BBQ'd beaver hind quarters for the dogs many years ago...It looked and smelled so good I had to try it...Was expecting it to taste like the poplar trees they eat...Found it to be top notch...Tender juicy with a mild none wild flavour...A lot like very tender beef.
Muskrat AND beaver problem
- Thread starter eco
- Start date
Worth knowing, is that beavers, when crowded, will travel vast distances over land, to find a 'better place'. Have pictures of ones that ran into miles of chainlink, and were trudging back to source...
Have dealt with both Beavers and Muskrats, and can say that I'd rather have beavers. The Muskrats tunnel under the shores, and the tunnels then collapse, making a right mess. They tunnel into dikes as well, and make a right mess. But, muskrats don't cut down trees.
But, neither are all that hard to get rid of, if you are willing. I shot Muskrats with anything from a .22, to a .308, as well as a LOT with a shotgun (use goose loads). As destructive pests go, I'll nominate the rats as worth more effort. Beavers are pretty predictable, and easy enough to deal with, with a .22. Get their attention by opening a waterway, or simply pattern then and learn their habits and get them from shore when they swim by.
Have dealt with both Beavers and Muskrats, and can say that I'd rather have beavers. The Muskrats tunnel under the shores, and the tunnels then collapse, making a right mess. They tunnel into dikes as well, and make a right mess. But, muskrats don't cut down trees.
But, neither are all that hard to get rid of, if you are willing. I shot Muskrats with anything from a .22, to a .308, as well as a LOT with a shotgun (use goose loads). As destructive pests go, I'll nominate the rats as worth more effort. Beavers are pretty predictable, and easy enough to deal with, with a .22. Get their attention by opening a waterway, or simply pattern then and learn their habits and get them from shore when they swim by.
Plan is to clear the dams and debris next week, and build a small platform 3-4 ft off the ground in the nearby trees to be able to sit and watch. Will be trying out the new Marlin 357lever.
I'll also set up a few conibear traps (110s and 330s), snares, and muskrat traps when not watching. Deal with both issues at same time.
Hopefully I pisṣ them off enough that they move downstream somewhere else.
Also wouldn't mind trying to cook a beaver if lucky
Thunderhog
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- East Kootneys
I had beaver problem on my land too. I broke the dam and bury two 20 foot long PCV pipe across the dam. drill a series of holes on one end. The beaver came and repaired the dam but pipes still drain the pond. They couldn't plug the drain end because it is above the ground (sloping ground). Beaver gave up and moved away.
So when thinking about buying land, it's not a bad idea to consider if you are buying potential beaver habitat.
Have to say I really admire our national animal: they are smart, industrious and uncanny natural engineers. No other animal has created structures visible from space.
Just a pity the pelts aren't worth much now considering what a superb fur they have.
Have to say I really admire our national animal: they are smart, industrious and uncanny natural engineers. No other animal has created structures visible from space.
Just a pity the pelts aren't worth much now considering what a superb fur they have.
Yeah, they are all that. And there are proven case histories, that showed that reintroducing beavers was a net benefit. But there are several more, where they became ecological disasters...
I have seen some pretty cute videos of rescued Beavers, that were pretty adorable.
But, when it comes down to it, and adorable pest, is still a pest to be dealt with. Unless you plan to keep it and feed it forever, you better have a plan for release in a place where some dude won't follow you home and burn your house down for sticking him with the fallout...
And (since we are WAY past being held accountable for this LOL!) that when I was live trapping Raccoons out of my yard, if I didn't just drown them in a garbage can, I practiced catch and release, with the releases in the MOST respectable neighborhoods... Y'know, near where the Mayor and Councillors all lived.
Let them wring their hands over the supposedly ethical decisions! LOL!
Long ago I was far less risk-averse, I discovered that even in a crowded Urban area, it took TWO gunshots to actually register anyone's attention. A few Raccoons may have contributed to that theory...
I would actually get a trappers license and trap those beavers. Unless you can pay a trapper to do it. It isn’t too hard, but is time consuming. You could hunt them but there’s no way you can spend as many hours waiting for them as a number of traps will. Traps are on guard 24/7 including 3am. Bear hunters will repurpose the carcass and lots of people will take the hides.
You’d need them to be in season in your area to trap then unless there’s a permitting process for problem wildlife.
