Skip to Main Content

Website Sign In

Muskrats

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus)

Statistics

Breeding Season: February through October
Breeding: 2 to 3 liters per year; 5 to 7 young per liter
Description: Stocky rodent 18 to 24 inches (depends on sex) with a lateral flattened tail (as long as body)
Diet: Omnivores (but primarily Herbivores)
Habitat: Aquatic
Lifespan: 3 to 4 years

Plant Types That Muskrats Eat

The most common plant materials muskrats eat are cattails, cordgrass, needlegrass, thatchgrass, eelgrass, panicgrass, wild calla and spikerush.

Muskrats Destroying Yards

There are no repellents for muskrats at this time. Remove the aquatic food source or hire a professional trapper (Pest Control in the Yellow Pages). Once the muskrats are gone fill in the burrow with rocks, cover with soil and plant grass seed.

Shooting Muskrats

It is illegal to shoot any species within the City of Hampton unless you have property over five acres and obtained a permit from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

For More Information

For more information, call (757) 825-4657.

[{"WidgetSkinID":16,"ComponentType":20,"FontFamily":"Montserrat","FontVariant":"700","FontColor":"#fff","FontSize":1.10,"FontStyle":0,"TextAlignment":0,"ShadowColor":"","ShadowBlurRadius":0,"ShadowSpreadRadius":0,"ShadowOffsetX":0,"ShadowOffsetY":0,"ShadowInset":false,"Capitalization":0,"HeaderMiscellaneousStyles1":"","HeaderMiscellaneousStyles2":"","HeaderMiscellaneousStyles3":"","BulletStyle":0,"BulletWidth":2.00,"BulletColor":"","LinkNormalColor":"","LinkNormalUnderlined":false,"LinkNormalMiscellaneousStyles":"background-size: contain;","LinkVisitedColor":"","LinkVisitedMiscellaneousStyles":"","LinkHoverColor":"","LinkHoverUnderlined":false,"LinkHoverMiscellaneousStyles":"","LinkSelectedUnderlined":false,"ForceReadOnLinkToNewLine":false,"DisplayColumnSeparator":false,"ColumnSeparatorWidth":0.0000,"HoverBackgroundColor":"","HoverBackgroundGradientStartingColor":"","HoverBackgroundGradientEndingColor":"","HoverBackgroundGradientDirection":0,"HoverBackgroundGradientDegrees":0.0000000,"HoverBackgroundImageFileName":"","HoverBackgroundImagePositionXUseKeyword":true,"HoverBackgroundImagePositionXKeyword":0,"HoverBackgroundImagePositionX":{"Value":0.0,"Unit":0},"HoverBackgroundImagePositionYUseKeyword":true,"HoverBackgroundImagePositionYKeyword":0,"HoverBackgroundImagePositionY":{"Value":0.0,"Unit":0},"HoverBackgroundImageRepeat":0,"HoverBorderStyle":0,"HoverBorderWidth":0,"HoverBorderColor":"","HoverBorderSides":15,"HoverBorderRadiusTopLeft":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"HoverBorderRadiusTopRight":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"HoverBorderRadiusBottomRight":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"HoverBorderRadiusBottomLeft":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"SelectedBackgroundColor":"","SelectedBackgroundGradientStartingColor":"","SelectedBackgroundGradientEndingColor":"","SelectedBackgroundGradientDirection":0,"SelectedBackgroundGradientDegrees":0.0000000,"SelectedBackgroundImageFileName":"","SelectedBackgroundImagePositionXUseKeyword":true,"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionXKeyword":0,"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionX":{"Value":0.0,"Unit":0},"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionYUseKeyword":true,"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionYKeyword":0,"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionY":{"Value":0.0,"Unit":0},"SelectedBackgroundImageRepeat":0,"SelectedBorderStyle":0,"SelectedBorderWidth":0,"SelectedBorderColor":"","SelectedBorderSides":15,"SelectedBorderRadiusTopLeft":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"SelectedBorderRadiusTopRight":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"SelectedBorderRadiusBottomRight":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"SelectedBorderRadiusBottomLeft":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"HoverFontFamily":"","HoverFontVariant":"","HoverFontColor":"","HoverFontSize":0.00,"HoverFontStyle":0,"HoverTextAlignment":0,"HoverShadowColor":"","HoverShadowBlurRadius":0,"HoverShadowSpreadRadius":0,"HoverShadowOffsetX":0,"HoverShadowOffsetY":0,"HoverShadowInset":false,"HoverCapitalization":0,"SelectedFontFamily":"","SelectedFontVariant":"","SelectedFontColor":"","SelectedFontSize":0.00,"SelectedFontStyle":0,"SelectedShadowColor":"","SelectedShadowBlurRadius":0,"SelectedShadowSpreadRadius":0,"SelectedShadowOffsetX":0,"SelectedShadowOffsetY":0,"SelectedShadowInset":false,"SpaceBetweenTabs":0,"SpaceBetweenTabsUnits":"","Trigger":1,"AnimationId":"e99ea493-44ca-4a30-88f4-14ac31e71b7e","AnimationClass":"animatione99ea49344ca4a3088f414ac31e71b7e","ScrollOffset":33,"TriggerNameLowerCase":"hover","ParentComponentWithTrigger":null,"BackgroundColor":"","BackgroundGradientStartingColor":"","BackgroundGradientEndingColor":"","BackgroundGradientDirection":0,"BackgroundGradientDegrees":0.0000000,"BackgroundImageFileName":"/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=24799","BackgroundImagePositionXUseKeyword":true,"BackgroundImagePositionXKeyword":1,"BackgroundImagePositionX":{"Value":0.0,"Unit":0},"BackgroundImagePositionYUseKeyword":true,"BackgroundImagePositionYKeyword":1,"BackgroundImagePositionY":{"Value":0.0,"Unit":0},"BackgroundImageRepeat":0,"BorderStyle":0,"BorderWidth":0,"BorderColor":"","BorderSides":15,"BorderRadiusTopLeft":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"BorderRadiusTopRight":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"BorderRadiusBottomRight":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"BorderRadiusBottomLeft":{"Value":null,"Unit":1},"MarginTop":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"MarginRight":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"MarginBottom":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"MarginLeft":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"PaddingTop":{"Value":0.5000,"Unit":0},"PaddingRight":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"PaddingBottom":{"Value":0.5000,"Unit":0},"PaddingLeft":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"MiscellaneousStyles":"","RecordStatus":0}]