Dang BEAVER

So a dang beaver has dammed up an over flow from a little pond. I've cleared it 3 times in the last month, but Im not out there all the time and his little knawing azz is. With all the rain we have had the pond has been over flowing for the last 3 months. Its usually stable this time of year. Cant get back to the back feeders, unless I want to cross a lake. What trap do you trappers use? And any helpful tips would be appreciated. And is it legal? Are they good dinner?
Thanks

If you don'tr have a trap try messing with his dam, once the water level starts dropping he'll go looking for the leaking spot. shoot him. I would manipulate the dam sometime in afternoon then wait for him to appear to fix it just before dark.
Tannerite also works well for blowing up dams.
You can set leghold traps on his slide in area or underwater conibears.

Here is an example of what Wytex is talking about. Depending on the size of the pool created, you may want to go in earlier in the day if it is a really large pool, or break out a much larger hole. The quicker the water goes down, the quicker the beaver will take notice and want to repair it. In my case, the beaver are crepuscular/nocturnal, meaning they don't come up until evening, operate through the night, and in to the early morning. So I like to catch them in the evening. In this case, I am using thermal, and the beaver is shown being active after dark. It may have been active before that. They often are when you break open the dam. I didn't arrive back on this hunt until after dark.



As far as legalities go, you can kill beaver that are causing a problem on your property. You just need a hunting license. If you plan to sell the pelt, you need another license.

Legal to shoot, trap, etc. Go out with a spotlight and shoot it. They will swim around at night and are easy to spot until the figure out you are trying to kill them.

Where I used to live we had beaver problems, I would wade to where I had a good view of the hut in the dark and stay still till I heard them swimming. Then on came the head lamp and #4's took care of the problem. I would also set up on a high spot and shoot them on the bank early and late in the day. I never had any luck with traps but that is just me. Good luck they are tireless workers.

Find someone that knows how to trap them. It will save you a ton of headache. Once they are educated on being shot at or trapped, they can be a huge pain to get rid of. And there might be more than just the one.

-TJ

Maybe someone on this list could help.

www.ttfha.com/nuisancecontrolcontacts.html

Is the lodge on the pond? If so you have whole family living there a few to take care of.

I can't tell if there is a lodge or not. Just a dam dam. I would love to have a lake on the property, but not the spot he/she is building. I am going to try the sit and wait approach. I am really great at that.

Thanks for all the great info guys. Pretty much no different than hunting deer. My main feeder in being blocked by all this water. Plus we have 100% chance of rain thursday.
If I do wait, for the summer, the area will dry out with no more running water. That should help right?

They can do alot of damage between now and the summer. Like cause the damn of the tank to break......take down alot of trees.

The dams can be very hard to break up , good luck on the sit. Get that water going down somehow and he will show up for the fix.
You may find a spot other than the dam to get water level to lower. They will know right where they need to fix.

Looking forward to pics. Our spring beavers have the best fur so he may be a nice one. Our long time trapper used to only target them in March and April up here for best fur, unless they were causing problems.
Take your fishing rod with a treble hook for retrieval of the dead animal.

Here is what has worked for me:
Wait for a clear full moon night. Break the dam mid day. Lay for him with a 12 guage and #4 buck shot in the moon light.

"Dang Beaver"....words I have uttered (or a variation of) over many years of my life

Good luck, I know they aren't the easiest critter to kill and they will flat tear up a tank/dam.

I killed a beaver with a pitch fork. Mag light in the left hand, pitch fork in the right, and threw it across a creek for a center mass hit = Dead beaver. I came home from college to my parents house. They have a creek running behind their house and they had a big beaver problem. The dang beaver had cut down about 4 or 5 trees in their back area that I mowed around for years. I was pissed. My dad wouldn't let me shoot the 22 in an urban setting, so I resorted to medieval methods on him. I heard him out there on the creek and grabbed the light and pitch fork. I tied a rope around the T handle of the pitch fork so I could pull it back. I got him on my second throw. My dad didn't believe me that I got him that night, but he called me the next morning to tell me the beaver was floating in the creek. Yippe Kai Yay...

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ this ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

beavers and nutria will undercut the bank and generally eff things up.
get a handle on it quick

Nothing like stabbing beaver....

How did I know that it was just a matter of time?

Around here I'm surprised it took that long......

AR-15 + spotlight =




It isn’t that hard until they realize what happens when the spotlight comes on. Then you have to be quick. Killed many a beaver this way.

My buddy has a government trapper coming to his property near Ardmore OK on Wed. They have taken down several of his trees at his pond.

I’m on this list and don’t mind lending a hand. Shoot me a PM if you’re interested.

I bought some of this today. I was going to light a couple and chunk it in their den (Mid Day) & see how it works. I am covered up with those destructive little suckers on all 3 ponds.
Just wondering if any of you guys had ever tried these before.

Won't work. They will just exit the den through the water. Rodents in the ground don't have that option.

Find a trapper and ask them to help. If you know what you are doing and they haven't been messed with someone who doesn't, they are pretty easy to catch.

-TJ