Beaver Trouble

WormWiggler

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Que funny gifs, memes, and laughs... but this is cereal....

Noticed Monday that some beavers) have taken up residence in the river next to our place. Bastages got all the chokecherry again and this time took a 10’ pine down. With the river freezing my methodology of open water sniping at sunset /sunrise is not promising. I don’t have traps or knowledge on getting them in the water. I can see 3 travel lanes up the bank but don’t see recent sign. This morning I got a shot as the warm weather has made a few open holes in the ice.

Before I get sucked down the google rabbit hole, I thought I would ask on here. When do beavers go after the trees? Middle of the night?, low light times? Broad daylight?
What are their defenses? Obvious underwater, but do they rely on smell, sight, or hearing?
Will they continue to pillage trees after freeze up or will they let up until spring?
Last night in the waning light, I think I saw one run across the ice from one bank to the other. It was over quick and too far / too dark to shoot anyway. Would a beaver even do this? I always pictured them as slow and lumbering, this wasn’t a quick animal like a flat out flying cat or something.
Hopefully my neighbor will trap them out like last time, but not sure if his schedule will let him.
I hope to get a few more open water shots, do beaver just come up to lounge in the water? I was shocked to see the sum beach just hanging out as I was not sneaky at all.
 


ShootnBlanks

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Oh man, where do I start...
I know in my area, the beaver usually go after the wood late at night after having a few drinks. Sometimes they will knaw at it, other times work it over till it about breaks. Once they get married you will notice a HUGE decline in seeing any. On rare occasions you may see one get after it but you almost never see it coming..

I am sorry I have no real input on this.
 
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Brian Renville

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My guess is they do 90% of their damage in the dark. When fishing at night those assholes seem to sneak up on a guy just to splash next to him. Impossible not to almost jump out of your boots especially when your feet are in the water.
 

WormWiggler

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Oh man, where do I start...
I know in my area, the beaver usually go after the wood late at night after having a few drinks. Sometimes they will knaw at it, other times work it over till it about breaks. Once they get married you will notice a HUGE decline in seeing any. On rare occasions you may see one get after it but you almost never see it coming..

I am sorry I have no real input on this.

lol, I figured I would have to wade through some shenanigans with this title
 

MathewsZman

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beer-goggles-sometimes-you-end-up-with-some-strange-beaver-29160253.jpg
 


SDMF

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1. Beavers on the river are usually more fun than beavers that won't go to the river, so you've got that going for you.

2. Seems like "ice-up" might be a metaphor for marriage and open-water sniping the opposite of celibacy.

3. Getting beavers in the water sometimes requires men to do things they really don't want to do, like buying a pontoon.

4. There are pheromones that should alert you periodically to the warm weather opportunities. Never skip that.

5. If you go down the google rabbit hole, I think you can find beavers in search of trees at all hours, day or night.

6. Defenses: Credit card/student loan/car repair debt, ex-boyfriends, illegitimate children, children from previous marriages, ugly friends (AKA "The Grenade"), premature discussions regarding their biological clock are near the top.

7. Once freeze-up occurs, they seem immune to the tree, but, when they get a hankerin' for the tree, be nearby.

8. In low light, beavers can be anywhere. In times of desperate need, like when the line to the beaver bathroom is really long, you can find them in places you'd never think of, like the men's bathroom.

9. Leaving your neighbor to service the beaver seems like a good way to just give your house away to said neighbor.

10. Looking for open water during freeze-up is a certain way to ensure a much longer and more expensive freeze-up.

11. Beavers found unafraid at a lounge during freeze-up are either a trap or have become so familiar that you probably don't want anything to do with them anyway.

The above should just about kill any thought of politics in my future.
 

Downrigger

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Snaring them is not that difficult and fun to do
You could also to a pan trap set if your really wanting to get after it.

Night time is the right time for beavers. Are you close to their dam or house?
 

dukgnfsn

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you are on a flowing river I am guessing, my experience is mostly on a small creek dammed across with small flow rate but when I wanted to shoot them I would go out right at sunset into dark and wait them out. they seem to like light wind evenings because they can hear danger better and they see okay. What I would do is do some damage to the dam in the afternoon and get water flowing and almost always they would come out and try to stop the leaking dam right around dark. If you were in Bismarck area I would help out but snaring them is fairly easy, just putting the snares in those slide areas and underwater slides. Once everything freezes over you will notice very little activity from them, they eat of the reserves, stash they put up underwater in the fall and can get to without getting above ice. If you are on a river where it never freezes then it could be different. I also have 330 conibear traps to put in water travel ways. GL and you may end up waiting until spring to eradicate. dukgnfsn
 


WormWiggler

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Snaring them is not that difficult and fun to do
You could also to a pan trap set if your really wanting to get after it.

Night time is the right time for beavers. Are you close to their dam or house?

pets, mine and neighbors might be not the best course for a land set or snare.

- - - Updated - - -

Ever ate beaver?

yes, but it has been some time ;:;barf

- - - Updated - - -

you are on a flowing river I am guessing, my experience is mostly on a small creek dammed across with small flow rate but when I wanted to shoot them I would go out right at sunset into dark and wait them out. they seem to like light wind evenings because they can hear danger better and they see okay. What I would do is do some damage to the dam in the afternoon and get water flowing and almost always they would come out and try to stop the leaking dam right around dark. If you were in Bismarck area I would help out but snaring them is fairly easy, just putting the snares in those slide areas and underwater slides. Once everything freezes over you will notice very little activity from them, they eat of the reserves, stash they put up underwater in the fall and can get to without getting above ice. If you are on a river where it never freezes then it could be different. I also have 330 conibear traps to put in water travel ways. GL and you may end up waiting until spring to eradicate. dukgnfsn

the dam isn't on my property so I will leave that to the neighbor... I kind of like the stable water level it brings. also if I rip up the damn wouldn't that encourage the bugger to get more trees?

I think the neighbor used 330s last time, in the water.

I assume it was a pair that moved in, so in spring there would be more if I don't get them. The one I took a poke at was fairly big, bigger that the one I got last time. Maybe I got some lead in him and he is dying in their bank hut...
 

labhunter66

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Go shoot them at night. It would be a ton of fun. Look at is as a recreational opportunity.
 

WormWiggler

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Go shoot them at night. It would be a ton of fun. Look at is as a recreational opportunity.

I like the idea, do you just light the place up continuously or will they hold still while I switch on a light, find them in my sights, and put one in their noodle?
 

fj40

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We used to use a red lens on the light. Didn't seem to spook them.
 




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