water turtles

[duck spy]

2 of my ponds are full of red ear turtles I'm stocking my ponds and want them gone can shoot one every other day out of each pond but it seems like they are gaining on me so bought some rat traps to put on a board upside down but have no ideal what to use as bait,thinking just to catch a fish and cut it up to fit trap.
Any ideals???
thanks

 

[jinman]

Are your ponds isolated so that more turtles can't get in? The reason I ask is because I have two ponds full of turtles, but I'm beside a 15 acre lake and if I thin them out of the ponds, they just come in from the lake.

If you want to get rid of turtles, I'd consider a trap. That seems to be the best method that is most successful around here. Trying to thin turtles by shooting is fun, but not very thorough.

 

[MossRoad]

Make yourself a turtle trap...

Turtle Traps: Build Your Own

or copy this one...

Turtle Traps : Floating Turtle Trap - Sinking Turtle Trap - Hoopnet Turtle Trap - Snake Traps at Heinsohn's Country Store

But before you do, check your local laws for trapping or hunting turtles. Some places may require a license, etc...

 

[Gary51]

I had an old 300 gal water trough that had pin holes rusted around it. I drilled some 1/2 inch holes in the bottom and added a 2X6 board tied across the top. Cut a small lawn tractor tire in two crossways. Nail 1/2 of the cut tire on each end of the board so that hangs down off the ends of the board. I moved it into my pond in an area shallow enough so that when it sunk, about 4 to 6 inches of the top was above water. The turtles climb up the tire tread to sun on top of the board. Many will then just go off the side of the board that is over the open tank to get back into the water and are of course trapped.
Once 1 or 2 turtles are swimming in there, the others don't hestitate to go off the side of the board with them and are trapped. Once in a while I use a net and scoop out the turtles leaving one or two in the tank. I've eliminated tons of the turtles and don't have to use bait plus I just check once every month or two.
Way more effective and less time consuming then the store bought trap I had.

 

[duck spy]

THANKS

 

[wushaw]

They migrate from pond to pond so if you use the barrel trap then you will stay busy for the summer.

 

[EddieWalker]

I haven't seen a turtle in my pond this year. You did such a great job of shooting them here, what's the problem there? I would have thought it would have been easier for you with them being closer to you?

So sad to hear that you're not able to shoot all of them!!!!

Eddie

 

[jimmyj]

What is the reason you have to get rid of them? Do they eat your fish? We never had that problem.

 

[EddieWalker]

Turtles love to eat fish. When you first stock a pond and all your fish are tiny, turtles can cause alot of damage. Once you have an established pond with fish large enough to be safe from turtles, they don't really cause too much damage. It's just a matter of how many turtles you have and how many fish of reproducing size that you have, along with the amount of cover and safe places for your fingerlings to be safe.

Eddie

 

[MikeBurr]

I was told some time ago that larger red eared turtles were mainly veggy eaters, while the snapping turtles were the eat everything else type. I will try to get rid of the snapping turtles when ever I see one, but leave the red eated ones alone.

 

[Bird]

I was told some time ago that larger red eared turtles were mainly veggy eaters, while the snapping turtles were the eat everything else type. I will try to get rid of the snapping turtles when ever I see one, but leave the red eated ones alone.

Now I may be mistaken, but I think you were told wrong. I think they are omnivorous as this article says.

 

[MossRoad]

I used to fish for painted, red eared, musk, snappers and soft-shell turtles with bologna when I was a kid. Bologna is meat... not exactly sure what kind of meat, but meat nonetheless. :laughing:

 

[Bird]

I used to fish for painted, red eared, musk, snappers and soft-shell turtles with bologna when I was a kid. Bologna is meat... not exactly sure what kind of meat, but meat nonetheless. :laughing:

I had some little red eared turtles in an aquarium for awhile when I was a kid and the "turtle food" we bought was dried flies.

We did a lot of fishing for catfish when I was a kid, using beef liver for bait. Back then I never saw but two kinds of turtles in the wild; the snapping turtle and the soft shelled turtle (a light brown leathery shell) and both would get hooked on the liver. I'd only heard of turtle soup, had never seen any, and I'd heard that the soft shelled turtles were good eating, but not the snapping turtles. So one day I caught two saucer sized soft shelled turtles and decided to try turtle soup. Mother wouldn't have anything to do with it, but allowed me to make a turtle vegetable soup and it was pretty good. Later, I caught a much bigger one (8 lbs. if I remember right), so I made soup again. That time the soup was OK except the meat was so tough only a dog could eat it.:laughing: And in later life, I learned that people also eat the snapping turtles.

 

[20 20]

I encourage turtles{except snappers} to come to my ponds. If I see one on the side of the road it becomes a new member. I have had one pond{total of 4 ponds} for over 14yrs now and never once had a problem with fish being killed off. I don't care for snappers being in our ponds so they get relocated. I'd be more worried about cranes{blue heron} or other critters.

Bird; I worked with a guy that would go nutz over snapper. It was not uncommon for him to have a couple live ones in the back of his PU during the week. He'd catch them along the road in the morning on the way to work.

 

[Taylortractornut]

I made some barrel traps a few years ago for the pond at work. We had a tome of turtle that ran the fish off from their feed. We caught several, after Katrina a friend got hooked up with the state buying turtles to recoup the the populations. I got a permit and sold a ton to him lol. Then we cought several and took them several miles away to a river and dumped them.

 

[RTII]

I usually walk the dogs through our area letting them run through the woods off leash to exercise them. Our older dog is always (3-4 times a week) bringing back turtles as a trophy. Doesn't hurt 'em. Just brings 'em over to show them. Most of the time these turtles are in the woods and not near water although we have several good size ponds in the area. It's the only hunting I've ever seen her do. No interest in birds, squirrels, coons, deer, hogs. Her preference is usually to just hang out on the porch but I guess retrieving a turtle doesn't take much effort.