This past Sunday we spent the day building weasel boxes from a stack of frozen treated pine dog ear fence boards. Between not finding the correct drill bit, thawing the boards out on the wood stove, or the wood smoke that kept filling the shop up because of the strong north wind, we still managed to somehow put together a dozen boxes to put out this following weekend.
Using a weasel box is a really simple way to trap weasels. In its basic form it is just a wooden box (or made out of natural materials if you really want to get rustic), with a 1.5” – 2” hole, a trap (we like the snap rat traps but our second choice would be 1.5 long spring), and bait in the back of the box (preferably muskrat, beaver, or chicken livers).
We use a couple different styles of weasel boxes but the style we just built is the most common. We started with a dozen 6' dog ear fence boards. The reason we went with the pressure treated pine boards is that they are almost half the cost of the cedar boards, but they are quite a bit heavier than the cedar boxes so if you are planning on buying any boards to make boxes keep that in mind. The top is 17" long, the sides and bottom and are all 12" long, and the front and back are about 6 1/8". If you use those dimensions there will be a scrap piece left over at the end. The hole is 1 1/2" to 2" and drilled about 3/4 of the way up the front piece (do this before you attach it). If you don't have anything to drill the hole in the box, a notch in the shape of a "V" cut out at the top of the front piece works just as well as the hole does.
TOP- 17"
SIDES (2X) - 12"
BOTTOM - 12"
FRONT - 6 1/8"
BACK - 6 1/8"
HOLE - 1 1/2" - 2"
We use a couple different styles of weasel boxes but the style we just built is the most common. We started with a dozen 6' dog ear fence boards. The reason we went with the pressure treated pine boards is that they are almost half the cost of the cedar boards, but they are quite a bit heavier than the cedar boxes so if you are planning on buying any boards to make boxes keep that in mind. The top is 17" long, the sides and bottom and are all 12" long, and the front and back are about 6 1/8". If you use those dimensions there will be a scrap piece left over at the end. The hole is 1 1/2" to 2" and drilled about 3/4 of the way up the front piece (do this before you attach it). If you don't have anything to drill the hole in the box, a notch in the shape of a "V" cut out at the top of the front piece works just as well as the hole does.
TOP- 17"
SIDES (2X) - 12"
BOTTOM - 12"
FRONT - 6 1/8"
BACK - 6 1/8"
HOLE - 1 1/2" - 2"