Beavers are rodents. Handling rodent problems are better done sooner, rather than later. When prices were good, just about every creek and drainage out there had someone's traps in them picking up beavers. However, due to low prices, this is not the case anymore, especially in the South. When beavers dam a drainage that's out of sight, they're sometimes out of mind, at least until the huge problem is noticed.


Any of you ever trap beavers in an area that they have completely inundated? I'm talking about flooding many acres and keeping the water over the banks. If they flood enough ground, they'll keep the water over the banks, and that will make it more of a reservoir than just a dammed up drainage.


In rare cases like I described, how is your approach different? Where do you make sets in a huge flooded area? Do you rely on floating sets/snares more than anything else?

I just wanted to see if I could get a discussion going and get input from others about the mega jobs and how their techniques change when the banks are flooded over, making a boat the only way to get the job done.


Anyone ever take on major jobs like this?



When I started this thread, I had a specific beaver job in mind. Photos added later in this thread, including aerial photos.

yes after losing permission for 2 years to trappers that promised to catch all the beavers tear down the lodges and remove the dam I was stunned by the amount of flooding.it was flat second growth popple beaver work everywhere after telling the landowner to contact the previous trappers he called again luckily we had little snow but cold weather I could walk anywhere and set snares/330s in runs visible in tall grass and cattails in spring I made large castor mounds/legholds in shallow water with long chains with lots of swivels and took some more out this was close to home so early checks were not a problem probably small artificial feedbeds/food lure close to the lodge as possible would have worked but I didn't know that then don't imagine you get much ice down south

I have one like this coming up. Ill be following along.

Here is what I did on a big project, and actually worked better than I thought. I bought a piece of property that had about 40 acres of beaver pond/swamp, where maps showed two creeks running together, but all you could see was two creeks running into edges of this 40 acre swamp. Several dams, and evident beaver had been there a long time. I set the perimeter and everywhere I could get with hip boots with castor mounds and trail sets. On the lowest dam I trapped hard, and did dam break sets until they were no longer repaired, and then I tore out that dam. Sometimes I would have to reset and tear out, but if I could tear it out before a big rain it would wash the dam away, and I would be finished with that one. Then I would move upstream and concentrate on the next one. Once I had an area finally dry they would not build the dam back, and I just continued upstream, castor mounds and trail sets on the perimeter, lots of all sets and dam breaks on the lowest dams. Eventually got the creeks running free, and as of now the creeks have been running free for a while, my timber is safe, and we have new areas to plant. Now the bad news is it took me about two years to do this, winter and summer, but of course on my off time, so traps set maybe five days out of the month average.

To me, there is not much as satisfying as standing on dry ground, watching something grow, in a place that two years ago the water was over my hip boots. I hope you get that same feeling on your project.

Castor mounds set on the dams works for me.

I've found dam cross overs are hard to beat. And I've also found a real or fake trail cut into the bank, with a few peeled branches tend to pull the big ones early in the game. Well that and BIG pockets with some castor at the top of the pocket and peeled sticks in the water get the attention of bigger beavers too

Cleaned out lots of those types of spots.Break the dam down just enough to get their attention and they will come to repair it.Several sets out in front of the dam break and a few lured sets will take them all in most cases.If there are a couple left that wont work the sets after you remove most of the colony,I drain the pond down to natural flow,(which is what the clients require anyway)then set submerged blind in the channels (which is the only place left with water)both upstream and downstream from the house.
Hit them hard right off the bat.The longer you dick around the more chance you have of making a beaver set shy.

Good advice so far !
I can add, be sure to cover the complete area looking for every single set opportunity. Find every stream that feeds it and every outlet. Use google maps to get a birds eye view.

Every beaver pond usually has that one "Holy Grail " set that will catch every beaver in the pond. Look for it.
If the water is just too deep to set, trap the edges first with lure.
The next step is letting out just enough water to find travel sets. Never let All your water out before you trap. Trap with all your might first and let water out last. Usually in several steps so the beaver don't leave with the water.

I once shot 18 beaver from one setting on a summer evening on a very large ADC job like your describing.

^^^Read and reread the above information. This is beaver trapping experience in these paragraphs and I don't know AR Swampboss, but I can tell from this post he knows what he's doing.

Spot on info!

I also would set every dam crossing top and bottom with 330's and when I could find a den each entrance as well. The area I trapped beaver in some creeks flowed down small canyons practically with steep banks on each side, while others would flood entire fields making each very labor intensive to gang set it very hard right off the bat then I called it running and gunning if I didn't make a catch I'd pull the 330 and reset it on the next dam crossing and I used a bunch and lost very few thankfully but caught more beaver than I care to think about now.
I wish I still had the pictures of the beaver I caught that year when they were all finished.
Happy New Year everyone, !
Allan

My problem is the beaver are coming out of the creek and stealing my oak trees, but they are bank beavers. I see so many giving advice on beaver dam trapping, but Ive walked up & down the stream and theres no beaver dams. Plenty of bank holes, but hard 2 know which ones are active. The water along the shoreline is mostly rocky. Im started to think the beaver activity on my stream is seasonal in that they must change patterns throughout the year. Trapping bank beaver seems like a different ball game.

Well AJE is it a flat bank or a cut bank where they are coming out to cut your trees ?
As for bank beaver dens the active dens will or at least up here they will have a trench wore into the bottom of the creek or there will be a color variation in the bottom or even freshly peeled sticks near the entrance.
When setting the 330 put the trigger on the bottom and brace the trap with dead sticks through both eyes on the springs adding a couple more if needed to keep it stable when the beaver leaves the den.
Tie off to what ever is handy on the bank and sharpen your knife.
Beaver trapping is no different than trapping anything else sometimes you have to think outside of the box, if it's larger rock making up the bottom you may have to use steel supports to stabilize the traps.
Allan

Bank beaver really arent hard to trap as long as you dont have floods forcing them out of their holes. If its a larger creek where you cant wade across, I concentrate on areas where they have shown recent cuttings and make castor mounds and/or castor smear sets.

Thanks for the info. I took a photo and tried attaching it but still havent figured out how to shrink pics so this site allows them.

The banks are generally steep, but theres places where its ~level for the 1st 4 ft of shoreline.

Glad u raised the points about flood. Id say at least once per year we have a high water event I would consider dangerously high, but its never high enough 2 flood peoples cabins.

If the water stays high for an extended period of time, the beaver will let you know where they are. They dont seem to cut trees down at this time but what they will do is take the bark off them. Sometimes nearly girdling them, if not completely. Then I go in and place castor sets in spots near those anxiety chewings and smack em.

I havent noticed any girdled trees.

When the water is high in this stream, it typically recedes after a few days or less.

I didnt think they like oak trees, but these sure do! Must b some strong beaver. Some of the trees were bigger than Id expect, and they hauled them away!

Beaver can be strange and will eat about any tree they can if preferred choices arent available. Ive got beaver up here eating IRONWOOD(hornbeam birch) and pine.

Is it common knowledge that beaver do more chewing/wood cutting in the winter when other easy to eat vegetation is dormant for the year? I havent noticed a pattern yet, but am wondering if u guys have?

I theorize that possibly they have to work harder to find things to chew on/eat in the winter, so they may spend more time on the bank, but I could b totally wrong. This property we have is 25 minutes from the house so its not like Im down there every week walkin' around.

They really dont start chewing on trees seriously here till late November and into December. They will cut some earlier in the year if they need to. Last year it was so warm here, some colonies here barely touched trees.