A Muskrat in the Pond

[Panamoka_Bassin]

So the last few days I've noticed a muskrat swimming in my little pond (its only about 3/4 acre) and was wondering if he's going to be problematic.  Do muskrats eat bass?  Will it cause other problems for me in the future if I don't do something to get rid of him?  Or should I just not care and live and let live?

[Valascus]

Muskrat's mostly eat aquatic vegetation such as cattails, arrowheads, and duckweeds. Occasionally eats crayfish, snails, mussels, frogs, insects, and slow-moving fish. I don't think you need to really worry about him...unless you are worried about him spooking the fish or tearing up the vegetation that the fish normally use for cover. If you start seeing lots of fish carcass' though I might consider contacting your state's conservation department and let them assist you in removing him.

[Panamoka_Bassin]

If you start seeing lots of fish carcass' though I might consider contacting your state's conservation department and let them assist you in removing him.

Yeah that's what I thought, but I just wanted to be sure...and I'll certainly call the DEC...

[SBM-RL]

Many ponds I fish have many muskrats and they dont seem to affect the fixing so it should be ok

[TLC]

You don't have to worry about it eating any of the fish, your worry is that they will burrow into the dam and will eventually drain the pond.  It is up to you but i would dispose (by however means possible) to get rid of the it.  If you wish to keep it than you will need to watch for holes in the dam area to make sure it doesn't drain your pond.  Once the water starts running through the holes you can forget it the pond is going to drain!

[magic]

I agree the biggest concern would be if you have an earthen man made pond with a raised berm.  They will burrow into the berm to den and can cause problems over time with the structrual integrity of the dam.  If there is no berm then they shouldn't hurt anything important.

[Panamoka_Bassin]

You don't have to worry about it eating any of the fish, your worry is that they will burrow into the dam and will eventually drain the pond. It is up to you but i would dispose (by however means possible) to get rid of the it. If you wish to keep it than you will need to watch for holes in the dam area to make sure it doesn't drain your pond. Once the water starts running through the holes you can forget it the pond is going to drain!

No dam or berm there, so I guess I'm ok...just a small spring fed pond and a muskrat to keep me company...

[TLC]

NO worries then!  Just give it a name and enjoy! LOL

[paparock]

You might not be there alone for long as "Muskrat Love" is in the air!

[Guest avid]

A rat is rat.  .22 shorts cure muskrat love.

PS    The rat won't eat the bass, but a good bass might eat the rat.

[darcy tucker]

Yeah I say just give him a name and enjoy is company.  Whenever I go golfing I love seeing these little guys in the ponds.  They are so cute except for their tails that make you queezy.

[Bass Hammer]

Eat him.

[paparock]

Avid, my man, don't you remember the song by the title "Muskrat Love"by Captain & Tennille. Have you no romance in your soul bro, to allow but one brief moment of joy before exterminating the vermin?

[K_Mac]

Paparock

It is the Captain and Tennille that should have been shot for that "song."  ;D

[KenDammit28]

I remember seeing one last year as it came blazing outta the cattails.  Almost scared the daylights outta me...it was worse than the snake that crawled right by my right foot.

[paparock]

Just be glad that you don't have one of these in the grass That isn't a beaver, it's a Nutria, and their teeth are almost equal in size. They get almost as big as a beaver so you can imagine spooking one of these things while wading saltmarsh for redfish. They are sometimes aggressive and usually ill tempered as adults. We had these things around the Houston area when I was working in the refineries down in Texas City. To heck with the .22 where is my .44 Mag. because these things are tough. My friend's brother shot one with a 12 gauge with buckshot and it showed its displeasure by running up and chewing on his leg until he shot it again.

[fishingrulz]

A rat is rat. .22 shorts cure muskrat love.

PS The rat won't eat the bass, but a good bass might eat the rat.

get that muskrat!

[Whopper-Stopper]

We have one come to the pond every spring when they're ruttin. After a while he realizes there are no females and leaves.

[Reelady]

Speaking of Muskrats...

