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Help with Beavers

Posted By: Spotshooter

Help with Beavers - 12/20/18 11:16 PM

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 ?
Posted By: Jim Bethell

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/21/18 12:15 AM

Are you sure they are still their? If still their, set the slides.
Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/21/18 12:48 AM

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 ?
Posted By: Jim Bethell

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/21/18 01:47 PM

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.
Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/21/18 02:08 PM

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.
Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/21/18 11:41 PM

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
Posted By: traprjohn

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/22/18 01:10 AM

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.
Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/22/18 01:34 PM

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...
Posted By: Aix sponsa

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/22/18 03:21 PM

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
Posted By: wildflights

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/22/18 05:30 PM

Put some of those Jakes to work on slides. They'll hold a beaver down.
Posted By: TDHP

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/22/18 06:20 PM

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
Posted By: John-Chagnon

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/22/18 11:51 PM

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.
Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/23/18 04:42 AM

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
Posted By: Aix sponsa

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/23/18 03:50 PM

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.


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

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/24/18 02:45 AM

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.
Posted By: Aix sponsa

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/24/18 04:38 AM

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.
Posted By: wildflights

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/24/18 06:55 PM

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).
Posted By: traprjohn

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/24/18 09:53 PM

lured castor mound as Claudie Taylor taught us in class
[Linked Image]
Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/25/18 04:14 AM

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
Posted By: TRapper

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/27/18 10:09 PM

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.
Posted By: Boco

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/27/18 10:43 PM

Den entrance is sure fire.You don't need to cover them all,find the main one and set multiple traps there you will clean them all out in a couple checks.
Posted By: foxpee

Re: Help with Beavers - 12/28/18 12:01 PM

Mud pie set {castor mound} next to slide as previously said. They can't resist not inspecting it. Use foothold if you think they may be shying away from the 330. Don't forget to put a rock in front of foothold trap just under the water so beaver will plant his front feet down. This way you are sure of a front foot catch. Good luck
Posted By: Aix sponsa

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/05/19 03:01 PM

Do you have an update for us?
Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/09/19 04:52 AM

Update -

I rescouted the pond and found 3 creek channels leading north with good sign and feeder sticks, I set 330’s in all of them.

Then I noticed the had built up the drain by 6” so I tore parts of that down and set traps on the paths to get to the areas they need to fix it.

I put 3 sets on slides, and made 2 caster mound sets, plus a couriousity set like the one above.

It’s been 2 days, and they haven’t fixed the dam / drain, and nothing has hit the sets... so I’m thinking they are traveling to the pond and fixing it to move in.

It’s day 4 coming up...
Posted By: Willy Firewood

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/09/19 10:39 AM

When you are being paid to clean them out, the most important one to catch is the last one.

Boco and Aix Sponsa are some of the best and have their own strategies. Pay attention to them.

These comments are my opinion and others will likely disagree. I like good blind sets catching them in their own runs in the water and where they haulout to feed. Set 330s so they are below the water with a dive stick where possible. At runs where they go out to feed, set a foothold. Feel for a ledge that they use to push out. If there or not, wherever you set the trap bed it securely. If needed, I make a shelf with a lip around it to hold the trap securely to prevent misfires. I start at the outside farthest sign and work my way in.

If necessary, I use scent and a mud pie set to simulate an intruder.

Use cameras if you have them.

I use stealth tactics to minimize scent and disturbances. Do everything possible to not educate beavers. It is important that you have no snapped traps, misfires, or pullouts to educate the beaver. It is important to have no live beaver in traps. I want to catch them without them knowing they are being trapped.

Have fun!

Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/09/19 01:35 PM

My next move is to use cameras to see if they are just already educated and trap shy.

Where I put the 330’s in the runs up the creeks I placed them where large roots were right at the surface of the water so they made a natural place for the beavers to dive under and through the 330. I haven’t used the foot holds on the slides yet, but I think you are correct, the pond is not really deep enough for drown sets anymore so I’ve been hesitant, but it may very likely be the only way to go now.

I was suprised that the water level could drop 6” from me removing the dam materials and the beavers not repair it that night, it’s a small drain and there is plenty of material around for them to fix it.

I did notice a new feed bed area south of the old den area (bank dens) so if I get nothing, my only option may be to see if there is a new den over there and set it - I’ve been avoiding den sets to not educate them.
Posted By: AR Swampboss

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/09/19 09:27 PM

Spot,
Sounds like you are on the right track.
IMO , the #1 starting place on a new ADC job is scouting the area 100%.
Every job is a puzzle, I go in with a backpack full of snares, set a few and make mental notes on the best places for 330s. I make sure to find all dams, dens and runs.
Then check and reset till I see no sign .
THEN. Start breaking dams.
And resetting the new water level.
If that fails sometimes you have to shoot them.
Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/10/19 09:06 PM

Yeah, I’m moving in the game cameras tonight so if I don’t catch any and they are still there somethings going to have to change
Posted By: Spotshooter

Update - Re: Help with Beavers - 01/11/19 12:21 AM

Well guys, all your advice helped - I connected.

I apologize for the picture being sideways.. not sure how to fix that.

Thank God I didn’t have to carry him far, and Jeezus ! His teeth are long ..



Attached picture A8B6E535-C032-4DB1-90A7-F784C0D0ABEB.jpeg
Posted By: Aix sponsa

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/11/19 01:25 AM

Great job!

Attached picture 9727DF06-5CA6-4910-9AD2-A3F4EC1C25B3.jpeg
Posted By: BigBob

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/11/19 04:08 PM

Well done!
Posted By: Spotshooter

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/12/19 02:23 AM

Thanks guys - it’ll be interesting to see if I pick off any more this weekend.
Posted By: QuietButDeadly

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/12/19 02:53 AM

Beaver rarely come in qtys of one, especially when there is one that size around. Should be a mate and some younger ones.
Posted By: TDHP

Re: Help with Beavers - 01/12/19 12:56 PM

Great catch!
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