Turtles

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kerley

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I've got one or more very large Turtles in my pond. Whats the best way to eradicate them. I do not have time to sit there with the 22 and wait for their appearance. Any advice on a proven method will be appreciated.
Tom.
 
If you will take a basket, barrel or some other container that you can partially submerge in the water and put a ramp (2x6) on it leading into the water and ramped up over the container - the turtles will sun themselves on the board and when they decide to drop off they will drop into the container. If your walls of the container are about 4-6 inches out of the water the turtle cannot climb out and will eventually drown - or you can collect them and drop them off in your neighbors pond.
 
I like turtles too. Saw one a couple weeks ago that weighed about 80 lbs (I would not believe it if I hadn't seen it but it is so). I didn't like that one so much. :help:
 
I really like the ones that are chocolate, caramel and peanuts. YUM :nod:
 
One of my favorite pass times setting on my 4 wheeler shooting turtles with the 22mag.

Cal
 
Honestly,why shoot/get rid of them? Do they do any harm? Eat the fish? Catch calves? I can see getting rid of aligators,snakes-but what does a bad turtle do?
 
Turtles eat all my small Fish. The other stuff bugs spiders ect. can be eaten by the Fish. I prefer fishing for Fish not Turtles.
Tom.
 
kerley":cg4iczgo said:
Turtles eat all my small Fish. The other stuff bugs spiders ect. can be eaten by the Fish. I prefer fishing for Fish not Turtles.
Tom.


For those of you that might not know, I think the type of turtle he is referring to is a Logger Head or otherwise known as a Snapping Turtle. They do not make good pets!
 
Find out what kind of turtles they are before shooting at them. Turtle numbers are declining and some are popping up on federal or state protection lists. The bog turtle (Appalachia) and the Yellow-Blotched Map Turtle (MIssissippi) are both on the list of the 25 most endangered turtle species in the world and ARE federally protected.

http://www.turtlesurvival.org/25TurtProfiles0503.pdf

Your state's fish and game laws may also have some turtle specific regs.
 
Brandonm22":1p4nnx4b said:
Find out what kind of turtles they are before shooting at them. Turtle numbers are declining and some are popping up on federal or state protection lists. The bog turtle (Appalachia) and the Yellow-Blotched Map Turtle (MIssissippi) are both on the list of the 25 most endangered turtle species in the world and ARE federally protected.

http://www.turtlesurvival.org/25TurtProfiles0503.pdf

Your state's fish and game laws may also have some turtle specific regs.

That's why you trap them and dump them in the next county.
 
Now if they are the logger-head (snapping) turtles, you just shoot those for fun and let the fish pick them clean. These are a royal p.i.t.a.

If it is the big soft-shell turtle, those can make some mighty good soup. My grandmother made that when she was alive and it was great. Some of those turtles get as big as a washtub.
 
I swung an email to Mark Sasser who is over the nongame wildlife in Alabama and he pretty much green lighted anything you want to do. None of our three Alabama endangered turtle species are likely to live in your ponds and the state gives leeway to a private landowner managing his ponds (or aquaculture would be an extinct business). You are legal and good to go with whatever you want to do..........

"The turtles you mentioned would not be found in your pond. Their
habitat requirements and range is totally different. The gopher
tortoise is a land turtle, also. Private pond owners are exempt from
the limit resrictions on some species that may be in your pond, common
snappers and soft shells, as long as they are not being harvested for
commercial purposes. Most of the turtles in your pond are probably
common red-ears and pond sliders.

Mark S. Sasser
Certified Wildlife Biologist
Nongame Wildlife Coordinator
Alabama Division of Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries
64 North Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
334-242-3469 "
 
Brandonm22":1k54ed73 said:
I swung an email to Mark Sasser who is over the nongame wildlife in Alabama and he pretty much green lighted anything you want to do. None of our three Alabama endangered turtle species are likely to live in your ponds and the state gives leeway to a private landowner managing his ponds (or aquaculture would be an extinct business). You are legal and good to go with whatever you want to do..........

"The turtles you mentioned would not be found in your pond. Their
habitat requirements and range is totally different. The gopher
tortoise is a land turtle, also. Private pond owners are exempt from
the limit resrictions on some species that may be in your pond, common
snappers and soft shells, as long as they are not being harvested for
commercial purposes. Most of the turtles in your pond are probably
common red-ears and pond sliders.

Mark S. Sasser
Certified Wildlife Biologist
Nongame Wildlife Coordinator
Alabama Division of Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries
64 North Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
334-242-3469 "

Thanks Brandon for the info!
 
Auburn_Ag":1pl1cv8m said:
kerley":1pl1cv8m said:
Turtles eat all my small Fish. The other stuff bugs spiders ect. can be eaten by the Fish. I prefer fishing for Fish not Turtles.
Tom.


For those of you that might not know, I think the type of turtle he is referring to is a Logger Head or otherwise known as a Snapping Turtle. They do not make good pets!


That's OK I still want them, I will just put one of those dog thingies on them so they don't bite.. :lol2:
 
Auburn_Ag":3aaxhzht said:
kerley":3aaxhzht said:
Turtles eat all my small Fish. The other stuff bugs spiders ect. can be eaten by the Fish. I prefer fishing for Fish not Turtles.
Tom.


For those of you that might not know, I think the type of turtle he is referring to is a Logger Head or otherwise known as a Snapping Turtle. They do not make good pets![/quote]......... thats for sure and after they get a certain size they fight back.... first time i caught a big one, picked it up its head came out of the shell hissing and flopin back and forth, and pi$$in' down my leg. needless too say i gained a little more respect,, for those bigger than a dinner plate :lol:
 
Snappers I shoot, or run over if they're in the road. All of the others I leave be.
 
I used to trap them when I was a kid. I would make a simple wire box on one end of the box make a < and leave about a three inch gap at the point of the arrow. I would bait it with whatever road kill I could find being careful to wire tie the bait to the bottom of the trap. set trap in shallow water so that a few inches of the wire is exposed above the water. This way the turtles want drown. Caught hundreds of turteles like this. Some over 40 pounds. O yea on the opposite end from the mouth of the trap cut a door and wire tie it shut . just pull the trap out and untie the wire to empty the turtles.
 

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