Martens may neither be killed nor hunted by laymen. Since driving them away is often quite difficult, catching the marten is usually the best option. Find out here how and with what you can catch your marten and how the marten is best caught.

Martens cannot be killed, so they must be caught with a live trap

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Bait for the marten trap
  3. Buy a marten trap or build one yourself
  4. Set up a marten trap
  5. closed season
  6. Marten does not fall into the trap
  7. Marten in the trap
  8. release martens
  9. marten snap trap
  10. Keep martens away
  11. expel martens
  12. frequently asked Questions

    13. the essentials in brief

    • Martens may only be caught with live traps and under no circumstances killed.
    • Eggs and dried fish, meat or fruit are great bait for the marten trap.
    • If the live trap smells just a little bit like a human, the marten will avoid it.

    Which bait for the marten trap?

    Martens love to eat eggs, which is why they are particularly feared by chicken owners

    Martens are omnivores, but of course they have preferences. If there is something in the trap that they particularly like to eat, the probability that they will go in is significantly higher. Special treats that have proven themselves as bait are:

    • eggs
    • Dried Fish
    • dried fruit
    • dried meat
    • cat food

    Since the tastes are also different among martens, it is advisable to serve different dishes. In addition or as a substitute for the bait, you can use maggot attractants available in specialist shops. This is sometimes included with the purchase of a marten trap.

    Equip the marten trap with bait

    When equipping the marten trap, make sure that you don't leave any human odor behind. Wear odorless gloves when placing the baits!
    Place the bait(s) on the trigger or in front AND behind it to make sure the marten steps on the trigger.

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    If the marten is not in the trap after two weeks, change the food and/or try other marten baits.

    Buy a marten trap or build it yourself?

    Marten traps from specialist shops are mostly made of wire and metal

    A solid marten trap can cost more than 50€. There is a great temptation to build it yourself. But is that really advisable? If you enjoy handicraft activities and/or have useful material at home, you are welcome to try to build the marten trap yourself. Otherwise you should rather refrain from doing so, because:

    • Homemade marten traps are not necessarily cheaper than purchased ones.
    • Getting the locking mechanism working is not easy.
    • If the opening does not close reliably or if the trap is not secured firmly enough, the marten could manage to break out of the trap.
    • The self-made trap must be cleaned particularly thoroughly to remove the human smell.

    Buy a marten trap

    Countless marten traps from different suppliers are available online and in specialist shops. The prices vary from just under €20 to over €60. When buying a marten trap, you should pay particular attention to one thing: the trap must be expressly approved for martens and should have a sufficient length of at least 80, preferably 100cm. The material is not important for the marten trap. Models made of wood as well as models made of wire and metal are offered in specialist shops.

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    How does a marten trap work?

    Live traps are designed in such a way that the marten crawls through an opening in the cage and triggers a mechanism that seals the opening tightly. The mechanism is usually a footplate that is pressed down when the marten steps on it. The flap closes. A bolt ensures that the marten cannot open the opening again.

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    Build your own marten trap

    Building a marten trap yourself requires a lot of creativity and craftsmanship. The key to the marten trap is the locking mechanism. It is best to watch a few videos explaining this (as above) so that you have a good understanding of the function.

    The right material for the marten trap

    Even if commercially available marten traps are mostly made of wire, you should make the self-made marten trap out of hard wood or MDF boards. On the one hand because this material is easier to process, on the other hand because it is more difficult for the marten to move or break through hard and heavy material.

    This must be taken into account during construction

    • You should definitely avoid any varnish, paint or any other coating that the marten can - and will - smell.
    • For the same reason, you should never glue the trap, but screw it or nail it thoroughly.
    • The marten trap should be at least one meter long.
    • The trigger should be in the middle so that the marten's tail does not get caught when the opening is closed.
    • After closing the doors, they should be locked automatically from the outside so that the marten cannot escape.
    • The marten trap should have an opening on both sides for the marten to walk through as if it were some kind of tunnel.
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    Set up the marten trap correctly

    Before setting up your marten trap, you should “de-stink” it, i.e. remove any human smell. This works best with water without additives, best of all with rainwater. Simply leave your marten trap out in the rain for a few days to wash away any human smell. If you want to wash the marten trap manually, you should definitely wear odorless gloves and do not put any additives in the water.

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    Cover the floor with natural materials such as moss, pebbles, leaves, straw or similar to make it feel natural. Martens hate walking over wire.

    Where to set up the marten trap?

    Ideally, you should set up the marten trap where the marten will come anyway. If there is a hole in the fence or wall, you should use it. If you are not sure where the marten is walking in your attic, you can scatter ash or sand so that the marten leaves tracks and you can follow its path.

    Martens and many other uninvited guests always take the same routes. If you identify these and set the trap right there, the marten may even fall into the trap without any bait at all.

