Joe---what kind of varmint is making my life miserable?

[greybeard]

Bout 10 years ago, we had what was tentatively identified as a beaver lodge on our pond, right on the end of a peninsula. A big mound of sticks, mostly sweetgum and you could see the teeth marks and the tell-tale pointed ends, but no mud holding anything together. I never saw the critters themselves, but did, in 2 different locations see where they had tunneled from the water up about 12' inland and made either an air hole or an entrance hole--way up on dry land. One location was near this wood pile of a den--the other, across the pond near a pretty solid stand of sweetgum saplings. A very good place to ruin a tractor tire from all the punji stake looking little stumps. When I had the place logged, the den got destroyed and one day, I noticed the area near the sweetgum saplings had collapsed in, so I dug it all out with a backhoe, and that whole area was crisscrossed with subterranean tunnels. Everything was fine--up until this winter.

My pond dam doesn't have an overflow pipe in it. The excess water, tails out thru a 1/4 mile long canal to the river. The pond level is set by 2 dirt crossings, with culverts set in them--about 34" diameter. When we get a LOT of rain, the pond level will come up high, but quickly (within 24 hrs) drain out the culverts back to river. Not this month or last. I discovered the last culvert completely stopped up with sticks and mud, holding the pond level to a height too high for my use--it flooded too much pasture. I took a long joint of 1 1/4" pvc pipe and kept poking in the pipe and finally got it draining. Next day it was plugged again. I just thought it was crap that was getting washed in there from a wetter than usual year. I cleaned it out again--next day, plugged up again. Realized somthing was not right. I had a critter working at night.

2 days ago, I drove down all the waterways on a tractor and found a medium sized and new stick mound on high ground along one of the canals that feeds the pond. Right underneath a 5 strand fence. It was not there in late Oct when my wife planted ryegrass and oats--I walked that area to see if it was dry enough for her to get in. Yesterday afternoon, I walked up to the mound, and could see a hairy critter in under the sticks but not good enough to tell what it was. It just looked at me. Also noticed about 4 of the same kind of holes further 'inland' that I had seen years ago near the gum saplings. Some of the sticks in this new mound are sharpened, but most are just dropped limbs and driftwood--stuff left over from the logging and piling. I can't get a picture of the den/mound right now--raining, and my bum leg won't let me walk that far without wife raising heck. The mound looks a lot like this one, but about half the size.

I need to get rid of whatever it is--I got water where none should be and if we get a big heavy downpour, that situation will get very much wor$e and in a hurry.

Do I have:
beavers?
Nutria?
River otters?
If beaver, how do you trap them?

That whole 'horn of Africa" looking peninsula in th pic below is currently covered in about 2-3' of water and it should be high and dry.

 

[ram]

There beavers, they are evil creatures. We hunt them at night with a shotgun and a light if needed. It's pretty easy to get rid of the beavers if the pond is close to the house. Just get up every few hours and slip around the pond with a shotgun, when you see there wake kill them.

 

[bball]

Sure looks like young beaver to me. I fought with them all last year on a ditch that orders one of the pastures. They dammed up the drainage ditch and flooded me and everyone upstream. You can shoot them at dusk and dawn if your quiet and patient. I shot one, but after that they were super gunshy. We e ded up trapping 4 more out of there with conibear traps...just be careful if you never used one because they are violent and unforgiving if you accidently trip it. Have to make a set by a slip or hole. Worked like a charm. I tore their dam out by hand twice(better part of a day each time) before realizing they weren't leaving. After trapping them, county dipped the dam out with large track hoe, haven't returned yet. And they will drag and use anything for their dams..old sticks, logs, cornstalks, even had a tire in there. Alot of times the mud is packed at water level and below..not so much above water level, atleast that's how our dams were.

 

[greybeard]

The dam itself is always in the pipe. I've removed it at least 4 times now--since Thanksgiving.
I'll get some tanerite for their den tho.
I'm really surprised my dogs haven't tried to take them on--they run everything else on 4 legs.
This, is the thing that worries me about trapping:

And both my dogs are big time swimmers too--they wander that pond bank every day sniffin' and looking for something to play with or get in to.

