your personal stock of animals
There are also light fixtures that are motion-activated as well. So when a weasel enters in the vicinity of the light, it will turn on, and make it turn its back and flee.
Other Repellents
Interestingly, there is also repellent tape. It’s a heavy-duty reflective tape that is adhered to the ground. It makes noise, and has a light-reflecting trait that distracts the weasels vision. If it can’t see, it can’t eat, thus making it choose to leave the scene.
Weasels are an animated type of animal, and can cause serious damage to your property, garden, barn, and livestock! Is their cuteness worth the hassle?
I think not.
There are other creative ways of keeping weasels out as well! The more you know about the nature and biology of a weasel, the easier it will be for you to trap it, or better yet, keep it away from you all together.
How to Keep Weasels Away from Chicken?
As I relay the most quality weasel knowledge to you, it’s intriguing that weasels love chicken! But why? Why is a rooster or a hen more attractive than any other small mammal? The answer lies within scarcity.
When food is running low, and there isn’t enough to go around, weasels are known to set off in packs to the nearest farmhouse or barn. The barn usually supplies these rambunctious animals with all the food they need to continue to survive and thrive.
Chickens are an inferior match for weasels. They are quick, but the weasel is just as agile, and way stronger; so it tends to be an adequate victory for the weasel, and a significant reminder to themselves that they can dominate a chicken coop.
But they can’t dominate you!
Professional Techniques
Using professional techniques to keep weasels away from chickens is a fairly easy process that you will be thankful for when you realize that your flock is safe from the hunger-fuel tier any spree of the weasel. Use these tips!
Keep Your Chickens in the Coop
especially overnight. If the chickens are in the coop, you have increased their chances of safety
Place a Floor Board Under Your Chicken Structure
Weasels can burrow, and use other burrow holes as an underground route into your chicken coop. This prevents them from getting in.
Seal up Any and All Holes in the Structure
check everywhere! The roof, the floor, the sides, even under the structure! A weasel can squeeze through the smallest hole, like the size of a wedding ring or quarter! So fill it up good!
Use Hardware Cloth to Seal the Hole
you want your chickens to still be able to have fresh air, so using hardware cloth allows for steady ventilation, and the weasel cannot bite through it.
Make sure that the hardware cloth holes are no larger than ½ inch; if it is, the weasel will get through.
Take Preventative Measures
Clean the inside and outside of the coop as often as you can.
Throw out any old food (or animals) that you find
Trim your bushes and grass because that’s an attractant
Clear out bushes, sticks, and leaves that a weasel can hide in or use to build a home base.
Trap It
after all of you effort, if it still finds its way into your chickens’ domain, a live trap will be necessary.
Certain deterrents like motion sensor devices are also a great tactic to use to shoo away those meddling weasels from your chicken coop.
Do Weasels Attack Humans?
Weasels are known to not attack humans on a typical basis, and even try to avoid human contact in the wild. However, they will defend themselves against you! After all, you’re just one big predator to them.
I’ll say this: weasels are way more ferocious than I thought! Did you know that weasels are carnivores? They prey on small animals like mice or chipmunks, but are known to take on much bigger prey like rabbits, fish, voles, birds, and other small mammals.
With that being said, you may be bigger, but you are still a mammal.
If the weasel feels threatened, or any type of unnecessary pressure, they will initiate their whimsical “war dance” and while you’re being hypnotized, they’ll strike at you with a powerful bite, when you least expect it!
So if you are trapping a weasel, continuously remind yourself that they do bite, and will bite, or attack you if you back them into a corner, figuratively and literally speaking.
If you are simply trying to keep them away from your property, set up an exclusion, and save yourself from their meat-eating desire.
What Are Weasels Afraid Of?
They can become intimidated by larger animals than themselves because these larger animals prey upon them. So simply put, weasels are afraid of their predators.
Weasels are natively found in woodlands coniferous forests. Within that same domain, you can find their predators like owls, foxes, snakes, hawks, and eagles lurking around to catch a solid furry meal.
Although the weasel is small, it still packs a mighty punch of confidence, and is constantly learning how to outsmart their predators with their “war dance.” They also use their superb speed and agility to evade larger animals that aren’t as flexible and quick.
With their slender and streamlined physique, weasels fight through their fears (if any) and either directly attack the predators, or run away from them in order to live and fight another day.
This can be pretty nerve-wracking to read, especially when you’re trying to ward them away from you or your personal flock of animals. Weasels are relentless and don’t give up very easily. So be as peaceful as possible when interacting with them.
Do Weasels Drink Blood?
Yes, when they pierce their sharp incisors into their prey, blood leaks out, which is why we think they drink blood. This is a common question amongst those who are unaware of the ravaging weasel. Personally, I’m glad to say to you that weasels do not drink blood.
We know that they are carnivorous creatures that feed on other animals.
However, weasels are not sipping on the finest O positive blood at dinner. They simply eat the muscles of their prey that compose the neck, torso, hind, legs and arms; the only part they don’t devour is the head, feet and tail of their prey.
The misconception of dracula-like weasels come from our personal interpretation of what we see. Since the blood of their prey oozes out of their head and neck while the weasel still has it in its mouth, it looks like their sucking blood, when in reality, they aren’t.
It’s simply the unfortunate formality of biting directly into live animals for their meat.
Truly interesting information to stay mindful of when approaching a weasel, especially if they have an animal in their mouth. Speaking of weasel prey, let’s talk about the strenuous relationship between weasels and chickens.
