Runescape Hunting Guide: Catching Ferrets and Rabbits

Trying to figure out how to snare a rabbit in Runescape? First you have to catch a ferret. In this Runescape hunting guide, we’ll explain how to trap ferrets and how to use them to snare rabbits.

Supplies Needed
Before you set off on your ferret trapping and rabbit snaring trip, you’ll need a few supplies.

Box trap – You’ll need at least one box trap to catch a ferret to use to flush rabbits out.

Rabbit snare – In addition to a ferret, you’ll need at least one rabbit snare to catch a rabbit. However, it’s helpful to have as many as your Hunter skill allows you to use.

Lit torch (optional) – If you have a Hunter level of 39 or higher, you can use a lit torch to smoke the box trap in order to increase your chance of catching a ferret. This isn’t necessary, though, and you may not want to waste an inventory space on a torch.

Raw meat (optional) – Another way to increase the chance of catching a ferret is to bait the box trap with any type of raw meat. However, like smoking the trap, this isn’t necessary at all.

Trapping a Ferret
Once you’ve completed the Eagles’ Peak quest in Runescape, you can start trapping ferrets in the Woodland hunting area near the Piscatoris Fishing Colony. As a reward for that quest, Nickolaus will teach you how to trap ferrets, and he’ll even give you a box trap so you can start right away.

You can purchase additional box traps at the hunter shops in Yanille and Nardah for 38 gp each. It’s also possible to purchase them at the Grand Exchange in Varrock, but expect to pay a higher price for them if you decide to go that route.

While you’re buying supplies, pick up a few rabbit snares. You’ll need them along with a ferret to catch rabbits, and they only cost 18 gp at the hunter shops.

Ferrets can be found near Nickolaus’ tent on the northwest side of Eagles’ Peak. The screenshot below shows the exact location. (Click any image for a larger view.)

Walk out to the middle of the area where the ferrets are running around and click on the box trap in the inventory to lay the trap.

All you have to do now is wait. If you want to increase your chances of catching a ferret right away, you can bait the trap with any type of raw meat or, if you are Hunter level 39 or higher, you can smoke the trap. However, neither one of these things is necessary so I usually don’t even bother with them.

Once a ferret has triggered the trap, the box will close up like the one shown in the screenshot below. It is possible for a ferret to trigger the trap without getting caught in it, so you may have to dismantle the device and start over.

When you do manage to trap a ferret (and it shouldn’t take that long at all), you can retrieve it from the box trap and it will appear in your inventory. Now, you can move on to hunting rabbits.

Snaring Rabbits
If you travel just a little bit northeast of the ferret area near Nickolaus’ tent, you’ll find several rabbit holes arranged in a circular pattern.

Walk around and set up as many rabbit snares as your level permits in front of these rabbit holes.

After setting up the snares, go to a rabbit hole that doesn’t have a snare and use a ferret on that hole.

The ferret will then flush a rabbit out, and it will run out of one of the other rabbit holes in the circular area. At this point, check all your snares to see if you managed to catch it. If not, use the ferret on one of the holes with no snares again. Keep doing this until a rabbit gets caught in a snare as shown in the image below.

When you retrieve a snared rabbit, you’ll get bones, raw rabbit meat, and a rabbit foot. The rabbit foot is particularly nice because it can be strung and worn as a necklace to help increase the chance of a bird’s nest dropping when you're chopping down trees.