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Help with Beavers #6404315
12/20/18 07:16 PM
12/20/18 07:16 PM
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 29
N.E. Kansas
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Spotshooter Offline OP
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Spotshooter  Offline OP
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Joined: Nov 2012
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N.E. Kansas
Well I put traps on what I thought was the den entrance and caught 3 muskrats, and then moved the traps to the slides where they were going out to cut things down and didn’t get anything.

Situation - 6 acre rural pond where Beavers have moved in, it’s in KS so they are bank den types.
they pond has lawn type banks around a lot of it so they can enter / leave any place on slides, the back side of the pond is wooded, but it’s mostly cedar so they are working the far side where they leave on the bank, and cross into the woods. There have been beavers there in the past so I’m guessing the lodge was an abondend one. The pond is an earth (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) type with a culvert like drain that they haven’t started messing with.

I haven’t found a new den site, but I can’t seem to connect with them..

Any advice ?

Last edited by Spotshooter; 12/20/18 07:23 PM.

2014
Grinners - 5
Raccoons - 4
Coyotes - 0
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6404379
12/20/18 08:15 PM
12/20/18 08:15 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,514
Woodhull, Illinois 77
J
Jim Bethell Offline
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Jim Bethell  Offline
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Woodhull, Illinois 77
Are you sure they are still their? If still their, set the slides.

Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6404422
12/20/18 08:48 PM
12/20/18 08:48 PM
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 29
N.E. Kansas
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Spotshooter Offline OP
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Spotshooter  Offline OP
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N.E. Kansas
I’m sure, almost every other night I find newly cut sampling’s, and sometimes tree’’s.

I was using 330’s for the slide sets, maybe I need to go to foot holds ?

Do they travel very far to cut things down ?

Last edited by Spotshooter; 12/20/18 09:16 PM.

2014
Grinners - 5
Raccoons - 4
Coyotes - 0
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6404832
12/21/18 09:47 AM
12/21/18 09:47 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,514
Woodhull, Illinois 77
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Jim Bethell Offline
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Woodhull, Illinois 77
I had a pond one year that the beaver traveled over 1/4 mile under the ice to cut saplings. When the ice went out, the went 1/2 mile to plug the overflow every night until I caught them.

Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6404863
12/21/18 10:08 AM
12/21/18 10:08 AM
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 29
N.E. Kansas
S
Spotshooter Offline OP
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Spotshooter  Offline OP
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N.E. Kansas
Sounds like my best bet would be to start using some scent, so far I haven’t used any.

Given these beavers are moving in, they could be lodged up elsewhere and just doing the cutting at the farm pond, I did some walking to look for a den down stream but it’s really brushy so unless I walk the creek itself I won’t be able to see any den.

I’ll check into scent and go after slides if we get another clip of warm weather again.


2014
Grinners - 5
Raccoons - 4
Coyotes - 0
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6405294
12/21/18 07:41 PM
12/21/18 07:41 PM
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 29
N.E. Kansas
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Spotshooter Offline OP
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Spotshooter  Offline OP
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N.E. Kansas
Update - I ordered 8 more 330’s so I can put out enough spreads, and ordered some dubbing, and other scents to do caster mounds on the slides.

So now I’ll have 11 sets... I also have a half dozen jake traps I normally use for yotes that I can throw in if I have too, but I’m not as comfortable doing footholds, but with the ice it’s tricky with 330’s


2014
Grinners - 5
Raccoons - 4
Coyotes - 0
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6405379
12/21/18 09:10 PM
12/21/18 09:10 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,165
Central NC
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traprjohn Offline
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Central NC
are ya blending in the 330's any? like with vine or grass layed over them?

can't ya hang snares on the trails? a dozen snares costs the same as 1 330.

Last edited by traprjohn; 12/21/18 09:11 PM.

www.sevenoakstrappingsupplies.com for trap mods and gear
The 10 Commandments are not suggestions.
Buy a soldiers meal EVERY chance you can.

Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6405750
12/22/18 09:34 AM
12/22/18 09:34 AM
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 29
N.E. Kansas
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Spotshooter Offline OP
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Spotshooter  Offline OP
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N.E. Kansas
Yes I am blending in the 330’s with twigs and branches, I’m thinking these beaver are trap shy because there are houses around so they may have been educated.

