Question:

I got quite a surprise today.  I have a small pond (200 gal. max.) & live in the downtown area of a large S.W. Ontario city.  Ultra urban to say the least.   Normally the only wildlife we get are birds, the omnipresent squirrels & mice. Today when I let the dog out she started going nuts & I looked out to see her confronting what I thought was a groundhog.  "Uhoh!" I thought, "this dog is gonna get her butt kicked"  Then I saw the long tail on the rodent in question & realized that my little old dog may be very close to achieving her life long goal of actually catching something she’s chased.  Luckily I was able to distract the dog (and probably the whole neighbourhood too!) and the muskrat made it’s escape under the shed. I’m just wondering where the poor thing could have come from.  Our house is not situated near any bodies of water or even marshy areas.  The only "wild" area nearby is a ravine where there’s train tracks and the only animals that appear to thrive there are groundhogs & feral cats.  Anybody know if there’s been a population explosion of them this year in the S.W. Ontario area? Maybe our mild winter has been kind to them & they’re setting off in search of breeding territories or something.  My parents have a large pond in the country near Lake Erie & they’ve had their first muskrat appear this winter too. I’m hoping the little thing moves on & takes up residence somewhere else.  I cannot imagine what it would do to the liner in our pond.  We’re also putting our house on the market in a couple of weeks.  I can’t imagine what an actual muskrat in the pond or a set of live traps in the back yard would do to the market value of our home!! Jacqui

Response:

I got quite a surprise today.  I have a small pond (200 gal. max.) & live in the downtown area of a large S.W. Ontario city.  Ultra urban to say the least.   Normally the only wildlife we get are birds, the omnipresent squirrels & mice. Today when I let the dog out she started going nuts & I looked out to see her confronting what I thought was a groundhog.  "Uhoh!" I thought, "this dog is gonna get her butt kicked"  Then I saw the long tail on the rodent in question & realized that my little old dog may be very close to achieving her life long goal of actually catching something she’s chased.  Luckily I was able to distract the dog (and probably the whole neighbourhood too!) and the muskrat made it’s escape under the shed.

Are you certain?   Not a genuine rat (ugh!) or a possum (almost as much of an ugh!)?  We have muskrats here (outside St. Thomas) but only on water.  I’ve seen them at water hazards on London golf courses. I’m just wondering where the poor thing could have come from.  Our house is not situated near any bodies of water or even marshy areas.  The only "wild" area nearby is a ravine where there’s train tracks and the only animals that appear to thrive there are groundhogs & feral cats.  Anybody know if there’s

Groundhogs?  That’s one critter I haven’t heard of as urban pest You are practically certain to also have raccoons, skunks, coyotes & possums (the last depending on just how far South & West – they’re _very_ common around London, don’t know how far East they’ve moved). been a population explosion of them this year in the S.W. Ontario area?

I don’t think so. Maybe our mild winter has been kind to them & they’re setting off in search of breeding territories or something.  My parents have a large pond in the country near Lake Erie & they’ve had their first muskrat appear this winter too.

I don’t know why they’d have just got their first.  They _are_ common on any kind of water (my neighbors have them in about a 50′ diameter pond). I’m hoping the little thing moves on & takes up residence somewhere else.  I cannot imagine what it would do to the liner in our pond.  We’re also putting our house on the market in a couple of weeks.  I can’t imagine what an actual muskrat in the pond or a set of live traps in the back yard would do to the market value of our home!!

It’s about finding the right buyer  I’m trying to sell mine too. — Derek rec.ponds FAQ: http://www.netcom.ca/~dbrought/pond/maintenance.html

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I got quite a surprise today.  I have a small pond (200 gal. max.) & live in the downtown area of a large S.W. Ontario city.  Ultra urban to say the least.   Normally the only wildlife we get are birds, the omnipresent squirrels & mice. Today when I let the dog out she started going nuts & I looked out to see her confronting what I thought was a groundhog. "Uhoh!" I thought, "this dog is gonna get her butt kicked"  Then I saw the long tail on the rodent in question & realized that my little old dog may be very close to achieving her life long goal of actually catching something she’s chased.  Luckily I was able to distract the dog (and probably the whole neighbourhood too!) and the muskrat made it’s escape under the shed. Are you certain?   Not a genuine rat (ugh!) or a possum (almost as much of an ugh!)?  We have muskrats here (outside St. Thomas) but only on water.  I’ve seen them at water hazards on London golf courses. I’m just wondering where the poor thing could have come from.  Our house is not situated near any bodies of water or even marshy areas.  The only "wild" area nearby is a ravine where there’s train tracks and the only animals that appear to thrive there are groundhogs & feral cats.  Anybody know if there’s Groundhogs?  That’s one critter I haven’t heard of as urban pest You are practically certain to also have raccoons, skunks, coyotes & possums (the last depending on just how far South & West – they’re _very_ common around London, don’t know how far East they’ve moved). been a population explosion of them this year in the S.W. Ontario area? I don’t think so. Maybe our mild winter has been kind to them & they’re setting off in search of breeding territories or something.  My parents have a large pond in the country near Lake Erie & they’ve had their first muskrat appear this winter too. I don’t know why they’d have just got their first.  They _are_ common on any kind of water (my neighbors have them in about a 50′ diameter pond). I’m hoping the little thing moves on & takes up residence somewhere else.  I cannot imagine what it would do to the liner in our pond.  We’re also putting our house on the market in a couple of weeks.  I can’t imagine what an actual muskrat in the pond or a set of live traps in the back yard would do to the market value of our home!! It’s about finding the right buyer  I’m trying to sell mine too. — Derek rec.ponds FAQ: http://www.netcom.ca/~dbrought/pond/maintenance.html

