# Beaver behind my house



## Socks (Jan 8, 2007)

Hey everyone it's been a while since I've been on the site and I've never posted here I don't think.

I've got a beaver in the creek behind me over here in Illinois. It has decided that some of my trees are for chewing on. Shocking huh?

I'm thinking of trapping it, but the season ends at the end of March. I don't think I have enough time so I may have to wait until it opens back up. 

I know next to nothing about trapping except what I've recently read on beaver trapping. There isn't a dam nearby but I think it's burrowed into the neighbor's bank. I put up a game camera and got a few pics. Honestly it's a muskrat or a really small beaver. 

Based on where I think it is I'm wondering if I should use a foot hold trap or take a chance on a body grip trap. It's going up on the low lying bank.

What are your'als thoughts and advice?

Thanks in advance.
















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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

I don't know about what you have a picture of, could be a muskrat but you do have beaver. Trapping isn't difficult. Fnt post for a couple 330 traps, setters, lure and stakes. Couple days for delivery. Trapperman.com archives for beaver trapping and you can learn all you need to know.


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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

1st pic is definitely the work of a beaver and the second pic is of a muskrat. Sorry don't have any advice, as I have only trapped 5 beaver. 3 have been in footholds and 2 in 330's. The footholds seem easier to me if you find a location they are already using to exit the water, only 1 in a Castor mound set so far and it was a 26#'er.


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## Superhik (Jan 9, 2018)

Check your state law. Here in MI you aren't allow to dispatch beaver, so it has to be a drowner set with either foothold or body grip trap.


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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

Superhik said:


> Check your state law. Here in MI you aren't allow to dispatch beaver, so it has to be a drowner set with either foothold or body grip trap.


You can dispatch beaver just not with a gun in Michigan. Make sure you have plenty of weight on your drowning sets. A good catch pole would be nice for when you don't have enough weight.


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## U D (Aug 1, 2012)

SSS


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## Socks (Jan 8, 2007)

U D said:


> SSS


I'm sure someone out there like me had the same thought, but that person I would think would like to get the hide tanned and hung on the wall. 

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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

Socks said:


> I'm sure someone out there like me had the same thought, but that person I would think would like to get the hide tanned and hung on the wall.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk



Be sure not to waste the meat, tastes good and plenty of it on a beaver. Just had beaver stew for dinner tonight. I have one being tanned at the taxidermist right now too, awesome fur.


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## piscatorial warrior (Sep 14, 2011)




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## Urriah (Jul 26, 2013)

Trapperman archives is a treasure trove of info. Between that and youtube you'll be a beaver trapper in no time. I'd recommend getting one or two 330 bodygrips and trying those before diving into legholds and drown rigs. I enjoy leghold trapping beaver more, but 330's are more new user friendly imo. You'll probably want a set of setters for the traps as well.


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## Martin Looker (Jul 16, 2015)

Those 330s are great as long as they don't bite you. That sux.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Martin Looker said:


> Those 330s are great as long as they don't bite you. That sux.


I don't know what's worse, those or MB750's, Bridger #5, etc. I got a MB12x16 on my finger last year.


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## Urriah (Jul 26, 2013)

FREEPOP said:


> I don't know what's worse, those or MB750's, Bridger #5, etc. I got a MB12x16 on my finger last year.


I'll admit I"m a little scared of my 12x16 lol


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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

Urriah said:


> Trapperman archives is a treasure trove of info. Between that and youtube you'll be a beaver trapper in no time. I'd recommend getting one or two 330 bodygrips and trying those before diving into legholds and drown rigs. I enjoy leghold trapping beaver more, but 330's are more new user friendly imo. You'll probably want a set of setters for the traps as well.



330's is what I started with as I'm sure many do. I only caught 2, now that ice is gone and I can place footholds my success rate is much better. Blind setting being best only 1 at castor sets. State land beaver I'm trapping and I don't think this is their first rodeo.

I'm also placing two foothold on each drowner, staggered. When I am more confident I may place just 1. Trapper man rocks for sure.


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## Biggbear (Aug 14, 2001)

A 330 in the creek where the beaver is coming up on land air at the entrance of the bank den should produce fairly quickly. A castor mound set with a 330 will get me too. Especially set on your side of the creek right across from the den, they will come check out the scent of the intruder. Just remember to bend down the trigger wires or they will never swim through the 330.


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## Socks (Jan 8, 2007)

Thanks for everyone's advice! It looks like I'll be buying some traps and reading up on how to trap a bit. I've basically got the buy in from the neighbor's so that'll help since they're so close(as in 25 yards away each side). I just hope my trees survive until the season opens up again! I read somewhere that you can put wire around the trees to protect them so I might have to do that later on. 

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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Socks said:


> Thanks for everyone's advice! It looks like I'll be buying some traps and reading up on how to trap a bit. I've basically got the buy in from the neighbor's so that'll help since they're so close(as in 25 yards away each side). I just hope my trees survive until the season opens up again! I read somewhere that you can put wire around the trees to protect them so I might have to do that later on.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk


Not sure how things are going now but traps and lure from FnT take one day to get to me.

330 maniac has vids on Youtube as do many others.

You could still get a some of them, if not all, in the time remaining in the season.


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## Socks (Jan 8, 2007)

FREEPOP said:


> Not sure how things are going now but traps and lure from FnT take one day to get to me.
> 
> 330 maniac has vids on Youtube as do many others.
> 
> You could still get a some of them, if not all, in the time remaining in the season.


Thanks for the info! I looked at the website and that's a lot cheaper than the two other places I looked. 

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## Urriah (Jul 26, 2013)

FnT is hard to beat. PCS is a good company too, also based in Michigan.


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## Socks (Jan 8, 2007)

I thought I'd update you all. A couple of weeks after I posted this we had a lot of rain and the creek flooded. I haven't seen any evidence of new chewing and it looks like the muskrat is gone too. I'll keep an eye out. What sucks is that I'll probably have to take what was a perfectly good tree down because of that dang beaver. 

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