OK,
I got a call today from one of the townships nearby. They have a culvert that is being plugged by some beavers, and they want the beavers gone. I have never trapped beaver in the summer, so I am curious as to what My approach should be. The DEC has been contacted and there will be an ADC permit issued. I have 330's and a couple of mb750's.
I don't generally do a lot of beaver trapping, Pretty much just when someone wants them gone and it is season, so this is a little different for me. Will the generally be comeing from Down stream or from the Up stream. The picture is from the down stream side. I figued If they were coming from down stream, I would break a hole in one of the dams in one culvert, and fence on the down stream side of the culvert, and put 330 there. But will they just knock them over trying to bring material to fix it?
Any advice and or Pictures would be great.
Also, should I use lure of any kind. Is castor effective in the summer months as well??


Scott

Just my opinion. I wouldn't break the dams just yet. Find all the pull overs. Place your 330's on the lower side of the dams guarding the pull overs just under water with a dive stick over them. Place your MB 750's on drowners, guarding the pull overs on the upper side of the dams. Keep in mind snares work great also. Save the lure and pulling small holes in the dams as your ace in the hole. Just my opinion. GOOD LUCK

just me 2 cents but id make your dam break and a castor mound 8 or 10 foot on each side of it. and id leave the 330s in the truck unless there s a perfect runway nearby to set one. cant use snares so cant help ya there.o ya and the sets on the highwater side.

PM sent

ACtually, If I state in the Permit I want to use snares, Can't I use them Joe on the DEC permit.

Cause I thought about that too. LOL
Scott

dam break setup, again i aint paul or j just trying to help ya out.



castormound setup

ps i see your from ny, make sure to have them include dam break in the permit.

Thanx Joe.
I will have to see if I have any Back Breaker Left. And go at it. I will probably have a few days to get some Lure if I don't have any left, as I will have to wait for the permit. How exactly does that all work here in NY. As I said, I have done ADC work, but only durring open seasons so no permit needed.

you wont be able to use snares unless you're certified to use them.

I guess I am gonna have to go to PA and Get certified.
I know they have some courses there, and I am not far from PA.
I don't think they give them here in NY do they. At least I havn't seen any.

you have to be a licensed wildlife control agent and be certified here in NY. going to Pa wont work for your situation

you can trap for them but you can not charge or transport the animals. and like jim said to get the snate permit you need a NWCO liscence to take the corse.

o ya back breaker works wonders in the summer. ive cleaned many a nusciance pond with it. and i want to add its a great time to teach a youngster, lot easyer paying attion when your not freezing up.

LOL. Actually I have my 14 year old that has been trying to get me to let him Beaver Trap for a couple years now. LOL> Might be a great time to get him into it a little.

Are there dams downstream from the culvert? If not, they may not be crossing the dam in the culverts.

I honestly don't know yet Paul. I just stopped down to look at the situation, But I didn't go down in on anyone elses property as I don't know who owns what there.
I will maybe get a little better look tomorrow.

I would think you would have better luck on the otherside of the culverts.(hard to tell with the pic) Go on the up steam of the dam,that is were they are calling it home. Take a good look & let us know what ya find.

Id think they are living on the upsteam side as well, most times they are but not always. If not, they should have a nice trail going over the dam, great place there for a set. Being summer id set a foot trap on the upside of the crawl over on a drowner, set it deep for a backfoot catch so you can avoid the million turtles, 'rats, otters, etc. also using it.

Id scout the area out first before doing anything, any channel they are using to get to feed, grooming area's or whatever id set up blind.

Basically blind set everything and maybe toss a castor mound set in and get as many as you can to begin with. Then after that is done if any are still left id take them out with the dam break set.

With all of that said, more times than not I don't have any sets to make so have to start out with a dam break set OR two. But I hate having to do that from the get go if I can avoid it.

If you have to order lure, get a jar of Woodchipper from paul also, gives you one more option to use if all else fails.

I would try and keep things as natural as possible leave the dam or dams intact and set both footholds and body grips at known locations.

Small breaks In dams or dam will speed things up using foot holds but Major dam breaks In my opinion at this time are a No No.
The only time I would be making major dam breaks would be to let out the water so I could find the lodge entrance, and that for me would be the last resort.

Leave the castor in the truck. For that matter forget lure at first. Summertime beaver can be spooky.
Blind sets where ever possible and no dam breaks. There will be a crossover trail on those dams, one will be the primary. Set your 330s on those trails (if you don't have to fully submerge your traps) fence and blend them in real well. Foothold the upstream side as another option but by all means keep those crossovers covered. Next locate the den/lodge 330 every entrance.
Keep your disturbances to a minimum. Pick them off at the crossover first then slam the den hard. Doing ADC work your going to have to get the very last one so do your best to get them all whacked quickly before they get a chance to wise up on you.

I like to start with the simplest approach first, atleast to me, and set a couple of castor mound sets and/or bank bait set. I'll use a small poplar/aspen, drive it into the shore line, score it, and rub a little castor on it. I set 2 footholds per set, both conected to one chain and a window weight a foot below the second trap. I set one for a front and one for a rear foot catch. If I miss one, i'll usually connect on the other and often get both. After I take a couple of beaver then I'll bust open the dam to see if any come back to fix it. After 3 days and no repair, I'll pull out. I occastionally use a baited 330 or snare if I can get permission from the warden or biologist. That is a last resort though because I don't want to take any otter. If you are waiting on permits or something take a walk down and leave a couple good size popplers and check on them the next day. If they're gone you know to use the baited set right off. If this is your first time using footholds in open water, be patient. Seemed like it took me for ever to get trap placement down, especially setting on the dam. Had a lot of snapped traps. Good luck and keep us posted.

Or you could just rip the dam out and sit with a gun and spotlight, lol.

Think I'd catch as many as I could, and depending on the water level, drain the creek and set for the last ones coming to retain their water. Depends on the natural water level in creek. If You can't shoot, set the dens after the dam break if that is legal.