How to Trap Smart Beavers: 5 Working Tips & 4 Types of Traps

Beavers are the large semi-aquatic rodents in North America and second largest rodent found in the world. Living in colonies, biting and felling the trees with their sharp teeth and jaws. From past few years, there is relatively a great increase in beaver population which has caused many encounters with the humans, and most of these were life threatening.

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Beaver damage in nature.
Source: http://tnwildliferemovalexperts.com/

Damage caused by beavers

Since beavers have the ability to build dams to save themselves from predators, they are dramatically affecting the environment and the area in which they are living and causing many problems for human as well. We can divide them into two basic categories; one is cutting trees, and another one is flooding. In addition, beavers pose a threat to crops and personal property of inhabitants. Unfortunately, we do not have a special mechanism to abandon beaver activity. Even, harassing the Beavers is not of any use.

Do you want to remove beavers from your property or land near you? You can easily stop these rodents, their threatening activities and get rid of them for a lifetime. Although trapping them can be very difficult and challenging, not everyone can get hold of it. However, if you try to catch them by large traps, it will be relatively easy.

Five working tips on how to trap a smart beaver

Remember, beavers are quite intelligent, and they can quickly detect any danger and hence avoiding the poorly set traps. So you have to be a skeptic while selecting and setting traps. You can even take help of some professional trappers, but they will cost you very much. But, don’t worry here we have some easy tips for you that will help in catching these smart beavers. Live trap can serve efficiently for this purpose. For that, you will require a proper plan. The plan includes three main steps that are trapping, modification of habitat and exclusion. Follow these five tips to catch a beaver smartly.

1. Choose the right trap

A beaver isolated on white backdrop.
Source: https://kidssearch.com

The most important thing for catching a beaver is to select the right trap. This is not a difficult task. All you have to do is to buy a trap that is large, durable and made up of sturdy steel. Also, make sure that the trap does not have sharp edges as it can harm the captured beavers when they try to escape. While buying the trap pay attention to its door to check if it is strong enough to protect trapper while moving it.

2. Trap placement

Once you have selected the trap, analyze where it should be placed. The Beavers are very smart and unpredictable because they can easily sense danger and changes around them. That is why the right placement of trap is very important to catch a beaver. You should place your trap in such a way that beavers do not find anything fishy and can be easily caught.

3. Bait the trap

It will be very easy to trap a beaver if you bait your trap. Just like while fishing, we use bait to attract more fish; same is the case here. When you place your trap rightly after baiting it, the Beavers will be attracted towards it. However, remember to position the bait directly behind the trigger pan. But don’t forget to wear gloves while doing so for Beavers have a great sense of smelling the human aroma.

4. Set your trap

The picture shows how to set a beaver dam.
Source: http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/

When you have completed the preparation, now let’s start the action by placing the trap. The best time to place the trap is early morning. The best way to set the trap is to place it facing the beaver’s habitat with the opened door.

5. Regularly check your trap

Once when you have placed the trap, keep checking it regularly. You do not want the captured beaver to die because of hunger and thirst. After the beaver is caught, transfer it to some other place far away from your property.

Types of beaver traps

Selecting the right type of trap is imperative, but for that, you should know about different types of traps that can be used. Various models are used for this purpose, but these the four main types are described below:

1. Kill traps

You can tell by the name of this model that these traps are used to kill the beavers. The most popular models are BG 220 and BG 330. They are known among the professional trappers for its efficiency. This type of trappers squeeze the beavers so quickly and tightly. The grip is so firm it will not even miss the prey by catching only its leg or tail.

2. Beaver leg hold traps

These types of traps are used by the professional beaver trappers to catch the beaver alive so that they can kill them later or transfer them to another place. These traps are not only used for the beaver but also for catching the other animals. You can find different sizes in the market depending upon the teenager or adult beavers you want to trap. Placing in front of their ponds or dams where these large rodents visit more often is also a good practice.

3. Snares

A working snare on white backdrop.
Source: https://the-end-time.blogspot.com

These are the commonly used beaver’s traps by the beaver professionals and local residents. It is very easy and popular way to catch a beaver. They are made up of special cables allowing the trap to close quickly, trapping the animal. They usually close around any part of the body of the beaver which enters the trap. Although snares are relatively slow, they hold the prey firmly once caught. Since beavers are high and put many fights to their opponent, these traps are very effective to catch them without killing.

4. Live beaver traps

These are the tricky and effective traps that are used to catch smart beaver. They look like a big suitcase. Although they look like difficult to set, an ordinary person can also set easily by following simple mechanism. You can bait these traps with Poplar oil to attract the prey.

There are different models of this trap that are used for different purposes. You can use Havahart live trap if you want no harm to the animal and yourself. This trap comes in different sizes to catch the beavers. For trapping the large rodents, X-large trap is an ideal size. It is made of galvanized steel and is strong enough to keep you safe. Havahart X-large One Door Trap is very effective for the human capture of beavers as it can easily stand the weight of the animal. You can also use Havahart X-large Two Door Trap for catching the Beavers as it will allow the prey to enter from both directions.

【Watch this video about Beaver Traps】

Beaver trapping sets

Using beaver trapping sets is very efficient and effective way of dealing with the smart beavers. However, keep this thing in mind, to use them you need proper guidance about setting the trap. Here are the easy steps that can guide you

  • Detect the right pond or lodge.

    A fence set for beavers.
    Source: http://qonaborowy.99on.com/
  • Analyze and find the opening and run away path used by the Beavers
  • After you are done with above two steps, with the help of long dead sticks, place the trap at the entrance.

The other way is using Beaver Dam set technique. Since the beavers tend to move across the dam, you can set your trap on any side of the crossing. For this purpose, you can set the trap in the middle of the crossing on the top of the dam.

Another set is called Runaway set. This is a very effective technique, but for this, you have to construct the set manually. Firstly you should look for the clear area in water that has a narrow bottom. The best location is the area where the water is running from one pond to another. Carefully place the solid trap in the trough and use dead sticks to make it firm and secure.

Efficient beaver trapping tips

Beavers are very smart and fast and can be tough to catch. However, you do not need to worry at all. Here we have miraculous tips for you to catch them within a short period.

  • Cover your bottom of the trap with soil, bushes, and twigs to make it look like the rest of the land so that beavers will not suspect anything.
  • You can also position the logs on both sides of the trap to make trap look like a natural log.
  • Keep checking your trap from time to time.
  • If you catch the prey make sure to release it somewhere far away from your place.
  • Always release them in some semi-aquatic environment.

Beaver bait

The beaver trap with popular bait.
Source: http://www.dec.ny.gov/

To attract the prey, you have to make some strategies. One of the best ways is baiting the trap. Since beavers are the herbivorous animals that eat vegetables and herbs, so you can use some things like this to draw their interest. You can use mushrooms, ferns, apples and some other herbs for baiting. Beaver Castor is the best bait for this purpose as beavers are very fond of its smell and it easily attracts the Beavers.

Excellent baiting tips

Only baiting the trap is not enough, you must know where to bait the trap. You should hang the bait from the top of the trap. It can also be placed on the floor. It would be better if you put the bait right on the trigger. Before putting the bait make sure you soak the substance into Poplar oil or any other beaver baits.

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