I'm trapping a small lake right now that the beavers have backed up onto the neighbors property. I need to drain the water immediately to get the neighbors off the landowners back.

There is a spillway pipe, a spill way and a culvert that the beavers have plugged. I'm thinking to go in and open all three up in the morning and set to catch while they repair.

Is that my best approach?

Do the set up in the afternoon just before dark . Be careful what lure you use. May be best to use no lure at all the first couple of nights. If you use lure use the fresh castor from the beaver you caught there.

Make no or few exposed sets. If using baited cages use the most open appearing available.

Remember, your in the deep south.

Thanks Kirk! I can't set in the afternoons because of other work. I'll be setting using conibear, steel traps and snares.

Sliders (turtles)will be active during the day and will set off your conibears before the beaver get there. Snappers both day and night this time of year. By letting the water down in the morning it will activate those turtles, as well as make you estimate where the level will be many hours later in setting your drown sets. It also will effect your trap if your making breeched dam set.

Beaver pay attention to exposed conibears more in the summer, especially here.

Foot holds and snares might be the best sets.

Some lures spook them bad this time of year. I keep frozen castor just to thaw out for this time of year. Another negative, it is best to set just after or before a rain when trapping here in summer and the forecast is not good for rain.

Just tough trapping beaver from now until fall here.

When I roll into a nuisance beaver call I set lured sets heavy first run and also a multiple submerged set well out in front of a small dam break or well out in front of a culvert same way.Nine times out of ten here those sets will take all the beaver.If there is a problem beaver left I will drain down the pond and set all the den entrances main channels and bank holes blind.This will take care of any that are left that may be lure or set shy.

I do the same thing here in December, Boco.

The problem here is the water temperature sometimes is over 80 degrees and the beaver just won,t come out to swim around. They will stay right in the den.

I bet your water temperature is cold to the touch right now.

Thanks again! I Won't set any conibear traps tomorrow unless I have them submergered or use them to block den entrances!

Leave your den entrance sets till last resort for smart beaver.That set is your ace in the hole for wised up beaver.
Yes Kirk once the hot weather hits it is a waiting game for the beaver to move,I like to have sets ready when it rains as that generally gets them active here.
Creeks are still cool,the black muck ponds like in the pics are really warm.

In the pic of the drained pond I had a real smart beaver to deal with.Once the pond was drained he moved far up the ditch to an old dead pond.After I drain a pond I always check in the fresh mud for beaver tracks to see which way any beaver left may have gone.There were many bank dens along this deep ditch pond and I did not have time to locate the ones he may have been using,so I set a 330 deep and dead center at the bottom of the ditch and threw an armful of brush over the trap to get him to dive.No fencing was necessary as beaver swim in the deepest part of the ditch along the bottom dead center when they dive.He was in the trap this afternoon.

Thanks Boco! I'm setting 2 separate ponds this morning and hopefully I can show these guys some results.

Footholds with breasting sticks work well for me now.....like in Pauls video, Beaver Sites and Sets.....he has another "Summertime Beaver Control" which is good also.

cage traps in culverts also work

I caught one of the problems last night. A 48# sow. Hopefully getting her first will have the rest moving.

trapping a pond right now where the beaver have dammed up the spillway vertical tube...so far got one beaver in an auxillary den...i also don't set main dens unless necessary...got one beaver in a castor mound set, and one in a channel set with a 330 so far...

I've done pretty good so far. I've had these 2 ponds set for 4 nights and have caught 5 beaver. 2 have been snared on a castor mound set, caught 1 in a 330 where I fenced off the spillway, 1 in a 330 set in a trail I could see they were using underwater and another one snared on a tree using a curiosity lure.

I'm learning but am pleased with this run so far and the landowners are definitely happy.