This morning I looked out at the pond and noticed a small furry animal
sitting on the bottom slate of the waterfall carefully washing
itself. I was trying to get a better look and I must have startled
the animal - it slid into the pond! The pond is ice covered except
for the area at the base of the waterfall.
The animal was the size of a baby groundhog - is it a (I hate to say
it) a muskrat? And how
do I go about getting rid of it? Do they eat fish? The level of the
pond hasn't dropped yet, so
I assume there are no holes yet.

On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:58:44 EST, Bonnie NJ wrote:

This morning I looked out at the pond and noticed a small furry animal
sitting on the bottom slate of the waterfall carefully washing
itself. I was trying to get a better look and I must have startled
the animal - it slid into the pond! The pond is ice covered except
for the area at the base of the waterfall.
The animal was the size of a baby groundhog - is it a (I hate to say
it) a muskrat? And how
do I go about getting rid of it? Do they eat fish? The level of the
pond hasn't dropped yet, so
I assume there are no holes yet.

What did the tail look like? Muskrat's have smooth hairless tails. If it is
a little one I'd fish it out with a net, if possible, dump in a pet carrier
and off to the river we would go. They eat almost anything in the pond from
plants to fish. Here's a good website w/pictures:
http://www.nhptv.org/NatureWorks/muskrat.htm

Are you close to a body of water or canal? ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

What did the tail look like? Muskrat's have smooth hairless tails. If it
is
a little one I'd fish it out with a net, if possible, dump in a pet carri
er
and off to the river we would go. They eat almost anything in the pond fr
om
plants to fish. Here's a good website w/pictures:http://www.nhptv.org/Nat
ureWorks/muskrat.htm

Are you close to a body of water or canal? ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds:www.jjspond.us

There is a small river less than a mile behind our house. I thought
this time of year the animals wouldn't travel.

I didn't see the tail. The water level hasn't gone down but the pond
looks like coffee with cream, all muddy. Last week it was clear and
you could see the fish, now you can't see anything. We kept a close
watch yesterday but didn't see the animal. I think it is digging in
all the pots. Much of the ice has thawed overnight and I will
continue to watch. At this point it's all I can do.

Update: It is a muskrat. Ralph said that he thinks it has chewed
thru the liner and that is why the water is so muddy. The frozen
ground is why we haven't had water loss. He is going to the farm
store to see if they have traps. Hopefully they will tell him the
best way to catch the critter.
It looks like we may have to redo the goldfish pond this Spring. The
upper pond still has a thick layer of ice and there is no way to keep
the goldfish and orfe till then. I feel sick...

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 10:23:31 EST, Bonnie NJ wrote:

I didn't see the tail. The water level hasn't gone down but the pond
looks like coffee with cream, all muddy. Last week it was clear and
you could see the fish, now you can't see anything. We kept a close
watch yesterday but didn't see the animal. I think it is digging in
all the pots. Much of the ice has thawed overnight and I will
continue to watch. At this point it's all I can do.

Yup, I agree that it is the reason for the muddy water. Dang! Any
possibility that you could do a flow thru water change to clear the water
and get the critter out? It has got to be stressing the fish something
awful, but maybe they can hide well enough in muddy water?
~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

On Feb 22, 10:23 am, Bonnie NJ wrote:
What did the tail look like? Muskrat's have smooth hairless tails. If i
t
is
a little one I'd fish it out with a net, if possible, dump in a pet car
ri
er
and off to the river we would go. They eat almost anything in the pond
fr
om
plants to fish. Here's a good website w/pictures:http://www.nhptv.org/N
at

ureWorks/muskrat.htm



Are you close to a body of water or canal? ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds:www.jjspond.us

There is a small river less than a mile behind our house. I thought
this time of year the animals wouldn't travel.

I didn't see the tail. The water level hasn't gone down but the pond
looks like coffee with cream, all muddy. Last week it was clear and
you could see the fish, now you can't see anything. We kept a close
watch yesterday but didn't see the animal. I think it is digging in
all the pots. Much of the ice has thawed overnight and I will
continue to watch. At this point it's all I can do.

Update: It's a muskrat. Ralph said that the critter has dug a hole
in the liner and
that is why the water is so muddy. He bought a trap and it is set and
baited with
veggies.
The ground is frozen and most likely that is why the pond's water
level hasn't dropped.
I guess we'll be doing the pond over in the Spring. Hopefully the
hole is not too deep
and the water level will be high enough for the fish to survive.

Have you any traps or an air rifle?

Jim

On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:24:09 EST, Bonnie NJ wrote:

Update: It's a muskrat. Ralph said that the critter has dug a hole
in the liner and that is why the water is so muddy.

I'm thinking (just remembering something from some other time) that 12-18"
is their prime entry/exit point. Just seems though it would have made a
hole up and out of the pond, if it did go thru the liner, thus you would
lose water? I'm hoping it is from digging in the plants, since your water
was clear not all that long ago, it has been digging and eating the plant
roots. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

On Feb 22, 11:36 pm, Jim and Phyllis
wrote:
Have you any traps or an air rifle?

Jim

Hi Jim,
We set a "have a heart" trap and baited it with apple and carrot. No
luck so far. I think the animal is happily munching on the water
celery and lily tubers. I've only gotten quick glimpses of the
critter always in the water and under the ice. If it is coming out of
the pond it's only in the dark.
Bonnie
NJ

On Feb 23, 7:22 am, ~ jan wrote:
On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:24:09 EST, Bonnie NJ wrote
:
Update: It's a muskrat. Ralph said that the critter has dug a hole
in the liner and that is why the water is so muddy.

I'm thinking (just remembering something from some other time) that 12-18
"
is their prime entry/exit point. Just seems though it would have made a
hole up and out of the pond, if it did go thru the liner, thus you would
lose water? I'm hoping it is from digging in the plants, since your water
was clear not all that long ago, it has been digging and eating the plant
roots. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds:www.jjspond.us

The pond is ice covered once again. We know the area he is digging
but we
won't be able to make repairs or changes until the ice is gone and we
can
hopefully move the fish. From what I've read, they often have more
than one
entry and exit holes.
Bonnie
NJ