You’d need them to be in season in your area to trap then unless there’s a permitting process for problem wildlife.
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
I've had my trapping licence for over a decade now, mostly just to remove nuisance critters from the farm.
knowing how and where to set traps is key, and not catching someone's pet.
Beavers will travel long distances when looking for space to set up. I trapped an ###L beaver in a dugout a few years ago.
knowing how and where to set traps is key, and not catching someone's pet.
Beavers will travel long distances when looking for space to set up. I trapped an ###L beaver in a dugout a few years ago.
Not sure why you would want to whack any muskrats paddling around, they are not causing any harm.
The beavers need to be dealt with and shooting them will only be temporary, as others will move in when the kits get kicked out of the family group and have to go it on their own.
You need someone that knows how to trap to come and handle your current problem and keep returning when new beavers move in.
Breaking open the dam and putting in water leveling pipes like buoff did, at least may limit the flooding size.
Serious hard work doing that.
The beavers need to be dealt with and shooting them will only be temporary, as others will move in when the kits get kicked out of the family group and have to go it on their own.
You need someone that knows how to trap to come and handle your current problem and keep returning when new beavers move in.
Breaking open the dam and putting in water leveling pipes like buoff did, at least may limit the flooding size.
Serious hard work doing that.
Beavers will react to the running water and no doubt would try to stop up a spillway.
Years ago as a younger fella, I trapped lots of them by simply opening up a slot in the dams and used leg holds on drowning wire sets to catch them when they came to fix the breach.
Levelling pipes work but getting them in there is no simple matter.
Each situation is going to have its own engineering problem, with how/where to place the pipes and what the water level should be.
Then there's the legal side to it too, screwing around with water ways without authorization could cause a person a lot of grief.
We bought our property just over a year ago and discovered a large 6 acre beaver pond at the back. Last spring we met a local trapper that kindly "removed" 7 beavers from the pond for us.
The lodge is out in the middle of the pond and the dam itself is over 500' long. The water at the deep side of the pond is about 6' above ground level! You can walk beside the dam like it's a retaining wall. These beavers have clearly been here for generations.
Even with the thinned out population the surviving beavers managed to down quite a few mature trees for their winter feed bed.
I love the pond since it brings moose and other wildlife to the area, but I'm thinking I may have to let the trapper thin their numbers every year or so to prevent my forest from disappearing.
The lodge is out in the middle of the pond and the dam itself is over 500' long. The water at the deep side of the pond is about 6' above ground level! You can walk beside the dam like it's a retaining wall. These beavers have clearly been here for generations.
Even with the thinned out population the surviving beavers managed to down quite a few mature trees for their winter feed bed.
I love the pond since it brings moose and other wildlife to the area, but I'm thinking I may have to let the trapper thin their numbers every year or so to prevent my forest from disappearing.
Not sure why you would want to whack any muskrats paddling around, they are not causing any harm.
The beavers need to be dealt with and shooting them will only be temporary, as others will move in when the kits get kicked out of the family group and have to go it on their own.
Don’t let them little muskrats fool you. They will undermine/ tunnel an area so it becomes muskeg. They are destructive rats
The beavers need to be dealt with and shooting them will only be temporary, as others will move in when the kits get kicked out of the family group and have to go it on their own.
Don’t let them little muskrats fool you. They will undermine/ tunnel an area so it becomes muskeg. They are destructive rats
They are causing harm, by their existence!
Until you find yourself kissing the steering wheel on a tractor, due to it's wheel collapsing a Rat burrow, you have no idea of the damage they can accomplish!
Deal with the whole damn lot, or deal with the aftermath.
Had the boyfriend of a family member, trying to 'propagate' the local muskrat population. Took about 5 years of dedicated effort, to knock it down to a dull roar! Several more to fix the damages done....
Exactly!! The fur can't touch the meat ... and when you skin the animal the oil and scent glands need to me removed "cleanly". If your knife cuts one of those glands ..... you will get that scent all over .... resulting in bad tasting meat ... And it doesn't take much .... one cut ... and that's it ....
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I have put drainage pipes into all the beaver dams and so that the beavers can't raise the water level further ..... and I have planted conifers around the beaver ponds ..... beavers don't like those and leave them normally alone ....
Its a natural regeneration .... most of the hardwoods disappear around the beaver ponds .... and the conifers take hold ....