    When you are not allowed to set up the marten trap

    Martens may not be caught during the closed season

    Martens may not be caught all year round. Strictly speaking, catching is only permitted for a few months. Martens are closed for most of the year. In most federal states, both stone and pine martens can be caught from mid-October to the end of February. An exception are Berlin, Brandenburg, Thuringia and Hamburg, where the pine marten is generally not allowed to be hunted. However, the shy pine marten, which avoids people, rarely causes any damage. Martens on or in the house are almost always stone martens.

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    Penalties for Violation

    Anyone who still sets a trap during the closed season can expect severe fines of up to €5,000 or even imprisonment of up to 5 years. The reason for this is that martens raise their young during the closed season. If the mustelid is caught during the nearly six months that her young are totally dependent on her, they will starve to death.

    What can be the reason for the marten not falling into the trap?

    It can take several weeks, sometimes even months, for the marten to fall into the trap. This can have different reasons:

    • The marten trap smells like humans and the marten therefore avoids it.
    • The location where the trap was set is not on the marten's route.
    • The marten is currently residing at a different location.

    If you heard the marten but it avoided the trap, you should take action: wash the trap again or leave it outside in the rain for a few days, change the bait and try a new location.

    Marten in the trap - what now?

    Once you have set up your marten trap, you should check at least once a day, or better twice a day in warm weather, to see if the marten has entered the trap. If the trap is in the attic above a room that you use often, there is no need to look - you will hear it when the marten has entered the trap.

    release martens

    A marten must be released sufficiently far so that it does not find its way back "home".

    In order not to put the marten under unnecessary stress and possibly even run the risk of it escaping, you should release the marten as soon as possible. To do this, you should choose a location that is at least 25km away from the starting point and as far away from other houses as possible. Wire traps should be covered during transport so that the marten does not unnecessarily stress themselves from the visual impressions. But don't suffocate the poor animal!

    Catch martens with the snap trap

    As I said, it is forbidden for laypeople to kill martens. Therefore, the snap trap falls out from the start. Furthermore, this painful procedure is also completely unnecessary - every marten that goes into a snap trap would also have gone into a well prepared live trap and if it is released at a sufficient distance, it will not come back either. Snap traps are absolutely taboo when catching martens.

    Keep martens away

    If the marten is trapped or if it has disappeared temporarily, you should try to block its access to keep it away. Measures against martens include:

    • Stretch fine wire in front of openings
    • Repair broken roof tiles
    • Secure raised roof tiles
    • Block access to the gutter with fine-mesh wire
    • Use marten belts to prevent climbing on the gutter or beam from outside

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    Keep martens away from the car

    Martens cause particularly serious damage in car engines. These are popular places to spend the night and become victims of violent attacks, especially during the mating season. Rivals will probably bite into cables and hoses if they smell another marten. There are several ways to keep a marten away from the car:
    • Put wire mesh under the car
    • Motion detectors that emit light when a marten passes by
    • Scented sachets (usually not very effective on their own)
    • High voltage (best variant with the highest success rate)

    The alternative: driving out martens

    Martens can be repelled with smells, light and noise

    If, despite all your efforts, the marten does not fall into the trap, you have two options: either you have an expert come and remove the marten for a fee, or you try to drive the marten away.
    There are a number of home remedies and aids available in specialist shops, including:

    marten remedy effectiveness
    Motion detector with light Not very effective on its own
    Odorous substances such as animal hair, animal excrement, citrus fruits, toilet stones and mothballs Useful in combination with other remedies
    ultrasonic devices Assessed differently, but the "noise" also disturbs other sensitive animals such as bats
    Loud noises like radio Not very effective on its own
    high voltage devices Very effective but can only be used very locally
    wire mats Reportedly effective but only usable locally

    It is best to combine several means and also block all entrances.

    frequently asked Questions

    Which baits are suitable for the marten trap?

    Martens are omnivores, but prefer animal food. You should therefore equip the trap with dried meat or fish and/or eggs, for example. Martens also like to eat cat food.

    Is a wire or wooden marten trap better?

    The material of the marten trap is of little concern as long as it doesn't smell like humans. You should also line the bottom of wire traps with natural materials such as moss or straw, because martens don't like walking on wire.

    Can I build a marten trap myself?

    You can also build a marten trap yourself, provided you have some imagination and manual skills, because it's not easy! The trap should be made of untreated wood and be sufficiently large. The most difficult thing is the locking mechanism, which is triggered when the marten steps on a platform that should be mounted in the middle of the trap.

    Where do I place the marten trap?

    Marten traps are best placed directly on the marten's route, i.e. where it normally runs. This can be behind a hole in the fence or in the wall, for example, or directly under a loose roof tile. If you are not sure where the marten is running, you can spread ashes or sand to follow the tracks of the marten.

    How long does it take for the marten to fall into the trap?

    It can take several weeks or even months before the marten falls into the trap. So be patient. If the marten's presence is obvious, but it doesn't fall into the trap, you should examine it, possibly change the location or the food and remove any human odors.

Category:

Animals in the garden