Smart Mink Trap & Raft

The smart mink trap & raft combines a durable floating raft, a live‑capture cage trap and a Remoti monitoring unit. Together they allow mink to be trapped humanely and checked quickly, while cutting down routine visits and helping protect water voles and other river wildlife.

Please Note: This sections gives an overview of setting up a trap, please download the PDF’s for full instructions.
WRT does NOT sell rafts or cage traps. All of the equipment listed below is readily available online to the general public.

Equipment and suppliers

The standard Waterlife Recovery Trust smart trapping setup uses three core components: a raft, a cage trap and a Remoti monitoring unit. When the trap door closes, the Remoti unit sends an alert, allowing a prompt response in the field.

This approach reduces the need for routine manual checking and supports practical trapping at scale across rivers, drains and wetlands.

Suppliers

FILCRIS: Raft Supplier

Filcris

Edged mink raft with 215mm high tunnel walls and no hole for a clay pad – marketed as ‘Fenland Edged’.

Cost – £186.59 incl VAT (discount available on bulk orders, and price is subject to change).

Notes: This raft does not shed polystyrene balls and should have an almost unlimited working life. Doing away with the hole in the floor eliminates any risk that mink may not like to walk on wire mesh and increases the retention of scent from previous mink.

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PERDEX: Cage Supplier

Perdix

Mink trap with reduced entrance. Comes with green powder coating as standard.

Cost – £56.40 incl VAT (discount available on bulk orders, and price is subject to change).

Notes. Perdix cage traps are sturdy and well made; more so than other, less expensive makes. They are fitted with wire mesh doors, which allow the quick and easy attachment of the cable from the alarm unit magnet. As with other cage traps, each unit must be checked and adjusted before being deployed. See instructions below.

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REMOTI: Trap Monitoring

Remoti

Cost £118.80 incl VAT for unit and one year of operation. The cost thereafter is about £27+VAT per year. Additionally, there is a small charge for each text message (<5p).

Notes. The only viable alternative to Remoti at present is Mink Police, although Perdix has long been intending to market a more sophisticated (and expensive) trap alarm. Mink Police are currently being marketed commercially in the UK at £199 incl VAT (e.g. Fourteenacre Ltd).
Remotis are very reliable, and the manufacturer (Ben Morley) will readily replace any that fail. Their main disadvantage compared to Mink Police is that they have no antenna cable extension option, but in most cases, these would not be helpful, anyway.

Monitoring unit setup

Remoti mounted on top of the cage trap with cable ties. Sticky-backed foam strips support the magnet in place on the Remoti housing and allow the magnet to be reset in the correct position every time. The magnet cannot slip downwards and set off the alarm when the raft is agitated by wind or boat wash. Having the Remoti on top of the trap, under the tunnel roof, prevents animal interference with the magnet or the cable attached to it. Another significant advantage of this configuration is that the cable twixt magnet and trap door is short and does not need to negotiate any bends when being pulled by the door. If anything, on average the signal strength of the Remoti is higher when the unit is placed horizontally.

The magnet is the standard one supplied by Remoti, to which a key-ring style spiral clip is attached. It is connected to the trap door by a short piece of braided nylon cable (2mm black cable costs £6.45 for 50m on eBay). The cable is secured in place at each end by a mini carabiner clip (16p each on eBay, in packs of 10). The carabiners allow a cable to be replaced in 20 seconds and can be re-used many times.

The cable that connects the trap door to the magnet may be chewed by a captured animal, whether it’s a mink, rat or water vole. Given that failure of the cable could be disastrous (in that the trap door could close but the alarm not be triggered) we have opted for a cable that is cheap and easy to replace if damage is even suspected. In reality, the cable requires replacement only in 10-20% of trap alarms. Tying a chewed cable back together is inadvisable because the knot may get caught on the trap mesh.

Identifying plaque

For any raft on a river or other public place, it’s helpful to place on it a plaque or label that will allow it to be returned if it gets washed away, and for people to see that the equipment is owned by an identifiable person or group. The plaques are made of stainless steel and are screwed to the roof of the tunnel (using stainless steel screws).

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Instruction list:

  • Use the Filcris “Fenland Edged” mink raft with high tunnel walls and no clay pad hole, which is durable and does not shed polystyrene.

