Morning chaps and greetings from the UK,

Firstly thank you to your forum it’s such great amount of information on topics we have only forgotten experience of in England. We have a slightly unusual situation over here her in that beavers (eurasian) are being reintroduced after an absence of 4-600 yrs. At the moment it’s all on the back of some diehard ‘rewinding’ enthusiasts who’s motivations range from the idealistic to financial - a great mix of noble, naive and cynical. Either way we once again have beavers (both sanctioned and illegally seeded) swimming in our waterways and interacting with a landscape has changed dramatically from when they were last here. It is also worth noting that we no longer have wolves, bears, lynx or anything else that would predate upon beavers here, so there is nothing that would naturally check their population!

Even with a small population ( sub 40 on my river catchment|) the conflicts have started springing up and landowners interests are already being compromised with flooding and destruction. Also from a fishery point of view we have some pretty fragile trout and salmon populations who’s spawning would be diminished by the little nibblers dams.

So some of us who can see that we will sooner than later need to take action have started looking how we are going to be able to control them as and when necessary. Which brings me to you fine fellows.

Just to clarify from a legal perspective (so you can sleep knowing you’re not encouraging beaver terrorism abroad) beavers have not yet been classified as a native species and as such have no legal protection and can currently be killed here in England at the discretion of the landowner. God help us when we have to go through the government channels to get a license! Shooting with night vision or lamp is legal here as would be kill traps ( once each model and size of trap is approved by the bureaucracy… bah), and snares. Foothold traps were banned here in the 50’s and alas won’t be coming back . Live capture traps with ‘finishing off’ with a shotgun would also be allowed.

I’ve had a good read through a lot of the threads on here which have been invaluable as to understanding the basics. A few brief questions for the landscape in my area. It’s mostly small rivers 10-40ft wide and 1- 10ft deep with rainfall fluctuations of 1-4ft. Steep incised banks of mud or bedrock. Surrounding farmland is mostly grassland, established broadleaf and coniferous forestry and the occasional piece of arable. They seem to be in the smaller tributaries so far and in a lot of instances creating bank dens rather than lodges. Tree cover on the riverbank is mostly willow, oak, ash, alder, sycamore, holly and hazel. The willow and Alder seems to be preferred by the nibblers.


As we have healthy otter populations here (heavily legally protected) I wondered what the best way of avoiding accidental bycatch would be with connivers etc?

I have seen some evidence of castor mounds and territorial marking. I wondered whether there was much regional variation in the lures you guys used? So whether a scent from Alaska would work in as an attractant in California etc?

Any tips on trapping transient beavers. Thinking forward to the spring kick out when I presume our gen 1 wild beavers will l start tracking the rivers looking for new homes.

For Bank dens which is what I seem to have seen the most of so far. How many will a single beaver or many utilise? On area in particular where I have only seen one beast on the thermal imager seems to have 8 holes that I can find over a 1km range, I assume he has more. Are some for feeding, resting , sleeping etc.

When setting bank dens Is it successful to just whack a Connibear over the entrance? Or will they just refuse to come out/ dig another exit with the changes to their entrance?


This is all rather new to us and I know that I am asking about a different species to the one you guys have, but I’m presuming they aren’t that different in their activities and I think the trapping fundamentals would be the same.

Thanks once again and apologies for the length of post ad the mix of newbie/ specific questions - this is a whole new world for us.

Best Wishes

Badger.

What traps are legal? Body grips , cages? and do body grips need to be completely submerged? Conibears (body grips) in the bank holes will take the beavers but it'll be tough avoiding otters. The otters are hard on fish populations , I would think they need managed too.. Jim Comstock makes excellent cages that may be an option to release otters. They work very well on beavers too. Snares are a good option too but again otters are mean to release. It can be done but man they are a handful. I'm sure others will chime in and try and help.

Normally when a colony is trapped out others fill the void quickly.

Good luck

On river systems, its hard to figure out where the beaver are living as they move around a lot in an area depending on flooding. I almost never look for them here.

If you are having to avoid otter I would definitely avoid setting bank dens as they will check them out.

The way i trap beaver on rivers that sound like what you're dealing with, is I set snares exclusively. Find slides where they are going in and out of the water to reach food or mark territory. Set snares on the slides and throw some castor up a few feet above the snare.

As for how beaver react to castor...there are some regional differences certainly. Seems like this this variation largely has to deal with population density of the beaver. Heavily populated areas of beaver like in the southern USA, they come to castor but just not as aggressively and they wont go quite as far out of the water to investigate it. Here in the northern part of the country, you can draw them from 40 yards away from the water .

For your transient beaver, castor sets will take a lot of the dispersing beaver. Places where water systems meet can produce a lot of beaver. Of you dont have such a spot yet you suspect there are beaver up or downstream of where you have permission to trap them, again castor sets anywhere you have access to can produce.

