I took a walk along the blue river yesterday on some walk-in land, and was surprised to find a bunch of beaver-damaged corn. They must prefer it, because I found 4 spots in less than a mile, and didn't find any tree damage in that distance.

Trail coming up from the river

Lightly used trail coming up the bank. Barely visible

Coming in to the field,with lots of stalks being drug out.

Hard to see in the pic, but it's a fairly big area mowed down. Probably 20x40 feet

The stalks are chopped cleanly,almost looks like a machete chop.

Obviously the corn won't be there come trapping time, but presumably the beavers will still be there, I would think. Each location's trail ran down to the river right by a big logjam/tree half fallen in the water, I'm guessing their bank lodge is up under the root was of those fallen trees.

Doesn't matter what kind of area your in, I almost never see obvious tree damage till mid/late October here in Ohio Unless it's a fresh colony and needed to make a dam ASAP. They really don't get tree happy here until the first hard freeze threatens.

I've found entire dams, and feedpiles made of corn.

They love corn and will swim a good distance to get it.

I see them move up ditches and set up temporary dams out of mud and stalks when feeding in corn fields. They dig temporary bank dens too and then move back to lakes and rivers when the corn stalks dry up.

Friend of mine has a cornfield along a small river. Beaver have cut a couple of acres of corn so far. Last year I trapped a bunch that had been grazing a bean field.

Yup they like Michigan Corn to...

I guess the beavers don't care if the corn is GMO and sprayed with Round UP. lol Probably can't believe how easily they can mow down an 8-9 foot stalk. What a vacation and lunch besides.

Bryce

I trapped a spot last year that had very little tree damage. There was an old dam, and there was some fresh tree damage from that year, but not much. Once I got to the other side of the swamp, I found a small food plot made of corn that was nearly wiped out. I caught 5 very large beaver out of that swamp, and I think I found 2 or 3 peeled sticks the entire time I trapped it. Lots of corn stalks in the water, I’m assuming that’s what they ate all winter.

Trapping beaver out of corn fields is actually how I got started trapping as a kid. One summer during a drought in NE they came up out of the creeks and dammed the drains to our corn fields (gravity irrigation on that field) and set up shop like it was the creek. Kinda cool to see, until you realize they have the majority of the corn field back up!

I removed some beaver and took out a dam, where the beaver built a dam out of sunflowers and flooded the sunflowers. I would guess 10 to 15 acres of sunflowers flooded and rising when I got there.

Anyone tried eating corn fed beaver? Wonder if it's any different being the diet is.

Never tried them at the time but I caught some corn fed beaver that had pot bellies from leveling a 10acre field of corn

Corn makes some huge beaver! Most of beaver work we do are corn issues. Never found them in beans but always corn or timber.

What's the difference between corn fed beaver and corn feed beef? I can only think they could only taste even better than non corn fed beaver.

Well, one is a big rat and the other produces ribeyes.

The beaver I trapped last season had wiped out a 8 acre corn field there the year before. This summer I couldn't find a single peeled stick. Guess I got them all and non moved in yet.

Coons took over on that corn field though and since I only trap nuance critters on my farm out of season he has another guy going after the coon now. If he would have waited tell November I would have put it on them them. It's still going to be a good place to trap a few yotes this season.

That will be the best tasting beaver you ever eat

Beaver are gonna have corny-snaps

Seen beavers go a quarter mile up a tile to a blow hole in a corn field. Drag cornstalks back down and in the tile to the creek.