leech traps

[island guy]

Other than the old reliable coffee can, anyone use any thing else to trap leeches? Something easy?

[Bobb-o]

pvc pipe and window screening, make funnel with the screens at one end, and put a removable pvc cap on the other end.

[Ebiz]

Never tried it but had someone tell me one time to take a sheet of tin and fold it in half with meat in the middle. Said I should make sure it was tin. Anyone else ever heard of this or tried it?

[Lotwfisher]

I my cousin uses the folded tin. It is actually old prints from newpaper presses i guess. Pre-form all the tin first. Then just put a piece of meat in the middle and fold it back together...Leeches attach themselves to the tin on the outside and inside. I did trap with him one day and the traps worked good but be sure to wear gloves if you cherish yur hands at all cause the tin is very sharp.

[Kyle Sandberg]

Use a mesh bag you buy oranges in and place a piecs of meat in it. Traps the leeches pretty good and also does a pretty good job keeping out everything else.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Quote:

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I my cousin uses the folded tin. It is actually old prints from newpaper presses i guess. Pre-form all the tin first. Then just put a piece of meat in the middle and fold it back together...Leeches attach themselves to the tin on the outside and inside. I did trap with him one day and the traps worked good but be sure to wear gloves if you cherish yur hands at all cause the tin is very sharp.

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I also use the old print sheets.

Just fold them into a "Z" shape, put a thin piece of bait,I like beef kidney slices, in the inside folds, put a large paper clip on each end to keep the flods closed, tie a string or thin wire to the traps and throw them into the water close to rocks or logs.

Be sure to check them at first light in the morning, as many of the leeches will leave the trap when it gets to light!

Cliff

[196thDLR]

What type of waters do you look for to trap leeches? How do I tell if someone is already leeching that water? I sure would not want to invade waters where someone is trying to make a living.

[Orlip]

I came across this on the net, I believe it was from the Wisconsin dnr site. I searched for this a week or so ago because the pond by my house is full of leech's. I am going to try this method and will post results.

Quote:

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Leeches

Of the 50 or so species of leeches found in the United States, only Nephelopsis obscura, the ribbon leech, is commonly used as fish bait. The ribbon leech is not a blood sucker. In fact, most leeches don’t suck blood; they prey on aquatic worms and insect larvae or scavenge dead animal matter. Fish apparently know the difference too. Leech expert Phil Devore says that in side-by-side tests, fish will gobble up a ribbon leech and spit out a blood-sucking leech.

Collecting ribbon leeches is easy. "You have to find a winterkill lake or pond with no game fish," says Devore. These shallow water bodies freeze all the way to the bottom or are so oxygen-starved under the ice that all game fish perish. How the leeches survive under these circumstances isn’t well understood, but that’s where to look for them. Leeches have a two-year life cycle. The adults spawn in early spring and die as water temperature climbs in late June and early July. The collecting season runs the following spring from ice-out through the first week in July, says Devore. If the water remains cool, a few adults may last a bit longer. Consequently, there’s a real shortage of leeches in August and September.

You can make a leech trap from a one-pound coffee can or a large soup can. Bait the can with chicken, beef or turkey liver. Pinch the top of the can shut, leaving a few small openings. In early evening, stake or place the trap in knee-deep water with a muddy or silty bottom. Use some kind of a marker to guide you back.

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[Lotwfisher]

We used chunks of Tulipees for bait cause they are a bloody and stinky fish.

[196thDLR]

Orlip: Thanks for the information. Just what I was looking for.

[Orlip]

Well I have been putting my trap out and the first morning I had about 18 in there. Got there a little after daybreak. The next morning was worse but so was my time at getting out there. I think they may have left by the time I got there.

I have also been told to take the lid off of my coffee can and make a funnel out of window screen. I think by doing this and getting my duff out there earlier will help.