 

[bball]

The dam itself is always in the pipe. I've removed it at least 4 times now--since Thanksgiving.
I'll get some tanerite for their den tho.
I'm really surprised my dogs haven't tried to take them on--they run everything else on 4 legs.
This, is the thing that worries me about trapping:

And both my dogs are big time swimmers too--they wander that pond bank every day sniffin' and looking for something to play with or get in to.

It may be worthwhile to kennel/pen the dogs up for a few days while you trap them.. we had them trapped out in about 5 days (set multiple sets). They always seem to concentrate where the water is moving the best. Think I read somewhere that the sound of moving water kicks in some primal instinct to build. Prolly explains why they're in your culvert. Tannerite to the den during daylight hours should take out a few. Happy hunting and good luck.

 

[Jogeephus]

You could very well have all you listed but I think you definitely have beavers. Those lovely furry cute critters. From the photo it looks like you'll have an easy enough time getting rid of them since your water areas are easily accessible.

The connabears work real good but they are scary and like you say they'll catch a dog right fast. What I prefer to use are snares. They are cheap and if a dog gets in one it won't kill it and you can release it. Additionally, if a beaver gets in one he'll be alive when you find him which makes killing and cleaning him all the more appetizing.

One piece of advice I'd give you is that you need to treat this as an all out war because they are not going away. You need to eradicate them and your neighbors do to. I just hope you don't have a balless neighbor like I do who has a wife that thinks they are cute.

I've been forced to become a trapper due to these varmints and have learned quite a bit so I'll be glad answer any questions you might have but I assure you your life is fixing to get fun with these creatures from he77.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Beavers. If you aren't familiar with the conibear traps get someone to show you. They are awesome tools but are very powerful and will break a arm in about 1/2 half of a split second. Never undo the safety latches on the sides until everything else is done. Shotguns work just as good if you've got the time and patience. You can also catch them with a steel trap in the water at the bottom of a slide. Snares are also very effective and more forgiving if you catch the wrong animal. That conibear trap is lethal but that's what I prefer.

 

[Jogeephus]

Another thing you can do to make your life easier is to put a piece of hog panel in front of the intake on your pipes and anchor it to some t-posts. This isn't a cure-all but at least it will keep the beavers from putting all that trash inside the pipes where you have to crawl inside and pull it out.

Here is a snare I made out of aircraft cable and a washer and a couple of nuts crimped with a press or hammer. These cost but a few cents to make and they work pretty good.

 

[ram]

Jogeephus, If my phone didn't go swimming I'd show him how to fix a beaver dam. Memories are something that no one can take.

 

[Jogeephus]

Yeah, there are some easy ways to remove those things aren't they? Bad thing is they just re-build unless you kill them. Our county once put a $20/tail bounty on them because they were doing so much damage to our roads and things. I hate them with a passion.

 

[ez14]

The dam itself is always in the pipe. I've removed it at least 4 times now--since Thanksgiving.
I'll get some tanerite for their den tho.
I'm really surprised my dogs haven't tried to take them on--they run everything else on 4 legs.
This, is the thing that worries me about trapping:

And both my dogs are big time swimmers too--they wander that pond bank every day sniffin' and looking for something to play with or get in to.

if you can get out to the huts set the traps at the entrance under water or find a young guy that likes to trap and let him know about the dogs

 

[BRYANT]

I use 330 conibear traps and have NEVER caught a dog in one of them, and you NEVER EVER will if they are set right by someone who knows what they are doing. I caught Beaver and Otter on the same den runs last year and the only way for a dog to get caught he would have to swim 2 foot under water ,or deeper, he could swim all over and around a conibear that is set right and not get caught. They are the best trap going for beavers when set right but if used in dry land sets they can be dog killers.