  • Use a Perdix mink cage trap with reduced entrance and wire mesh doors, checked and adjusted before deployment.

  • Fit a Remoti trap monitoring unit (or other approved alarm) so that trap closures send alerts by text and/or email.

  • Order equipment directly from manufacturers listed on this site, as the Trust does not normally sell equipment itself.

  • Download the “Setting a Smart Raft” and “Mink Raft Deployment & Water Vole Excluder Fitting Instructions” PDFs for full specifications.

This is an overview of set up and equipment, please download the PDF for full instructions.

View and download detailed iInstructions >

Setting Up

  • Prepare the Remoti unit: Fit batteries correctly, seat the O‑ring, close the case without cross‑threading the screws, and secure the magnet in a fixed “niche” using neoprene strips so it can be reset consistently.

  • Check the cage trap: Make sure the door opens and closes smoothly, and adjust the frame and treadle so the activation bar releases the door reliably when the treadle is pressed.

  • Fit the connecting cable: Use short braided nylon cable with mini carabiners at each end so any chewed cable can be replaced quickly and cheaply.

  • Mount the Remoti on the trap: Fix the unit on top of the cage with cable ties so the magnet sits towards the trap front, under the tunnel roof, with a short, straight cable run to the trap door.

  • Assemble the raft: Build the Filcris raft base, tunnel walls and roof, fit end stops and dowels, and attach a stainless steel identification plaque so lost rafts can be returned and ownership is clear.

Overview of Equipment

Neoprene strips supporting the Remoti magnet in place. Note the spiral clip attached to the magnet.

Perdix cage trap with the top-mounted Remoti. The cable linking the magnet to the trap door is in place.

Steps in the assembly of a standard WRE smart raft, comprising raft, live (cage) trap and monitoring device (Remoti in this case).

Stainless steel plaque.

Braided nylon cable linking trap door to Remoti magnet. The mini carabiner clips are available on eBay in packs of 10.

Items required:

  • Remoti unit (and associated accessories).
  • Activating magnet.
  • Batteries (4 x Duracell Procell alkaline).
  • Duct tape.
  • Sticky-backed neoprene foam.
  • 25mm diameter key ring.
  • Phillips (cross-head) screwdriver.

Deployment and Alerts

Each Remoti must be activated and tested before the trap goes into the field. A simple test sequence confirms that the unit can reach the network, recognise trap set and unset events, and send alerts to the right people.

Instruction list:

  • Activate the Remoti in the online portal at least a few hours (ideally the day) before fitting batteries.

  • After assembly, place the trap safely on the ground and fit the magnet; watch the LED sequence until the steady green light confirms the trap is “set” in the system.

  • Trigger the trap by pressing the treadle so the door closes and the magnet is pulled away; check for the second LED sequence and green light.

  • Repeat the set/unset sequence and confirm in the Remoti portal that both events have been logged correctly.

  • Only deploy traps whose Remoti units have passed this test sequence.

  • This section should also help users reduce the risk to non-target species. Water vole excluders can be fitted where needed, and supporting guidance is available on deployment and on reducing the incidental trapping of water voles.
  • For any raft on a river or other public place, it’s helpful to place on it a plaque or label that will allow it to be returned if it gets washed away.

Full instructions on Mink Raft Deployment.

View document >

Deployment and water vole protection

Once assembled and tested, the smart raft needs to be deployed in the right place and secured correctly for changing water levels and conditions. The guidance covers choosing a suitable site, deciding how many rafts may be needed, tethering the raft safely and launching it in a way that allows it to work effectively.

This section should also help users reduce the risk to non-target species. Water vole excluders can be fitted where needed, and supporting guidance is available on deployment and on reducing the incidental trapping of water voles.

Full instructions on Water Vole exclusion.

View document >

Inspection and safety

Smart rafts and traps should be checked on every visit, after flood events, and at regular intervals if no activations are reported. The Trust’s guidance recommends checking tethers, stakes, knots, trap interiors and the cable linking the Remoti magnet to the trap door, with each inspection logged appropriately.

Every trap visit also involves some risk near water. Users should move carefully, assess conditions on every approach and follow wider Waterlife Recovery Trust health and safety guidance when working in the field.