The Haven’t ever used snares, so I’m not sure I would go there, I used to trap raccoon & muskrat when I was a kid so I’m pretty good with a conibar...


2014
Grinners - 5
Raccoons - 4
Coyotes - 0
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6405874
12/22/18 11:21 AM
12/22/18 11:21 AM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 8,294
Louisiana
Aix sponsa Offline
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Aix sponsa  Offline
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Louisiana
Not sure what your laws are, but if I’m setting 330s half submerged, I only use one trigger configuration. Twist the wires together 6-8 times then bend the ends down to make a T. Set dog down, and it makes a half submerged trap look like an open hole. I also wholeheartedly agree with blending the trap with nearby vegetation/sticks/whatever is natural to the area. I also want to set in places that they’re already accustomed to squeezing through a tight spot if possible, rather than just picking any place and using a pile of fencing.


You can make lured sets on the slides/crossovers they’re using if you want to, but I wouldn’t personally recommend it. They respond too well to lure for me to want to put it on a slide they’re already using naturally, because there’s a risk of ruining that slide if they’ve had negative experiences with lure. They may still cross there (going around what you’ve added) if there is something important they’re going to, but they may very well start a new one to avoid the one you’re making these changes to. In my experience, setting natural slides blind and creating a fake slide nearby to use lure gets more bang for the buck that way.

As for the footholds, I don’t use them as much as I do 330s and snares, but in some places they’re the best choice, there’s no doubt about that. I like footholds where they’re stepping to go up. Check where those are leaving the water to feed. If needed, feel the bottom with your hand to find the landing pad where they’re stepping. Slip your foothold on a slider right there, and make sure there isn’t any entanglement within reach. The last thing you need is to have something that a beaver wearing a trap could hang up on. Don’t be afraid to set it deep if needed, I’ll set to nearly shoulder deep at times. Not easy to describe, but when you see it, you’ll know it. Bases of most crossovers and steep banks come to mind.

Good luck

Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6405994
12/22/18 01:30 PM
12/22/18 01:30 PM
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 849
Washington
wildflights Offline
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wildflights  Offline
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Posts: 849
Washington
Put some of those Jakes to work on slides. They'll hold a beaver down.


Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. -Gustav Mahler
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6406025
12/22/18 02:20 PM
12/22/18 02:20 PM
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 2,050
Mass
TDHP Offline
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TDHP  Offline
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 2,050
Mass
I always look for runs in deeper water and set them when slides aren't hitting. Them runs produce well if you can find them. If not, attracting them to land isn't that hard but runs are much more efficient. jmo


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Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6406233
12/22/18 07:51 PM
12/22/18 07:51 PM
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,638
Oscoda, Michigan
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John-Chagnon Offline
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Posts: 1,638
Oscoda, Michigan
If it is not ice up yet - make some castor mound sets just off of the beaver slides with a good castor based lure. Use a large trap I like Bridger 5 Coil , make sure to make a dorwner set. Sound like you cleaned out the muskrat so they will not set off your beaver traps.

Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6406494
12/23/18 12:42 AM
12/23/18 12:42 AM
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 29
N.E. Kansas
S
Spotshooter Offline OP
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Spotshooter  Offline OP
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Joined: Nov 2012
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N.E. Kansas
Good recommendations guys I’ll try them.

I also found out that muskrat and beaver will use the same lodge... HUH.... so I may have been just setting the wrong holes on that bank den I found.

I’m going to make another run at it next week after Xmas.

changes in my strategy given your inputs...

I’ll do caster mounds in areas that pass, but not on active slides.
I’ll look for some cross overs on the north and south sides of the pond and see if I can’t make a set out of those.
I’ll place sets at the slides and the den again.

If I do use the jake traps I’ll do drowning rigs.

I lure wise I ordered
Dobbins' Backbreaker Lure - 1 oz.
Dunlap's Beaver Lure - 1 oz.
And Locklear's Enrager Lure (2 oz.)

So I have some variation I can throw at them.

I’ll also start taking pictures so I can do a journal...

Thanks,
Mike


2014
Grinners - 5
Raccoons - 4
Coyotes - 0
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6406736
12/23/18 11:50 AM
12/23/18 11:50 AM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 8,294
Louisiana
Aix sponsa Offline
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Aix sponsa  Offline
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 8,294
Louisiana
Without a doubt, this is my favorite set. It’s very dependable.


