Beavers .... Finally

Well, I love going after beavers, and I finally got another beaver job. The only problem I think it's going to be just a mated pair and this years little ones. The farmer said he noticed beaver chews last year and the. A dam just this summer when his hayfield wouldn't drain. He busted the dam the day I went over and he said if they build it again like you say they will then he wants them gone They did over night and I set it yesterday , so first check this morning will be for beavers

Good luck. Beaver are a favorite here too. When I remember, I put a boot print in a dam as an indicator. They will most often mud a small hole nightly if any remain after you have made a catch or catches. If the catch is a matched pair first night on a new colony, I will usually pull.

Be careful with them right now so you don't give them doctors degrees. I have been learning that the hard way.

Should be easy to get the pair the first night.
I like to set 4 traps minimum even though there may only be 1 or 2 beaver.
Young beaver will readily come to the spot where the mother was caught.Use a little urine\castor juice from the mother at the set.

For a pair of beaver, a newly established location, I find it necessary to set only 2 cage traps, usually side by side under water, with castor placed at a distance somewhere on the bank or in a tree and will most often have them both next morning. Snares and cages are least problematic, rarely will spook a beaver, which is key, not letting them know they are the target as you take them, gently. If a snare gets knocked down, a beaver will not understand that he just missed getting nabbed. By their nature, long cages don't get fired many times without a catch and I believe hardly at all by a beaver without making a catch because the beaver is way into the trap when he hits a trigger. A foot trap or a conibear may get popped from time to time even when you follow all the rules, which can start mega problems. I have gone through pretty much all of the devices over the years and now rather than use footholds and conibear first, I use them only for back up when needed, which is not all that often. Haven't used them at all this year.

If you set at dark you will not only see what you are dealing with many times, number and size of the beaver, you will also stand a far less chance at non-targets that slow the job. Traps set early morning can be affected by, ducks, turtles, fish, muskrats, mink etc. all during the day for 12 hours or more before the beaver become active. I like to set when beaver are emerging from the den to begin feeding for the night. Don't worry about the beaver seeing, hearing or smelling you. They get over it quickly and will pay no attention to anything you set if they smell some castor, which triggers territoriality and really makes the males mad. If you smell like castor, just watch getting bitten.

The dam was rebuilt, I picked up this 34 lbs beaver, they buried one coni in dam materials and never set it off. One was set off and the fourth still like I put it

I set up a trail cam to capture tonight's action around the dam. And reset all four conis The water at this location is shallow less than a foot near the dam and less than two feet for at least 30
Yards up stream. It is a small dam. Maybe 10" high and only 6-7 feet

Set multiple traps at the dam break,well out in front in deep water.This is a deadly set and will take the lure shy beaver 2 or 3 at a time.
As you can see it takes them coming and going after working on the dam.

When I read, "one trap was set off" it just makes me cringe. Had to fight with a last beaver way too many times. Makes you want to scream at times. When setting foot traps or conibears over and over again in the same way after making good catches consistently, suddenly the next one is sprung. You can make a beaver trap shy, location shy or lure shy with sprung traps, separately, in a combination or all three at once. In nuisance work where you have to get them all, all the time, the sprung trap is the number one enemy. Beaver learn quickly, don't forget right away, only to become the nightmare to avoid.

There was so much wood moved over night at this sight, I really am not surprised to have one set off. They had almost completely covered one with mud/sea weed/sticks. The one that was set off was near the dam and had some sticks over it The one that had the catch was not Able to tell if it was hit coming or going as it rolled enough to twist a stick into the stake wire. I guess tomorrow morning will tell a lot.



Also some of the large 6"'x 5 foot logs I used for blocking were moved and put in the dam repair

If your traps are set off or filled with sticks,you are setting too close to the dam.
Set out in front in deep water.

Set up a small stream today in a golf course...they were fine with beaver til they started cuttin down trees laying on golf course lol

So what happens to beaver? When we first got them 20 or so years ago, they were on every creek, stream, and river. I'm not sure I

could show you an active beaver dam on a bet this year. I'm not complaining; we don't get rich catching beaver anyway. I'm just

wondering where they went to.

Wisconsin went on a search and destroy in the past, paying bounties to local trappers after beaver were on nearly every stream as you say. Many areas in Wisconsin are nearly devoid of beaver as I am told and saw for myself. Kept looking for beaver, but none. There are plenty of places for them, but they are gone. Kind of sad really, far less habitat for all kinds of creatures, but for municipalities etc. it keeps those expenses down with fewer complaints. Where we are there are always beaver problems, but at least they are "reasonable" I guess, kind of middle of the road perhaps. Does not take long for the genie to get out of the bottle when fur prices are low, trappers quit and beaver populations grow exponentially. Once they get out of control it takes a while to bring them down. It is amazing how few beaver there are in sections of Wisconsin.

Boco is right about setting too close to the dam with conibears. When traps are fired or completely plugged its because beaver are responding to holes in the dam.

You did your job too well!

I remember what the rub was some years ago. Wisconsin did not allow non-resident fur trappers. Non-resident fur trappers basically would have helped with the problem beaver by paying the state for a license to trap over populated beaver for fur during the season, but the state opted to pay residents a bounty to kill and discard beaver year round. It was more cost to the taxpayers with the bounty, as fur trappers would certainly have reduced the problem by some degree.

Jim, I'm not sure you have the right state. Up until 1984 all of our beaver had to be tagged and registered. Since then there has

been a huge increase in the number of beaver up north on the trout streams. I know that the state hired Wildlife Services because

fishing is our claim to fame and they could not find enough fur trappers to catch them in summer. I don't recall any bounty ever

being paid to the common fur trapper for beaver. These beaver are not the ones I am referring to anyway. All of our beaver came up

from Illinois, most of them on the Fox river. I was able to watch the expansion right from the start. I know we never had a bounty on

beaver down here. I think we started reciprocal licensing nearly 30 years ago but I'm not certain. I know in my lifetime we went from

rags to riches in the number of beaver. Up until 25 or so years ago, there were no beaver in the entire southeast Wisconsin counties.

I believe it is Minnesota that allows non-resident hunting but not non-resident trapping. That subject gets hashed out on TrapTalk forum regularly; no reciprocal agreements with other states.

A three year or six SEARCH for “reciprocal” on the TrapTalk forum will bring up many discussions.

Paul Jim is right about beaver eradication here in my neck
Of the woods, it's really really bad. I would be willing to bet
95% of the people up here under the age of 30 never saw
A beaver in there life , maybe at a zoo! It's just plain wrong to
Eradicate them to this extent.

Its been a lot of years. I don't want to misinform so I will have to go back to check sources to see if I can find who that gave me that information about a bounty. No doubt I heard it at a national convention. I will make a some calls.

I wrote articles about trapping regulations many years ago. As a state hopper for 15 years, in the 80's I contacted each state for laws governing resident and non-resident trapping licenses and found 5 states with no non-resident license, most of which were in a block in the north central U.S. There were other states with restrictions for non-residents, different seasons for each, species non-residents could not trap and some state with fees that also made non-resident trapping prohibitive. Minnesota is still the only hold out I believe for non-residents, which hurts their own residents through reciprocity. Any state with special conditions or restrictions again hurts the resident through reciprocity. I put together high and low license fees to get an average, an found huge range and disparity. On the flip side, many states have very reasonable non-resident trapping fees and equality for all. It's all about freedom, imaginary lines and protectionism, way too much to get into.

As I write I am speaking with Brad Bishop of Tomahawk, Wisconsin who participated in the Wisconsin beaver bounty years ago, $25 for the tip of the tails. It may not have been statewide, but administered by county. It is the reason there are so few beaver and beaver problems in some areas of northern Wisconsin.

More info on Trapper Talk, "Wi Beaver Logic."

Thanks for the info guys. Who would have ever guessed that beaver went from being carefully protected to wholesale slaughter? I would

have thought that this would have made a very interesting story for some sports writer. Since we never had any beaver in this area to

begin with, I really don't miss them. I'm not sure of the benefits of beaver but I've seen the destruction. I'm guessing that the

protection of the trout streams accounts for the DNR's extermination of northern Wisconsin beaver. I don't know of anyone besides

companies like ours that are paid for removing beaver down here.

On the other hand, take a drive on the Mass. Pike, beaver everywhere. The state is loaded in many areas and only a couple dozen licensed trappers in the whole state. There was a bill to get back conibears but don't know if it passed or came up for a vote? Even if they get conibears back, don't know how many would get all wound up about catching them at the low prices. I handed some to a dealer last year who put them up, got $9. Dealer said he only lost a dollar on them.

It is surely a shame to eradicate the species as was done, far fewer wetlands, fewer otter and everything that depends either entirely or partially on ponds.

I don't know about northern Wisconsin but down here you can't build a group of houses or even a single large home without a pond

being dug first. I can't imagine why that is so fashionable, but I love it. We get called for mosquito sprays, goose eviction,

muskrat removal, snapping turtles, raccoons, and the occasional beaver. The honking alone would be enough to keep me from ever

digging a pond. Thank goodness they're not a lot of people like me around here. The grass is manicured right down to the water. You

don't usually even need boots to trap the muskrats. We have more wildlife now than when this was all farmland.

I don't know why they think beaver are bad for trout.
Our streams are just polluted with trout,and they need the beaver dams,and old feedbeds and dams for the small trout to brood.
If there was no beaver there would be very few trout.
They sound like idiots.

Boco, I don't fish and I don't really know enough about the beaver's effect on trout streams. So I went on-line and asked if beaver

were bad or good for trout streams. Seems like opinions are split right down the middle. I would imagine that different species of

trout would also react differently but I don't know that for a fact. What I do enjoy is learning all of this new information. I'm

glad that I'm in this business. New things to think about daily.

We have brook trout here,and lake trout.Some rainbows and splake stocked in certain lakes.
We also have some aurora trout a bit south of here.They are a type of brook trout.

Well no beavers Friday morning no sign if repair attempts Trail camera only got deer and birds on it. Was out of town for the weekend so I pulled traps, left camera and will check tonight for repairs and reset if required

Probably a good thing to pull for now. I am far less hesitant to pull. You can waste trips by pulling early, but waste as many by hanging in there too long. I wrote a bunch on that for Trappers Post, 2 part. It sort of becomes second nature, intuitive response based on principles.

Hey Boco, "polluted with trout" sounds really great. How do I get there? I would love to fish for some brookies. Not much here. We fished the Kenai in Alaska in 84, 85 and 89 for the entire summer, got spoiled. Too many people fishing here, too few fish. Got used to catching, hard to go back. Down here they crossed a Coho with an Atlantic and a Muskie, called it a Coalski, did very well, only thing, they couldn't teach it how to swim.

Navigating nonresident regulations can be more than a bit tricky as you need to look at more than just if there is a nonresident license. This is true whether you are doing recreational trapping or trying to start a company in another state.

Here is how I approach it for both avenues:

1) what is considered a fur bearing animal vs. a game animal (i.e., is a coyote a fur bearing animal or a game animal, what about squirrels, etc.)
2) are there nuisance rules to follow, are the rules the trapping regulations, or both (i.e., do you need to test, have hunter/trapping education proof, types of traps, identification, dispatch, trap check, etc.)
3) is there a nonresident trapping license available and do you need a nonresident hunting license as well (Ohio requires both hunting and trapping license for nonresidents, but for nuisance work you need the commercial nuisance wild animal control license)
4) how do you purchase the nonresident license(s) (some places are Internet while others have a specific office(s) you must go to in person)
5) are there any additional requirements (i.e., Georgia requires a $2,500 cashier check or surety bond before you apply for a nonresident trapping license)
6) what are the reciprocity rules (i.e., if you can't trap beaver in Montana then a Montana resident cannot trap beaver in your state, etc.)
7) do I need an office/agent in the state I'm looking at
8) do I need any other special permits (i.e., wildlife area fee, atv fee, fire arm permit, etc.)
9) what are the concealed carry rules
10) others based on what the answers to the above questions may be.

Like I said, this can get confusing as you may be able to trap skunks, opossum, badgers, coyote, and raccoon under a hunting license but to take muskrats, mink, river otter, beaver, or bobcat requires a fur tapping license and if you plan on doing bat work or squirrel removal you may need a special nuisance license. This can also affect what species you are able to deal with as a business or force you to "hire" someone who doesn't have the same restrictions.

Revisited site last night, no work on dam and no beaver on camera (a nice 8pt buck though). I had told the owner there had to be another dam "down stream" This is actually swamps that drain only during high water. He found a dam in a deep ravine that has completely stopped water flow, he says normally this ravine is dry. Dam is about two feet high. So the plan is:

About 30 yards up the ravine I am going to build a Dunnier panel system and break this dam. The ravine has step sides and the width is about 15 feet at water level. This dam is about 300 yards from original dam I worked at and is maintaining the water level all the way back to the original dam

I will try to remember to photo/document this project

Set up the Dunnier Panel system tonight, four 330's It was exactly 80 steps from where I parked , a little rough getting down into ravine but not to bad. Was really surprised how fast it was less than an hour from start to the time I got back in my truck.

Pictures below show dam completely blocking the water up into the ravine. Dry as a none on the "down stream" Side

The other picture is from between the dam and the panel system looking into the swamp. The system is 30 yards from the dam, also not pictured between the panel system and the dam is a large log that has two spots that the beavers are going under so I put two additional 330's there, so if any get by panels

Forgive my ignorance, but why the panel system? Aside from the two spots where they're going under the logs, are there no slides or trails entering the swamp anywhere?

I always called it the usda sunday set..........

Sticks work also for dumb beaver..../??

Speed in removal of entire family, they are flooding farmers field. The goal here is complete removal as quickly as possible

As mentioned, the natural diver deadman trees up stream will push them to the bottom. You want to cover the whole creek and do it quickly. Two, three or four cages on the bottom, depending on width, set side by side would cover the whole creek in a matter of a couple of minutes, just by setting and dropping them in, to do the same as the fencing above. Nothing wrong with the fence or many other methods, just that cages are quicker, no fence, no supports or staking, no wiring, nothing, set, drop and go.

For swim thru sets with cages you could spend up to 1000$ and the turtles set them off that night. If you have all methods available for use in shallow water, conibears work well in natural sets. Use snares or large live walk in cages on the banks or in the waters edge. Koros or other traps that are proven for shallow water baited sets would be good. The more open the better in summer.

If you have far to go it is hard to beat conventional methods when used properly. It could be tough to carry three or four large cage traps. Remember, you have to carry them out when your done.

If you use cages use them as conventional methods, the best trap for the location in relation to other sets.

I know Jeff wrote the book he has and he gave me one, but it is hard to beat natural debris and sticks when setting conibears and snares. Especially in summer.

Again, pardon my lack of knowledge on the subject, as I've trapped several beavers for landowners, but don't consider myself a beaver trapper. But the conibears in Michigan's pic are right below the surface, so what keeps them from swimming under them? With the same token, regarding Jim's post, what keeps the beavers from swimming over the cages? Are you all blocking all that off, or just playing the odds that they'll be surface swimming or diving low at some point?

Beaver are generally top or bottom swimmers, following the surface or following the bottom, runs. I have done a lot of conibear top setting in the past without fencing, my own set ups. The basic beaver set with conibears is a channel set, set on the bottom at any depth, with or without a diver, cages too, even snares. Beaver swim on top and bottom maybe half and half? If you set a run on the bottom and don't get him going one way you will probably get a shot at him coming the other way as he may pass the same point several to a number of times in a single night, so you don't get just one chance. He just has to go your way once.

Most the nuisance jobs are roadside or close, but not always. I have experimented with all sorts of beaver devices over the past 50 years, most of them, and changed programs many times as I found something "better." I guess have more experience with cages, all I use now, so I have figured out ways to make them work. If you have to walk a bit I use a 2 foot wide sled, can fit 2 easily in the sled, not hard to pull. Can pull it over grass, leaves, R.R. swamp and the sled becomes a boat in a pond. I also use bungie cords for a 3rd cage that goes on my back. The bungies turn the trap into a back pack, not heavy. I'll be 65 in a few weeks and don't have any problem transporting them. New colonies usually only get two traps anyway. The most I hauled out was 5 a half mile down a mountain in the snow, no regrets.

Cages require a larger investment, but the cost overall may be less when all is considered, fewer sprung, time saved etc. because of the versatility. I set at dark whenever I can to minimize turtles etc. Beaver are emerging as I set and often caught quickly. Turtles are in channels so I use castor more often than not to avoid them.

Depending on the holders and their length, the conibears can be stacked from the bottom to the top.

Well no beaver and no repair to dam. Water down about 4" so a really put a hole in the dam this time almost another 16"'down. Don't know if it was just the one three year old or if there are more Don't see how if there is another that it won't try to fix dam now.

In regards to the conis being on top, the spots belo are mostly blocked. But that is why I set the two also at the log.

Ok went back tonight and the water is a foot lower. Had to remove the H-stands and put the conis on the bottom


A question for you guys who have been doing this for years, is it possible for there to of only been one beaver at site, or could a mate have left with any kits?

All that page wire fencing that showed up overnight likely has the larger beaver spooked.It will take a while for them to come back.
I would get rid of all that page wire,back off for a few days and see if the beaver come back later(likely after the next rain),then make some sets that look more natural.Set the deepest part of the creek or channel,and use several dive poles a few feet apart to get them to swim on bottom,and into the trap.You don't need any fencing if you set deep in the channel,the beaver will swim in the deepest part when forced down.You can set two or three traps side by side if the channel is wide,or one in front of the other a couple feet apart if the channel is narrow.

Spooky beaver are best left alone till they chill out. You can set conibears on frames side by side but the only worry is a frame getting pulled up and springing the rest of the traps. Also, when one beaver gets caught and moves the trap there is a "hole" for the next one to pass through without hitting a trap, a vacancy as it were. With cages the entire area is covered. When one catch is made the other traps are never disturbed in any situation, just remain in place ready for the next beaver. After a catch is made in one trap that hole is now blocked with a closed door, leaving openings with the other traps ready to catch. On the bottom set deep is the way to go.

Traps set side by side close,only work for multiple catches when block stakes are used.If you don't utilise the block stakes one beaver can spring more than one trap,defeating the purpose.The block stakes are an integral part of setting close.
Also when setting deep water that makes the wire trapstands impractical you need to learn to construct the "tee pee" set,which is good for any depth of water.

There are still beaver. Over night the repaired the original dam I started at and built a new dam 15 yards in front of my sets ( pictured below)

So I guess I should have just trapped it the way I fur trap, using castor mounds and blind sets

The owners of the course may of not been happy but I bet the golfers were! We always rejoice at the demise of a tree at our course.

I'll bite, what's a block stake? Staking solid in clay for instance where traps won't move is o.k. but some soil is loose meaning the trap may move and allow the beaver to spring others, not what you want.

A block stake is a strategically placed stake between two traps set close side by side to prevent an animal from firing the trap next to it.Near 100% effective when positioned properly.Traps also have to be supported well.In some cases the tee pee stand is a lot more solid than a superstand.

Block stakes illustrated for beaver.
Tee pee stand illustrated.This set up is good for setting culverts that are several feet off bottom,as the trap can be positioned at any depth. Good for soft bottoms for same reason.
I cut stakes for tee pees and drowners on site so you don't have to haul around a bunch of junk.They can be left on site for use at later dates.

Took a minute but figured it out, to block the beaver from hitting a second trap so the body won't spin. I used the Lefler frames for a number of years when they first came out when I used 330's and loved them. Always said I would rather have 2 traps and 2 frames rather than 4 traps without frames. I too have set multiples side by side and did pretty well when in solid. Looks like the "block stakes" would be very good in that situation. When you freeze the tops of the frames in the ice it would be like iron, so at least the frame won't move.

Top pictures look chilly, from Northern Ontario this morning? Like they say in B.C., 9 months of winter and 3 months of rough sledding!

Wont be long,Jim,lol.Yes most times when a beaver gets in a second trap it is from twisting his body and his tail or one back foot is in the other trap.The block sticks prevent this,leaving the other traps working for more fur.

I always love learning something new. What some have done for years is brand new for others. Important to catch stuff while keeping the other sets working. Remember setting 3 conibears once and ended up with a beaver neck caught, foot caught and tail caught in magnums. Took the better part of 45 minutes to get the mess back in order. Learned what not to do. I am truly amazed at the ingenuity of so many who have come up with practical solutions to all kinds problems and always happy when they are willing to share them.

Setting multiple traps at one location has a lot of advantages.The main one being on an extended check of 3 or 4 days,or even longer on winter lines a good location will keep producing fur,the whole time.

If the beaver is repairing the dam every night , you should be able to shoot him about dark thirty .
I recommend 12 ga. # 4 buckshot ( also double tap just to be sure )