PS. that dog in the picture was not caught in a water set , that was a dry land set, I can tell by the stake rod, you would not use a t-bar stake in a water set and if they were they didn't know what they were doing

 

[greybeard]

Well, I drove down after dark on the tractor--they aren't scared of it I guess. Counted 4--maybe 5 in my spotlight out in the water.
I probably can't expect any help from my neighbors in getting rid of theirs. US Nat'l Forest.
I got the PM Joe, I'll have to read thru it some more to digest it. Waders are a no go--the wide part of the pond is pretty shallow, but the canal where the lodge/den is is over 8 ft right off the bank--dug with an excavator. I do know one guy that used to trap a lot around here--I called an left him a message....
What do they eat?

 

[bball]

Well, I drove down after dark on the tractor--they aren't scared of it I guess. Counted 4--maybe 5 in my spotlight out in the water.
I probably can't expect any help from my neighbors in getting rid of theirs. US Nat'l Forest.
I got the PM Joe, I'll have to read thru it some more to digest it. Waders are a no go--the wide part of the pond is pretty shallow, but the canal where the lodge/den is is over 8 ft right off the bank--dug with an excavator. I do know one guy that used to trap a lot around here--I called an left him a message....
What do they eat?

They love poplar, but if you're looking for bait for sets, get you some beaver castor.

 

[M.Magis]

Take a small table, a cooler of beverages, and a rifle. Makes for a fun evening, but you won't get them all. Someone that knows how to trap beaver could get them all for you in short order. But beware, it's likely going to be a yearly problem.

 

[Jogeephus]

Well, I drove down after dark on the tractor--they aren't scared of it I guess. Counted 4--maybe 5 in my spotlight out in the water.
I probably can't expect any help from my neighbors in getting rid of theirs. US Nat'l Forest.
I got the PM Joe, I'll have to read thru it some more to digest it. Waders are a no go--the wide part of the pond is pretty shallow, but the canal where the lodge/den is is over 8 ft right off the bank--dug with an excavator. I do know one guy that used to trap a lot around here--I called an left him a message....
What do they eat?

Sounds like you have as good a neighbor as mine. I bet they think these rodents are cute and cuddly like mine does.

Their vegetarian. Trees, sticks, roots and plants is what they eat.

If you can see them with a spotlight then you have a good chance of killing them with a gun. I have too much underbrush and my beaver problem stretches over a 100 acres so I have no choice but to trap though I have gotten to shoot one along and along.

I wouldn't worry so much about the lodge. Knowing where the lodge is is knowing where your enemy lives. If you destroy it they will dig in the banks and this only makes things worse.

 

[greybeard]

That would explain the strange 1" diameter soft fiber roots I've seen on the bank recently. I thought they had just washed up there. Pretty sure they are lily pad roots--but may be saw palmetta roots---I got lots of both those.
I'd maybe let them stay awhile if they would eat chinese tallow, but I know from years ago, they won't touch 'em.

 

[Jogeephus]

Tallow will stump sprout won't it? Stump sprouts are a huge problem with beavers. First time I ever saw beavers was in my grandmothers pond and they ate down the trees that would sometimes snag your hook when you cast. I thought it great they did this till the bank sprouted back up in dense stump sprouts making it where you couldn't even fish the pond unless you had a boat. We messed with the lodge and sent it to the heavens then the beavers set up shop in the pond dam. Heavy rains came and the pond dam busted. Now the pond is a swamp that just raises mosquitoes and no fish.

 

[cattle60]

GB it will not be an easy task to get rid of them if you have never dealt with it very much. Try to find a local that knows what they are doing as whoever made the set in the picture sure didn't and was breaking laws when they did it. It is against the law to set a 330 on dry land ( at least in MO) They are monster to set and very stout. They are set out in runs or in slides in deeper water, you are going to need waders or a boat. Be careful. Some states and counties have nuisance trappers that you can call, don't know about Texas. Good Luck in whatever you decide to try.

 

[backhoeboogie]

They are the best trap going for beavers when set right but if used in dry land sets they can be dog killers.

They'll kill anything if they catch it around the neck. Deer have been killed with them. They spring on dry land. Best thing going to take out large predators. But they'll get stray dogs and cats.