Do Weasels Dig Tunnels?
Yes they most certainly do.
A weasel’s underground tunnel can be up to ten feet long! Each burrow contains at least one adult weasel, and three to six kits (baby weasels.)
These tunnels are used for general traveling from one side of the terrain to the other, or as a stealth passageway into local residential structures…like your yard or farm.!
Weasels typically create their dens in tree stumps or piles of nature debris, for simple shelter, special occasions like mating season, for protection against predators, or as a sneaky means of capturing their target prey.
They’re so crafty!
Here’s a helpful tip: weasels dig their den near a prominent source of water like a river, pond, or stream, and where there is an abundance of rodents and bugs to feast on.
So if you have a lake or personal body of water on your property, you can potentially expect a burrow that tunnels underground through your home.
Will A Weasel Kill A Cat?
They can kill rodents, fish, birds, bugs, chickens, and even rabbits…but cats?
If it has too, then yes, it will attempt to kill a cat.
As stated earlier, weasels have great confidence in their skills to catch their prey, and dodge predators. Cats happen to be on of those predators, at least in the human domain.
When a weasel enters a neighborhood or farm, cats are abundantly ready to feed on whatever they find; and cats are carnivorous as well. So a small weasel can look mighty tasty to a stray and hungry cat.
At first, it would be a game of cat-and-weasel, simply chasing and running around. Until the cat somehow corners the weasel. And with its life on the line, the weasel will do everything in its power to outsmart the cat.
Weasels are intelligent and flexible in their thinking. So when it comes down to a life-or-death situation, they tend to be quick on their feet. A weasel will combat a cat just as hard as it will combat its prey; size makes little difference to them.
Just like any other animal foe that steps up to a weasel, a cat is just as likely to be bitten by their power oral grip, and will most likely die from it. Weasels bite down at the base of the skull until it breaks!
I sure do hope that cats are aware of this tactic before they approach a weasel. For such small bodies, they can do a lot of damage.
How Much Does A Weasel Weigh?
They range from really, really lightweight, to simply lightweight. Weasels are not big animals. Their size is what allows them to be quick and stealth. There are several types of weasels, and they are all different in their stature.
The most notable of all is the Least Weasel. It weighs approximately one ounce. This is the most notable weasel because it is the smallest carnivore in the world, according to Animal Diversity Web.
Now the typical weasels that you may be thinking about are only slightly bigger. Take the long-tailed weasel or the tropical weasel. On the low end, their weight can be around 3 ounces, while becoming as heavy as 12 ounces.
To sum it up nicely and concisely, weasels on average weigh around 7 ounces (about half a pound.)
Their size is exactly the reason as to why an extra-small, or small live trap is necessary.
How Long Is A Weasel?
Not very long at all. Weasels are considered “short” in the animal kingdom. Different genres of weasels vary in length, yet all of them are within the same range.
The smallest weasel, fittingly named the “least weasel” can grow as long as 10 inches, although the majority of them are around 4 or 5 inches. These weasels are mostly in North America, and as you weasel around the world, they tend to be larger.
Larger weasels, like the long-tailed weasel that’s found in North America, and the tropical weasel that inhabits South America have been documented to grow between 10 and 12 inches in length.
Now! When you include the length of their tail, they get even longer. Our western weasel friends have tails that can grow between 4 and 8 inches; that places the full length of the weasel at an above average length of 14 to 20 inches!
It may not seem that exciting, but that’s pretty long for a standard weasel. This makes it easy to make sure the entire body is in the cage when attempting to trap it.
What Sound Does A Weasel Make?
First thing first, you must know that weasels sounds determine how they are feeling at that moment. Based off of the sounds that they make, you are able to tell whether they want to attack and bite you, or if they want to snuggle up and get cozy.
A weasel will make a chirping sound when they are ready to charge, or if they are simply scared. Imagine sucking air in through your teeth, or someone attempting to playfully kiss you…that’s what they sound like when it time to fight.
If you have a weasel hole on your property, try knocking on it first. If the weasel is close enough to see you, it will begin to “shout” with its smoochy death call, basically telling you to “back away!”
On the other hand, when they are in a nice and jovial mood, they make a low, yet impactful high-pitched sound, like an excited whistle. It pretty cute, actually. But don’t let the cuteness fool you. Remember, they will bite you!
What Do Weasels Eat In The Winter?
This is a great question. Think about it: if all most of their prey is hibernating, what do weasels eat during the winter?
Answer: the same animals that they eat all year round!
Weasel prey on small mammals like mice, frogs, snakes, or bugs are used to either hibernating, migrating, or simply retreating to warmer areas during the winter. Because of animal’s attunement with nature, food becomes a major issue for weasels.
Their slender bodies and fine fur creates a serious issue: excess loss of body heat. Weasels manage this potential defeat by consuming around 40 percent of their own body weight in one day!
They are capable of eating this much because their metabolism is extremely fast, and burns their food and fat storages quickly.
Although the frigid winter months are hunger-ridden for the weasel, they still manage to get a couple of bites in with the local winter animals like squirrels, owls, or even the occasional wood frog.
Fun Fact! Weasel fur changes from brown to a grayish-white color; it can even go completely white! It’s a very radiant feature for them. This happens because of the temperature, and the amount of sunlight during the winter days.
This amazing natural mechanism is a great asset during the winter because it camouflages the weasel while it’s in the snow! It works so well, that this feature is the primary reason as to why weasels can still catch their prey in the snow, and continue to eat.
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