I’m absolutely positive it wasn’t a rat.  It was too big & had the wrong shaped head.  I’ve also seen many possums, muskrats & groundhogs around (although not in my yard!), so I do know what they look like.  Weird, weird, weird!  I’m really hoping it’s moved on now it knows my yard is inhabited by a hostile dog Jacqui

Response:

  I’m absolutely positive it wasn’t a rat.  It was too big & had the   wrong shaped head. I have always found the tail to be the best identifier of a muskrat, it is flattened vertically (ie taller than it is wide). I have seen muskrats that could easily have been mistaken for small beaver, but the tail is always a give away. -stacy — You’ll see it’s all a show. Keep ‘em laughing as you go. Just remember that the last laugh is on you.            - Monty Python _The Life Of Brian_ Millions Consulting Limited

Response:

Now a beaver in my little 200 gal pond would be something!  Has anybody seen "Men with Brooms"  with it’s roving herd of beaver? Jacqui

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –   I’m absolutely positive it wasn’t a rat.  It was too big & had the   wrong shaped head. I have always found the tail to be the best identifier of a muskrat, it is flattened vertically (ie taller than it is wide). I have seen muskrats that could easily have been mistaken for small beaver, but the tail is always a give away. -stacy — You’ll see it’s all a show. Keep ‘em laughing as you go. Just remember that the last laugh is on you.            - Monty Python _The Life Of Brian_ Millions Consulting Limited

Response:

I got quite a surprise today.  I have a small pond (200 gal. max.) & live in the downtown area of a large S.W. Ontario city.  Ultra urban to say the least.   Normally the only wildlife we get are birds, the omnipresent squirrels & mice. Today when I let the dog out she started going nuts & I looked out to see her confronting what I thought was a groundhog.  "Uhoh!" I thought, "this dog is gonna get her butt kicked"  Then I saw the long tail on the rodent in question & realized that my little old dog may be very close to achieving her life long goal of actually catching something she’s chased.  Luckily I was able to distract the dog (and probably the whole neighbourhood too!) and the muskrat made it’s escape under the shed. I’m just wondering where the poor thing could have come from.  Our house is not situated near any bodies of water or even marshy areas.  The only "wild" area nearby is a ravine where there’s train tracks and the only animals that appear to thrive there are groundhogs & feral cats.  Anybody know if there’s been a population explosion of them this year in the S.W. Ontario area? Maybe our mild winter has been kind to them & they’re setting off in search of breeding territories or something.  My parents have a large pond in the country near Lake Erie & they’ve had their first muskrat appear this winter too. I’m hoping the little thing moves on & takes up residence somewhere else.  I cannot imagine what it would do to the liner in our pond.  We’re also putting our house on the market in a couple of weeks.  I can’t imagine what an actual muskrat in the pond or a set of live traps in the back yard would do to the market value of our home!! Jacqui

Response:

I got quite a surprise today.  I have a small pond (200 gal. max.) & live in the downtown area of a large S.W. Ontario city.  Ultra urban to say the least.   Normally the only wildlife we get are birds, the omnipresent squirrels & mice. Today when I let the dog out she started going nuts & I looked out to see her confronting what I thought was a groundhog.  "Uhoh!" I thought, "this dog is gonna get her butt kicked"  Then I saw the long tail on the rodent in question & realized that my little old dog may be very close to achieving her life long goal of actually catching something she’s chased.  Luckily I was able to distract the dog (and probably the whole neighbourhood too!) and the muskrat made it’s escape under the shed.