I was at the pond fishing today....I was standing on the edge of the cat tails, wearing my knee high rubber "pond boots". It was one of those situations where if I took one wrong step, I would have ended up in water over my head, so I tried to stay pretty still. Well, I saw this "thing" swimming in the water right toward me....YIkes....It was kinda hard to make out because it was right in the glare of the sun...Well, it turned out to be a Muskrat heading RIGHT towards me! It appeared that I was directly in it's path!!!! This darn thing swam right up to my boot and then took a hard right, and just kept swimming as if it see's boots like this all the time!!!!

I'll admit...it scared me, because I wasnt sure if it would freak out on me...If it did... I knew I was going for a swim in very cold water!!!!!  Darn...I wish I would have taken a picture, but I was too scared to move!!! lol....I'll chalk that one up to an interesting experience  

[fishingfrenzy]

I hate otters, my grand-parents had a farm pond in virginia that had "tame" catfish.  You could feed them out of your hand, some of them were well over 2 feet long.  One day and otter got in the pond and ate all the catfish in about a week, my grandpa found out what happened and shot it with a 12 gauge.  

"What comes around, goes around."   ;D

[Guest avid]

Speaking of Muskrats...

I was at the pond fishing today....I was standing on the edge of the cat tails, wearing my knee high rubber "pond boots". It was one of those situations where if I took one wrong step, I would have ended up in water over my head, so I tried to stay pretty still. Well, I saw this "thing" swimming in the water right toward me....YIkes....It was kinda hard to make out because it was right in the glare of the sun...Well, it turned out to be a Muskrat heading RIGHT towards me! It appeared that I was directly in it's path!!!! This darn thing swam right up to my boot and then took a hard right, and just kept swimming as if it see's boots like this all the time!!!!

I'll admit...it scared me, because I wasnt sure if it would freak out on me...If it did... I knew I was going for a swim in very cold water!!!!! Darn...I wish I would have taken a picture, but I was too scared to move!!! lol....I'll chalk that one up to an interesting experience

Did you know it was a muskrat or did you think it might be snake.  I'll tell ya' honestly, the gators and other critters don't bother me at all, but the snakes scare the begeezus outta me.  

[Reelady]

Did you know it was a muskrat or did you think it might be snake. I'll tell ya' honestly, the gators and other critters don't bother me at all, but the snakes scare the begeezus outta me.

Well, you're talking to a woman who has had a few pet snakes over the years....lol...so, nope, a snake wouldnt have bothered me at all.

But, if we want to talk about what scares me, than lets talk about bees or wasps!!! Then you'd see me actin' like a real girl!!! lol  ;D

[Guest avid]

Funny about the bees and wasps.  I'm actually allergic to yellow jacket stings.  I got stung in the lip once when the evil little critter crawled inside a coke can I was drinking out of.  I went to take a sip, and POW. It felt like Mike Tyson punched me square in the face.   The whole front of face got swollen but it went straight out, so I looked Avid the human dog faced basser.

Just remember when your fishing in the South.  Cottonmouths, moccasins, and other toothy venemous critters are not pets. they can definitly ruin your afternoon.

[paparock]

Cottonmouths? I posted on another thread how I had a big one wrap around my leg. Now I had pet snakes but that one was definitely NOT a pet. It took me 30 minutes to stop shaking and stop my hair from standing on end.  Wasp, yellow jackets, etc. don't bother me as a kid I shot them off the huge nests on my grandparents store. I've even had them crawl around on my face. They attack motion so I never got stung.

The only thing I can not abide are Black Widow spiders. I had a friend that almost died from a bite so I kill everyone I see.

[fishingrulz]

Funny about the bees and wasps. I'm actually allergic to yellow jacket stings. I got stung in the lip once when the evil little critter crawled inside a coke can I was drinking out of. I went to take a sip, and POW. It felt like Mike Tyson punched me square in the face. The whole front of face got swollen but it went straight out, so I looked Avid the human dog faced basser.

Just remember when your fishing in the South. Cottonmouths, moccasins, and other toothy venemous critters are not pets. they can definitly ruin your afternoon.

i think they would ruin a little more than your afternoon lol