Unless you got local people making their own lure from castors caught, getting castor lure, or really any lures from the USA might be cost prohibitive by the time it gets to you, especially with the cost of cost of castor nearing $100USD/pound. Catching a few beaver yourself starting out and saving and preserving the castors yourself will save you a buttload of money.

Thanks Trapper Gus,

The odd situation is that currently no traps have been approved for beavers because technically they don't exist here. All traps have to be licensed as humane as well as for a specific species. For other animals connibears are legal so I think it would be acceptable to have a dyslexic moment. Live capture traps and snares are also good to go. No foot or leg holds at all and I really wouldn't want to get caught using one. Otters are very heavily protected and don't seem to do too much damage to wild fish pops. due to being very territorial and naturally having a low pop density. They do cause some serious issues if you have a stocked pond, like a fast food restaurant to them. Would snare stops be enough do you think? Agreed I wouldn't want a hand to hand tussle with one!

Thanks

Snare stop at 4" would probably keep all but the biggest otters, assuming youve got river otters like we have here that can occasionally get to 30#. Running the snarea low at 2" and 8" inches or bigger loop will let most otters jump right through the loop

Thanks Sniper B

I'm starting to think that snaring may be the way to go in areas where there aren't any deer or domestic animals tracking through. Re Slides On the areas I've seen the highest activity there seem to be many in use. Is there such a thing as oversetting? Or is it fine to set every run?

I'd planned to collect the castor ( as well as make myself a silly hat) the trouble is getting that first one in the net. I'm not sure how different the castor from the US would be compared to that of the european beavers which was the thing other than cost putting me off importing some. Seems its going to be an expensive game managing them either way - this really has been glossed over by the individuals trying to reinstate them. I have a suspicion I'm going to enjoy playing anyway.

Thanks for the note re river junctions. I have access to a few and will see how I can approach them for the spring, probably with a goodly amount of PR and whiskey for the landowners.

Best

Badger

As we have healthy otter populations here (heavily legally protected) I wondered what the best way of avoiding accidental bycatch would be with connivers etc?This is going to be a huge pain for you. The only 100% method is to shoot the beavers. Any beaver set where there is Otter can potentially take them both.

I have seen some evidence of castor mounds and territorial marking. I wondered whether there was much regional variation in the lures you guys used? So whether a scent from Alaska would work in as an attractant in California etc?The scents from beaver taken in one drainage will be different enough to attract beaver from another drainage. It is easy to make and I would use this even if shooting beaver to get them to come to a castor mound.

Any tips on trapping transient beavers. Thinking forward to the spring kick out when I presume our gen 1 wild beavers will l start tracking the rivers looking for new homes.Transient beaver on the river systems can be taken in the spring with sets using a food based lure or castor. Find a natural indent in the bank, make a fake castor mound/pull out and set a connibear in front. Warning his will also attract otter.

For Bank dens which is what I seem to have seen the most of so far. How many will a single beaver or many utilize? On area in particular where I have only seen one beast on the thermal imager seems to have 8 holes that I can find over a 1km range, I assume he has more. Are some for feeding, resting , sleeping etc.Every beaver in the area will use the bank dens, this will be used for everything you mentioned. There will be some that are used constantly in the winter and others they might only use sparingly. The rivers in my area have beaver colony's that only use bank dens and they do not make lodges.

When setting bank dens Is it successful to just whack a Connibear over the entrance? Or will they just refuse to come out/ dig another exit with the changes to their entrance?Set it right over the entrance as tight as you can and still allow the trap to fire.
Brace it rock solid and anchor well. They might stop using the entrance but rarely will dig another entrance.

Good luck, I have read with interest some articles about the reintroduction of beavers in England as well as Argentina and Chile. They quickly turn into a nuisance in built-up areas when not controlled. Your biggest issue will be with Otters and you should reach out to some of the trappers who use live traps for beavers and get there ideas on this. I rarely live trap beavers so will not speak on it but this method would allow you to release any otters. There are different trigger positions that would allow you to minimize otter catches but nothing is 100%.

Beaver are like most rodents and i doubt your species would be that different in that they are attracted to about everything. Ive caught them many times in sets for raccoons using stuff that you wouldn't think they would be attracted to and there was no reason for the beaver to be in those spots other than complete randomness.

I set every slide i can find that has beaver activity in the area. You really cant overexpose beaver running snares unless you're making massive disturbances at the trap sites, which there is no reason to do on slides. If you make a catch or two at a slide, the rest of the colony might shun that particular slide. If you set heavy enough, you can mop up the colony before they can start getting suspicious.

To try to avoid otter, add a second trigger and dog to your large bodygrip traps. Not sure of the sizes you have but 330 (10" x 10") is a popular beaver trap here. I have searched for a picture to post but have not found one.

Twist your trigger wires together so they are straight down and slide them near the edge of the trap opening. Add a second trigger and dog and do it the same way near the other side of the trap. When you set the trap, engage both triggers and dogs. Now, both triggers have to fire before the trap will close. An otter is not likely to hit both triggers and if the otter only hits one trigger, it will not be caught. But if the bigger beaver tries to get through the trap, they will most likely fire both triggers and be caught. And even if an otter hits one trigger, the trap is still set if a beaver comes through and can still be caught.

