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OT live trapping a beaver

M

Mike (WA)

Well-known Member
Friend has a bothersome beaver coming out of the crick at night, chewing on stuff. Conventional trapping is out, probably illegal, and his wife is queasy about such things. He wants to live trap it (Havahart type), and relocate it to Bolivia.

Any tips on bait, placement of bait, etc.? He already tried an apple in the back, Bucky pushed the trap around but didn't go in (either too stupid to find the door, or too smart to go in)
 
Best bait is fresh poplar twigs. If you don't have poplar, fresh twigs from whatever species the beaver has been chewing should work.

Cover the trap floor with native dirt, wood chips, etc. so it can't feel the wire mesh. And lay a small log on both sides of the trap to create a "funnel" into the trap opening and further hide the metal trap.

Note: To relocate to Bolivia the beaver must possess a valid passport(!)
 
Poplar oil dripped on poplar twigs should do it although you could add some beaver castor scent. That should really do it. Each run about 8 bucks an ounce on line. Is your trap big enough?
 
Tell the wife it"s a live trap and install a 330 Conabear in a water runway the beaver travels. Sometimes line up sticks to V the beavers to it. Scenting the trap with caster from another beaver clan will annoy the pest beaver.
 
Maybe too big. It would take a really big trap to catch him.
Call your state's version of enviromental conservation & wildlife, and have them deal with the critter.
Loren, the Acg.
 
Some beaver are pretty big and some are pretty smart. You would need a good sized live trap to catch one. I have a live trap that is supposed to be big enough for coons and you couldn"t fit a beaver in it. You need to find the trail that goes into the water and set the trap under water. Don"t have an idea as far as bait. I just used a regular steel jaw trap years ago. Might call the wildlife dept. and see if they would deport it.
 
I never had any luck trying to get one in a live trap. The last one I got, was in a snare. I had it set so he couldn't get in the water, and he was alive when I found him. Probably could have kept him alive, by using my dart gun on him, but this one was already missing a foot, from someone else, and had about destroyed every tree in the yard. I shot him!! He weighed over 60 pounds. Had to use a snare because of the dogs.
 
He assures me its big enough- he built it based on the Havahart, but says its big enough for a coyote (the original purpose), so should be OK for beaver.
 
They are wary of human scent. Shoud be wearing rubber gloves and boots. You , not the Beaver. You need a visual attractant (fresh cut whittled white stick , preferably poplar) , and a scent attractant like Beaver Castor. Undoubtedly are good videos on Youtube and elsewhere with tips and instructions. They are not stupid. The 330 conibear is what you need but it can kill a dog. I would not call the warden unless you are certain you have any needed permits , are in season etc. or you may be hiring a lawyer !
 
In this area you only can shoot them. It you relocate one = Big Fine.
Last Fall I got two and got $ 40.00 each for the pelts.
 
They brought beavers in on a miltary base where I worked back in the 1970's, they built dams causing road flooding. Even some test courses were flooded that cause test delays. The game warden on post started trapping them. We stopped the test to take a look at that beaver.
He's one not to be fooling with. They also gnawed down all the trees. They also brought in Coyotes and they caught ground hogs bigger than the coyotes. Sure did clean up the groundhogs. Hal
 
If you are really concerned, talk to an exterminator or pest control company, they will know what is legal in your area.

I would not help relocate the problem to someone else's property.
 
His plan is to relocate it to another watershed. It really doesn't have any adverse effect, because there are beavers everywhere around here anyhow- you just need to get it a different home. Who knows- maybe he'll find a really attractive lady beaver- JACKPOT!

Not a good idea to call anyone, because then you lose plausible deniability. IMHO, the less said about most anything you do these days, the better.
 
This beaver may have already been re-located and wise to traps.
Tell the wife to face reality that a giant rat is making a mess. SSS.
 
Good thing you clarified that, Bill. Beavers get really p.o'ed when you put them in rubber gloves, and boots! Last thing you want, is a p.o'ed beaver, on your hands!
 
(quoted from post at 16:29:06 01/26/13) His plan is to relocate it to another watershed. [b:e6453b816f][i:e6453b816f]It really doesn't have any adverse effect, [/b:e6453b816f][/i:e6453b816f]because there are beavers everywhere around here anyhow- you just need to get it a different home. Who knows- maybe he'll find a really attractive lady beaver- JACKPOT!

Not a good idea to call anyone, because then you lose plausible deniability. IMHO, the less said about most anything you do these days, the better.
Click to expand...

Thats not true, studies have shown time and time again, most every animal that is reloacted have an unacceptably high death rate after relocation. Most studies I have read put the death rate in the 90% rate (granted, I have not looked up beaver death rates). Going to all the trouble to live trap an animal, relocate it, only to have it suffer a slow and painful death is not only a waste of time but its unethical. If you have a nuisance animal, humanly dispatch it. If you are bothered by that, have somebody else do it or cleanse your conscience with a fat donation to an animal welfare group (or both).

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/beavers.html

Right to the point.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/beavers.html#trapping

Bottom line, relocating a nuisance animal is [b:e6453b816f][i:e6453b816f]not [/i:e6453b816f][/b:e6453b816f]the answer.
 
its prolly not just one. generally the colony will have a full grown adult breeding pair, anywhere from 45 to 80 lbs each. then up to 2 years of litters in the colony. after they reach 2 years old, those leave the colony to find mates and establish new colonys. the past two years our area has been invaded by the river rats. many trappers in the area for fur, and quite a few nusiance trappers. beaver are very smart and trap wise. if you miss him the first time, he will avoid the trap. may need to go to a snare, it will hold a live beaver overnight. but they are not easy to remove from a snare. see if you can find a local fur trapper to come in and clean them out.
 
if he does want to try the live trap, have him get a small jar of castor scent from a trapping supply. beaver are territorial and use castor glands to mark their territory by creating castor mounds along the waterway shore lines. generally a pile of leaves and mud about 2 feet from the water edge, about the size of a hat. each colony has its own scent. a strange castor scent is a territory challenge and causes swift reaction. locate the active slide where the animals are going in and out of the water. they will follow a trail. set the trap on level ground and stake it down. use dried sticks and weeds ect to make forcing sticks to guide the beaver in to the trap. about 6 feet from the trap on the side AWAY from the water, place castor scent on some twigs and lay it on the ground directly in line with the trap. you want the beaver to make a beeline thru the trap directly to the castor scent. do not get any castor on the trap itself. if you do, they will attack the trap and trigger it.
 
the 330 conibear traps work good. no bait is needed if set properly in the water.the pelts can be sold for fur and the meat is good eating if prepared right.last one i took was 80 pounds.
 
As has been said it is most likely a colony. Just lower the dam a foot. I know the old wives tale about they will just build it back up but my experience is that they will build it back up twice then move on. I have a very large swamp behind my place and it seems like every five years or so a new group comes in to expand it. I lower the dam twicw and they move on.
 
Diydave,
I'll supply all the beer you can drink if you want to move your lawn chair to my lake. Please recycle the beer in the lake. Water level is low.
George
 
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