I will never pass an opportunity to make sets like this. In situations like this, it’s a good idea to set at least 2 traps, because it’s cheap insurance against incidentals.

5C15694B-29E1-4FBB-9655-1B10DCFEBC32.png
Blended 330 set yesterday. I use whatever vegetation is nearby so that it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Aix sponsa] #6407282
12/23/18 10:45 PM
12/23/18 10:45 PM
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
NC
R
RobW Offline
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RobW  Offline
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Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 6
NC
Originally Posted by Aix sponsa
Without a doubt, this is my favorite set. It’s very dependable.


I will never pass an opportunity to make sets like this. In situations like this, it’s a good idea to set at least 2 traps, because it’s cheap insurance against incidentals.

That is a good looking set.


NCTA Member
NWCOA Member
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: RobW] #6407380
12/24/18 12:38 AM
12/24/18 12:38 AM
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 8,294
Louisiana
Aix sponsa Offline
trapper
Aix sponsa  Offline
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 8,294
Louisiana
Originally Posted by RobW
Originally Posted by Aix sponsa
Without a doubt, this is my favorite set. It’s very dependable.


I will never pass an opportunity to make sets like this. In situations like this, it’s a good idea to set at least 2 traps, because it’s cheap insurance against incidentals.

That is a good looking set.



Locations like this tend to be on the outside edges of a beaver’s core area, especially downstream. Oftentimes only shallow enough for these below the lowest dam.

Every beaver job location is different, but when this type of set presents itself under the right circumstances, it can be an excellent opening move. Whatever the case, it is my opinion that taking out members away from the others is better than getting them where the others are likely to encounter the catch. It’s not always possible, but when it is, I look at it as an opportunity.

Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Aix sponsa] #6407822
12/24/18 02:55 PM
12/24/18 02:55 PM
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 849
Washington
wildflights Offline
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wildflights  Offline
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Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 849
Washington
Originally Posted by Aix sponsa
Whatever the case, it is my opinion that taking out members away from the others is better than getting them where the others are likely to encounter the catch. It’s not always possible, but when it is, I look at it as an opportunity.


I have video of a large female checking out her mate repeatedly one night. She became the last one to remove from a destructive colony and wouldn't go near a coni or a cage. Finally found her on the end of a cable with an MB650 rubber jaw on her toe (damage permit).

Last edited by wildflights; 12/24/18 02:58 PM.

Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. -Gustav Mahler
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6407971
12/24/18 05:53 PM
12/24/18 05:53 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,165
Central NC
T
traprjohn Offline
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traprjohn  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,165
Central NC
lured castor mound as Claudie Taylor taught us in class
[Linked Image]


www.sevenoakstrappingsupplies.com for trap mods and gear
The 10 Commandments are not suggestions.
Buy a soldiers meal EVERY chance you can.

Re: Help with Beavers [Re: traprjohn] #6408251
12/25/18 12:14 AM
12/25/18 12:14 AM
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 29
N.E. Kansas
S
Spotshooter Offline OP
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Spotshooter  Offline OP
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N.E. Kansas
Traprjohn I like that pic.. I’ll do a couple of those.

The biggest problem for me is distance, it’s a 40 minute drive to the pond, so it eats up a couple of hours a day for me to run traps there, not to mention gas money.

So I’ll drop as many sets as I can and try to get all of them in a few days, I realize now that there are probably 4 den entrances into that bank lodge so I’ll cover every single one of them. I’ll hit the slides, and put the lure / Caster mound test up all at the same time.

the Beavers are Job one, Job 2 is setting traps to eliminate the coon that are raiding my deer feeder on that property as well - those suckers are 30lbers after eating corn for 3 months solid.

Good Googly Moogly


2014
Grinners - 5
Raccoons - 4
Coyotes - 0
Re: Help with Beavers [Re: Spotshooter] #6410600
12/27/18 06:09 PM
12/27/18 06:09 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
TRapper Offline
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TRapper  Offline
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Posts: 1,476
Central IA
setting den entrances should be your last resort...one miss and you will educate them about a square object. find pinch points in the creek or along the edge of the pond. the advice above is solid from other guys. but i wouldn't set the den entrances until i was sure it was only one more beaver left.

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