The double trigger and dog is a method used here to try to avoid otter when doing nuisance beaver trapping out of season or in areas where otter trapping is not allowed.

I am sure I have seen pictures of this set up posted before but can not seem to locate them. Maybe someone has one they can post.

What an interesting situation you have there Badger. I’ve done a bit of reading about your Eurasian beavers, and I find it fascinating. The advice you’re given here will be from peoples experiences with our beaver, but the same rules likely apply in your situation. You’ve been given great advice so far, so there’s not much else to add.

I would like to say that if you are doing damage work, make quality sets. Catching some is easy. Catching them all isn’t usually difficult—-until it is. Beavers, generally speaking, are easy to catch. However, when things go wrong, chasing specific individuals can potentially become quite challenging, because when they’ve been spooked, they can become very cautious. For example, if a snare breaks they may become injured or spooked and disappear for a brief time, only to return when you thought they were gone, or maybe not at all if you understand what I’m saying...neither outcome is ideal. You.do.not.want.broken.snares and swivels help to avoid this. Doing beaver removal, I would suggest using 5/64” or 3/32” snares with an inline swivel right behind the loop. The only possible exception for me would be a lethally set snare, but I even add swivels to those. Also, since otters are a potential catch in snares, I highly recommend getting a pair of dedicated cable cutters. Trying to make do with a regular pair of pliers is the last thing you will want to be doing if you’re wrangling a non target trying to cut the cable. Trust me on this.


It sounds like otters could potentially be the nail that gets your beaver work scrutinized, so it’s definitely in your best interest to avoid them as much as possible. I personally like to twist my trigger wires together and push them to one side of my 330s to help avoid otters in runs at times. The rest of my 330s have T triggers. I think the single twist to the side helps avoid some otters, although it’s not a guarantee. Otters and beavers go together like PB&Jelly, so prepare for otters. QBD’s recommendation of double triggers might be a good option for you to consider. If you go that route, I would recommend buying two replacement triggers, two dogs, and starting from scratch unless you can get the exact trigger and dog as your factory trap. Having two different length dogs can create problems.

As for snares, I like to keep them in the water when chasing beaver. It’s not that they don’t work on land, because they absolutely do, but when I’m after beavers, I want to avoid non targets at all costs, because if any other animal is in my trap or snare, that means a beaver can’t be. There are numerous sets that are easily made with snares that you could use. My favorite would be sets that have a snare half or even one-third submerged with a long branch angled above it. The lure is smeared on the underside, and they circle trying to locate the scent then hitting snare. This set is limited by your imagination, because you can hang a snare support off of just about anything floating or stationary. In my opinion, it’s also less likely to catch otters than some other types such as channel and crossover sets.

Saving your own castor is going to prove to be one of the best decisions you’ve made. Save the oil glands separately. In your situation, I would save every single set, even if you’re not keeping anything else. In your situation, I would make sets without castor first, catch some, then use castor if needed. It is my opinion that beaver are generally very responsive to castor, provided they haven’t been spooked by it or already checked out a particular lure application at a set. What I’m saying is that I would suggest throwing a couple handfuls of wet mud onto the bank in a good location, slicking up the bank to make it look like beavers have been visiting, and then set my trap. After you’ve caught one or 2, if they’re no longer falling for the non lured set, remake the set, but this time with some castor lure. Splash water on it so that scent gets all over and into the stream. They’ll be coming. Make this set in such a way that the only easy approach is to go through your trap to avoid them going around. If there is a swift current, I would make my set so that it would face downstream, because I would expect them to approach against the current.

Blocking can be used as needed, but, generally speaking, the less you need the better. What I’m saying is that if you can find pinch points that require no additional blocking or just a stick or two, that’s better than trying to fence them in.

Look through the archives on Trapperman. There are great threads about catching beavers.

Please keep us updated, this sounds very interesting.

You're screwed.
Get a bunch of Englishmen together who want to trap beaver,then chip in a few quid each and bring a good North American beaver trapper over to England for about 2 weeks to teach you how to trap beaver.
Once the beaver are out of control in a few years all you guys will be raking in the money as you will have acquired the skills to get rid of the beaver problems.

Boco I certainly appreciate your sense of humor, but I bet they can learn enough to catch their beavers. Just this forum alone has so much beaver information that if they tap the archives, they’ll have leads on about every published beaver technique, or close to it. If they carefully read and apply it, they shouldn’t have any issue. DeKalb, Dobbins, you, and numerous northern and Canadian trappers have shared expert advice for many years.

Weren't beaver introduced to a south american country without a natural predator and they ran rampant? I dont remember why they were introduced, but I remember reading about this when i was younger.

Seems like it was Argentina based off a google search. Was a travesty to their environment.