Are you certain?   Not a genuine rat (ugh!) or a possum (almost as much of an ugh!)?  We have muskrats here (outside St. Thomas) but only on water.  I’ve seen them at water hazards on London golf courses. I’m just wondering where the poor thing could have come from.  Our house is not situated near any bodies of water or even marshy areas.  The only "wild" area nearby is a ravine where there’s train tracks and the only animals that appear to thrive there are groundhogs & feral cats.  Anybody know if there’s

Groundhogs?  That’s one critter I haven’t heard of as urban pest You are practically certain to also have raccoons, skunks, coyotes & possums (the last depending on just how far South & West – they’re _very_ common around London, don’t know how far East they’ve moved). been a population explosion of them this year in the S.W. Ontario area?

I don’t think so. Maybe our mild winter has been kind to them & they’re setting off in search of breeding territories or something.  My parents have a large pond in the country near Lake Erie & they’ve had their first muskrat appear this winter too.

I don’t know why they’d have just got their first.  They _are_ common on any kind of water (my neighbors have them in about a 50′ diameter pond). I’m hoping the little thing moves on & takes up residence somewhere else.  I cannot imagine what it would do to the liner in our pond.  We’re also putting our house on the market in a couple of weeks.  I can’t imagine what an actual muskrat in the pond or a set of live traps in the back yard would do to the market value of our home!!

It’s about finding the right buyer  I’m trying to sell mine too. — Derek rec.ponds FAQ: http://www.netcom.ca/~dbrought/pond/maintenance.html

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I got quite a surprise today.  I have a small pond (200 gal. max.) & live in the downtown area of a large S.W. Ontario city.  Ultra urban to say the least.   Normally the only wildlife we get are birds, the omnipresent squirrels & mice. Today when I let the dog out she started going nuts & I looked out to see her confronting what I thought was a groundhog. "Uhoh!" I thought, "this dog is gonna get her butt kicked"  Then I saw the long tail on the rodent in question & realized that my little old dog may be very close to achieving her life long goal of actually catching something she’s chased.  Luckily I was able to distract the dog (and probably the whole neighbourhood too!) and the muskrat made it’s escape under the shed. Are you certain?   Not a genuine rat (ugh!) or a possum (almost as much of an ugh!)?  We have muskrats here (outside St. Thomas) but only on water.  I’ve seen them at water hazards on London golf courses. I’m just wondering where the poor thing could have come from.  Our house is not situated near any bodies of water or even marshy areas.  The only "wild" area nearby is a ravine where there’s train tracks and the only animals that appear to thrive there are groundhogs & feral cats.  Anybody know if there’s Groundhogs?  That’s one critter I haven’t heard of as urban pest You are practically certain to also have raccoons, skunks, coyotes & possums (the last depending on just how far South & West – they’re _very_ common around London, don’t know how far East they’ve moved). been a population explosion of them this year in the S.W. Ontario area? I don’t think so. Maybe our mild winter has been kind to them & they’re setting off in search of breeding territories or something.  My parents have a large pond in the country near Lake Erie & they’ve had their first muskrat appear this winter too. I don’t know why they’d have just got their first.  They _are_ common on any kind of water (my neighbors have them in about a 50′ diameter pond). I’m hoping the little thing moves on & takes up residence somewhere else.  I cannot imagine what it would do to the liner in our pond.  We’re also putting our house on the market in a couple of weeks.  I can’t imagine what an actual muskrat in the pond or a set of live traps in the back yard would do to the market value of our home!! It’s about finding the right buyer  I’m trying to sell mine too. — Derek rec.ponds FAQ: http://www.netcom.ca/~dbrought/pond/maintenance.html

I’m absolutely positive it wasn’t a rat.  It was too big & had the wrong shaped head.  I’ve also seen many possums, muskrats & groundhogs around (although not in my yard!), so I do know what they look like.  Weird, weird, weird!  I’m really hoping it’s moved on now it knows my yard is inhabited by a hostile dog Jacqui

Response:

  I’m absolutely positive it wasn’t a rat.  It was too big & had the   wrong shaped head. I have always found the tail to be the best identifier of a muskrat, it is flattened vertically (ie taller than it is wide). I have seen muskrats that could easily have been mistaken for small beaver, but the tail is always a give away. -stacy — You’ll see it’s all a show. Keep ‘em laughing as you go. Just remember that the last laugh is on you.            - Monty Python _The Life Of Brian_ Millions Consulting Limited

Response:

Now a beaver in my little 200 gal pond would be something!  Has anybody seen "Men with Brooms"  with it’s roving herd of beaver? Jacqui

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –   I’m absolutely positive it wasn’t a rat.  It was too big & had the   wrong shaped head. I have always found the tail to be the best identifier of a muskrat, it is flattened vertically (ie taller than it is wide). I have seen muskrats that could easily have been mistaken for small beaver, but the tail is always a give away. -stacy — You’ll see it’s all a show. Keep ‘em laughing as you go. Just remember that the last laugh is on you.            - Monty Python _The Life Of Brian_ Millions Consulting Limited

Response: