Beginner Beaver Trapping

Have a beaver problem on some family land. The land runs along a creek; there is a smaller branch of the creek that runs half the line then rest is on the main creek. The branch had a big 100 yd long pond on it with two old dams which was adding to flooding in the bottom. I cleaned out the dams this summer with tannerite and hand shovel work. The beavers have not tried to rebuild the dams.

I was out checking cameras two weeks back and I discovered a slide running from the main creek to my food plot which is flooded out due to run off from an bordering ag field. There was a small pond that the slide ran into, so I busted the pond which wasn't bad since it was just mud and plant debris. Set a camera out on the slide just to be sure. Went back a couple days ago sure enough one big beaver and at least one smaller one running that slide and they had repaired the breaches I made.



I'd rather just shoot'em, that's what I'm familiar with, but naturally they are working at 2-3 in the morning. I have never trapped before and was looking at buying the Beaver Starter Kit from F&T with Duke 330 body grip traps. I was thinking about doing two sets, one as the slide goes into the water in the first pict and one coming out of the creek as shown in the second pict.





I know if I set in the water only have to check every 72 vs 24 on land. which works better for me even though I probably will end up checking every day at least at first due to excitement seeing if I got them. Any other advice/opinions for a noob trapper are welcome and appreciated.

Make sure you have a choke stick with you. I never knew there was a requirement for such a thing. I got a written warning for not having one.

I have the same problem with beaver. GW is a great man and offered to write me a permit so I could shoot them at night. I declined as I didn’t want folks thinking I was shooting deer at night. All I caught in my traps were the roaming housedogs that trespass every day. Trash for neighbors got my traps when I caught their dogs called the GW and gave them to the GW. He returned them to me as I had broken no laws except for no choke stick. He was doing his job and I understand that. GW even volunteered to show me how to trap them without catching dogs. I declined and just gonna let the beavers run their course. Get to know your GW first. He is a wealth of help starting out. If you have a good one like mine he will do all he can to help you out.

I know most of them here in Lauderdale and know Toole, the biologist well. Neighbor dogs aren't too common and was hoping by trapping in the water and using body grips I might avoid that issue. Thanks for the advice on the choke stick reg.

I am just across the river from you. When you get catching them down to a science I want you to teach me the tricks to the trade. The beavers here are a total nuisance and will flood bottomland quicker than a 10 inch rain. Daniel was a close friend of mine for years when I hunted Lauderdale County. He is a class act.

Good luck.

Make sure they are good and dead. Beavers can be dangerous,yea,no joke.

Seriously,there was a video on youtube where a beaver bit a buy and he bled out.

Will do. He is a good dude and has been helpful on several things.

Good advice,if he's still moving I'll give him a round or two of 7.62, AK is my woods/work day gun. Found that video. Unlucky bite that hit the femoral artery, bad news.

Think, chainsaw mouth, when dealing with them.

Remember that 330's have to be set in water.

This is why I posted up. The regs are not clear on what is water. I know I am good setting in the water where they are coming out of the creek and I would assume I'm good with the submerged part of the slide on the pond side; but you know what they say about assumptions. Also glad you made me reread the regs, got a good excuse to buy a 22 revolver; only dispatch with .22. Thanks.

Did you ask the warden what he said to your neighbors about trespassing and taking your traps? Every warden I have talked to interprets the "in water" regulation pretty broadly but you don't want to set them where the water might recede and leave them dry before you check them. Honestly I would use some footholds to keep the dog/neighbor problem from getting worse.

I always set mine AT LEAST half submerged. I prefer them 3/4 to fully submerged with dive sticks but situations don't always allow that.

Looking at your pics it should be pretty easy to get them half submerged, use a few sticks to guide them into your trap.

Also make sure you drive some good sticks in to support your trap.

N40R thanks for the great advice. Had to google "dive stick," makes complete sense.

Slug,

Did you catch a beaver yet? Go ahead and set the 330's like North 40 suggested. Don't get too crazy making a picket fence with guide sticks. All you want a beaver to do is dive and hit the trigger. You don't have to guide him for 10 feet to do that. I will warn you that if you educate them they will be really tough to catch so hopefully you will get them the first time they set off the trap. If they are using those runs you should be able to catch something. Give it a try. Catching beaver is fun - no pun intended (I'm lying). You really should not have a dog issue with water sets.

Not yet. Been busy with work and trying to get some more deer hunting in. Hopefully get things started towards the end of the month. Talked to local warden and I'm gtg on my planned sets. Appreciate the advice.

Quick update. Got my kit in from PCS Outdoors. 3 330 conibears, H stands, and other various items. Going to degrease and paint them this weekend. Kit came with dye but after some reading just painting them is easier for my situation; no big pot or burner to boil them. I've got the dye if I need it in the future. Hopefully get them set either Sunday or the following weekend. Will update how it goes and if I have any luck.

I recently bought some 330's. I hit them with oven degreaser before I painted them. Worked quick and easy. Got my beaver the first night I put the 330's out too.

FWIW, I'm new to beaver trapping too and will mostly do it alone. For that reason, I purchased this trap setter and the safety. The setter can also act as an additional safety. Those 330's are no joke and should be respected. The setter is designed so that you could free yourself from the trap with one hand if you ever had an accident. Spendy but worth it in my opinion. Good luck.

RTS Setting Tool

Safety Pin

I have both the RTS setter and the safety. I find myself using some Bridger aluminum setters more than anything now. Fast and easy not to mention lightweight.

I do like that safety better than the other style

Thanks bambam. I'm looking hard at those two tools. I set two Saturday with the cheapo aluminum setter I got in my kit. I was deliberate and careful where i put my hands, never felt unsafe. Probably will drop the dough on one or both, since I only have one set of hands and can't replace them.

I checked the traps yesterday before dark. Got nothing. I am running cams in video mode on both traps and the beavers haven't come through.

If you are doing this by yourself get one of those J Hook Trap Setters and hang it through the D ring on the front of your waders. If you ever get caught in one you will thank me you can take enough pressure off to pull your arm out.

Find the beaver run and put the trap in the run with a dive stick. Look for choke points where they can't easily go around. such as.... Appears to be a narrow ditch in that 3rd picture. That's Beaver stew right there. I would tell you to block the sides with some sticks like the top of a small bush stuck into the side of that ditch bank, 330 right in the middle of that little depression/ditch.... and put it right there on dry ground (but that would be technically illegal right?). You just need to disguise it a little bit so it doesn't look like a square I might stick a little piece of cane or grass on the jaw but don't over do it since there is no existing vegetation there. You will have a beaver laying there dead when you return.

Just don't do that because I would never advise someone to break the law with a dry ground set OR to use a snare right there which work really good too. There are videos on Youtube that show how to snare a beaver on dry land also illegal in Alabama.

Alabama. Where it is Illegal to use snares but not marry your sister.

J-hook and Safety pin on the way.

I've got one just like you suggest in that spot in he third picture, coming out of the creek. Sticks around the trap and dive stick on top. Set another one in the slide about 20 feet from where the water starts in the 2nd picture between some privet and a sycamore, it brushed in real good. We had that big flood up here ten days ago and that left tons of dead sticks in this area so it blends in real well.

Got clearance from local warden on where I was setting the traps and he gave me the all clear.

After the flood haven't seen them as regular on the cameras since then. They'll be back.

I wouldn't fool with a 330 no matter how bad I wanted him gone. I'd pay someone before I did that. They're just so dangerous.

Yes a beaver can slap tear you up quickly

Success. It went about 40 lbs.



I think the set in the creek ended up being too shallow so I moved it a hair deeper. I've got at least one more around. Also there is a big river otter who does seem wise to the traps, I'm ok with it slipping away since I am solely after the beavers due to the water damage they are causing.

Jeff foxworthy tells a story of a beaver biting off a man's nipple.

Nice work! I need to get back to the camp and reset my 330’s. There are about 4-5 beavers in the pond. Some of them are little ones. They don’t seem to be interested in a caster lure.

2nd one. This one went about 25 lbs. Glad I adjusted the creek trap. It went around the other trap further up the run where i got the 1st one. Water was too deep to reset the creek trap; didnt have my waders and it rained a bit more than I expected last night.

Nice

Many on here talk bad about a 330 but with time on your side, meaning you aren't making money just trapping your own place, eventually you will kill every single beaver there. To me they are the most simple and effective thing you can use. With a little imagination on making the set even the smartest one will eventually get pinched. I've put dive sticks out ahead of time just to get one use to swimming under it.