My several acre lake is getting overran with snapping and other turtles.

The snappers are killing our ducks and our wild ducklings and goslings disappear overnight. We have watched the snapper grab them and it's time to remove them.

What is the best and most efficient way to remove them?

Contact beaverfoot on here. He makes some awesome nets.

Beaverfoot makes great traps, but that is only part of catching snapping turtles. The right bait is a must. It must be fresh, not sour or tainted. Salmon, bluefish and bunker are the best. Carp will work but does not keep long before going sour. All traps, especially with carp for bait, should be set just before dark with a frozen piece of bait. Fish thaws fast and will work for 6 hours or so depending on water temperature. All other fish type baits and meat baits are almost worthless for baiting traps. Set the traps in shallow water where the turtles will hunt for food.
The main thing to remember is snappers are NOT stupid. In a situation like yours where you are trapping a "several acre" size lake you must set enough traps to catch all the snappers you want to catch the FIRST night. After that the remaining snappers will be extremely trap shy. Wait until next year to try again. Setting traps multiple days in a row will make the remaining snappers impossible to catch (even next year or in future years).
Only way to catch trap shy snappers is with a deep sea fishing pole and a chunk of meat or fish for bait. Go out in a boat just before dark and look for bubble trails and cast ahead of bubbles. Too many times turtles caught on jugs will dislodge the hook with their front foot so jugs do not work that well.

When I was a kid we made a picture frame out of 2x6. Say 36" square. It was probably 48" actually. Anyway make a picture frame. Then toe nail some big nails around the inside perimeter every 4 inches or so. So now you have a picture frame with all the nails into the1.5" wood all around the inside with the heads facing in. Then just make a five sided chicken wire cube for the box. We used wire like a box trap and just hog ringed or zip tied the five pieces together. Then place your wood frame on the top opening and fasten it. Then bring a piece of wire up through the center and tie it off to a 6"x6" piece of plywood to float in the middle of the trap. Screw a can of sardines to the float. Drag the box into the water and set it on the bottom of the pond or whatever in a spot where the picture frame is just at the waters surface. Turtles smell the sardines, come across the pond, climb over the 2x4, get across the nails, try to get to the sardines, and sink to the bottom of the trap. The nails keep them from being able to climb back out. We hauled that thing around and loaned it out for years. I probably caught 100 turtles before I was a teenager.

I don't like the net type traps. Turtles tangle up too much in them making them harder to get out. I made all my traps out of 2X4" galvanized mesh. The traps would all collapse flat making them easier to transport and you could haul more at a time.
I found the best bait to be sunfish carcasses hung in the center of the trap. You need to make sure to enclose them in a wire mesh basket or the first snapper in will eat all the bait and it will be the only turtle you catch. Also, painted turtles will nibble on the bait too. Frozen carcasses will last longer than fresh ones. The bait needs to be changed every day. You must set the trap so that part of it is out of the water or the turtles will drown.

Thanks for posting this GaTurkeyHunter. Got me fired up for turtle trapping this summer. Last year I didn't do any because of a hip replacement. Today I got out my traps (both net and wire) and started gettin' them ready for the season which starts July 1. What can I say, I am old and it takes me a while to get stuff done!!!
If I can get 10,000 pounds this summer I will go over 150,000 pounds in the last 15 years..

2 days catch from summer of 2022:

That's a great catch, eric.

MN has banned all forms of trapping turtles. You may take them by hook and line, nets, or hook. But, you need to have a recreational turtle license if you do. They claim the number of turtles in MN is very low which is ridiculous. The last time I trapped turtles I set 3 traps. I had snappers in every trap. One trap had 5 snappers and 2 rubberbacks in it.

The loon is the MN state bird. They should make the wood tick the state insect. Then it could be rightly referred to as "The Loon-A-Tick State".

eric, is that 10 thousand live weight???

Yes, live weight. I sell them alive, can't be hooked must be trapped.
In NJ if you have not had a commercial snapping turtle catch permit every year since 2010 you cannot get a permit. Less than 10 a year being issued.

what's your limits for a sports person, for personal used??, Michigan is two I believe,

There used to be no permits needed in NY, then the State just shut it down, no permits given and a very small bag limit....and it's not for a lack of turtles...

Hey Eric, around here on the south shore we always called snapping turtles Torups, you ever hear that in your turtle biz?

1 a day with common fishing license. Never heard of Torups.

Eric, your catch pictures are wild.

I've been looking at these floating traps that they fall into. Worth trying?

Should I try setting jug lines first?

You might want to review our turtle regs, that the GTA did nothing to stop.

10 per day on a fishing license for personal consumption.

No commercial trapping license unless in conjunction with a brood stock permit.

And the one I'm proud of as I secured it.

Licensed and Permitted NWCOs unrestricted provided turtles may not be held more than 72 hours and released alive within the same watershed.

Wow. So I can't legally trap them out of my private pond?

Can I set lines out for them then?

Nope, ten per day on a fishing license or get your NWCO permit.

Depredation permit may apply but you'd need to call Social Circle.

Warrior, I dont get the released alive in the same watershed. How does that work? I would assume that would require permission from the landowner. What if you cant find that? I suspect I will never have someone wanting me to catch turtles, but am very interested in what it means.

Yes, still need the written permission. Upstream or downstream ideally. It's pretty vague on what is meant by watershed so assume river basin so your options aren't confined to just that stream.

Anyone need any turtle traps?

They are 30 inches across the bottom with 2 inch webbing they are 65.00 plus shipping. 318-465-5961