Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
There is a farmer in my area that has a catfish pond on his property. His pond has become home to many turtles which are now in danger of being shot. He has already shot many of them and he plans on killing all that he sets his sights on. I have talked to him about this and have asked him if I could have the turtles if I could catch them and he said yes. Now I must come up with some turtle traps. Does anyone have blueprints for traps that are humane? I have seen traps for sale but just can't afford to buy them, it would be much cheaper to build them. The turtles that are healthy will be re-released away from the farmers property and the ones that he has injured will receive the treatment that they need. All help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Christy

Hello christy,

Nice to find someone concerned about this. You can scroll further down to find a thread on this subject.
The farmer is using a method known a turtle plinking. Most states have adopted ordinances regarding the killing of non-game species, so you ,may try reporting the farmer to your state Dept. of Natural Resources, Parks and Wildlife Dept or Game and Fish Commission.
I have found that cutting the top off of a large road cone (legally obtained of course), inserting the narrow end into a box, placing the wide mouth part into the water and placing bait into the box will often capture smaller specimens, but be careful, as snakes will often enter such as well. For larger specimens, I use commecrially available traps, but perhaps someone here has more suggestions. Just be ceratin to check the traps multiple times per day and make certain it is legal to live trap within your area and to re-locate specimens taken from another area, even if only a mile away, as many states also have regulations regarding this as well.

Best regards,

Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.526.4856

If you are for real about this, i suggest some fishing nets, a canoe or row boat or inflatable boat and some pre teens as a crew will make for an ecconomical turtle hunt that may be more cost effective than making/buying traps.
When i was a kid (20 years or so ago) i volunteered to catch some turtles for somebody once and was even paid in cash (or in turtles) to do so. I would have done it for free.
Course there's the drwoning liability to consider.
Do you have space to home these turtles?
What species are we talking about?

I''m willing to do whatever it takes to save them, his pond is home to common snappers, spiny softshells, cooters, yellow belly sliders, and musk turtles, I know that some wouldn't even consider trying to save animals of these species because they are not "threatened", but I can't just set around and do nothing while he kills them! Fish and game won't do anything about it because it's his pond and on his property and the species living there are not protected. I have talked to fish and game and they told me that I could relocate them if I caught them. I'm in the process of making traps from designs that I have found on the web, hopefully they will work and I can get these guys out of harms way. It's pretty desturbing... besides shooting them, the ones that he has caught on his lines he has bashed to death with a hammer. It's heartbreaking! Christy

Thanks for the info on the traps, it's greatly appreciated! Sadly, fish and wildlife will do nothing about this because it's his property and the species living there are not threatened. The farmer is pretty heartless when it comes to his methods of "destroying" them. If I can save just a few, all of the trouble will be worth it to me. Christy

Hi, do a word search on "crab pots" possibly with the word "terrapin". Here in MD many sporting good stores sell crab pots (actually a wire cage) cheaply, but I'm sure somewhere on the Internet you can find a picture of one to duplicate. Terrapins become trapped in these and die if not removed in time, so I know they catch turtles! MD requires non-commercial crabbers to install excluder devices on crab pots now to prevent the terrapins from entering the traps.

With a crab pot, you'd have to either check every couple of hours, or make sure a portion of the cage is above water, so that the turtles can reach air. Bait the "pot" with fish or shrimp. I've never actually done this, but I'm thinking it could work. Of course, you might catch some catfish in there, too!

Katrina

Here are basic designs of the 3 most popular turtle traps Ive built. You can make them out of all sorts of material. 2x2 welded wire which is used for rabbit cages is a good material. Just make sure the traps float or you will drown the turtles. Floats can be as complex as pvc or abs pipe in a circle or capped, or as simple as using empty 2 liter bottles or foam. I use J clips to connect pieces, you can find them where rabbit supplies are sold. The hinge door trap (1) is the easiest to make and the most effective since there is virtually no escape like with funnel traps (2). The basking trap(3) is bulky and hard to handle. Make sure your trap is connected to shore with a rope or it will float away.

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Thanks for the designs, it's greatly appreciated! I'm going to buy more materials today and try making a few of these. Thanks, Christy

Try a fyke net or hoop net. Will try to provide source for purchase