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| dam buster; having fun | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 23 2014, 06:08 AM (1,033 Views) | |
woodman
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May 23 2014, 06:08 AM Post #1 |
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Advanced Hunter
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Been busy the last few days fighting beaver that have moved in drainage ditch. They have been building it up nearly as fast as I tear it down. Have shot two but there are 3 dams and 5 lodges on this property and the next one. Wish I had my traps I sold when I quit trapping 20 years ago. Yesterday the deer walked over the dam when I went there to check it out. If there were no bugs it is nice sitting in chair waiting for them with my .22 mag to come and repair my breaks in their dam. |
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| Partikle | May 23 2014, 07:40 AM Post #2 |
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Team Ontario Trophy Bucks
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This works well too.
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![]() Population Control Specialist 00 Buck - Licensed to kill | |
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Cervus_stalker
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May 23 2014, 09:52 AM Post #3 |
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There are definitely some handy ways to regulate the growth of beaver dams and still keep the critters around. Don't underestimate the value of beavers in creating good wildlife habitat, even for deer. Once those beaver ponds dry out after years of use, they will develop into rich meadows that provide excellent fawn concealment cover, wallow areas for moose and elk, and habitat for ground-nesting birds. I know it's hard to watch the trees fall as a result of the critters, but they certainly do play a valuable role in the overall ecosystem. |
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woodman
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May 23 2014, 12:58 PM Post #4 |
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Advanced Hunter
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The problem with leaving them do their thing is the water table gets too high and the 30 acres of soy to the left of the 12 acres of spruce and pine reforested area in back ground along the ditch in the photo with my a.t.v. get waterlogged. Some of the spruce got waterlogged on lowest part and died. When the dam is at full height the water backs up and is 20 inches higher than the tile drains. The ditch at right angles to the dam leads from west side of about 15 acres swamp which only has brush and never has been useful as it is too wet for tree growth. In the driest years there is 4 to 6 inches of water in it but it is a good refuge for deer. The ditch may not look it but it is anywhere from 8 to 12 feet deep across the farm. The water was 2 feet above the 5 foot culvert Before beavers came the ditch had perch, pike and suckers run up it to spawn and the odd time catfish. I might try the pipe to see if it works here but they blocked the culvert a couple of farms away. May be they would ignore a small pipe but I think I would need a few of them to maintain the flow . |
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| Partikle | May 23 2014, 03:52 PM Post #5 |
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Team Ontario Trophy Bucks
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It'll work. The trick is the end of it faces down and there are drain holes drilled along the entire length of the pipe. The buggers can't figure out how to block it. A regular culvert they can block. |
![]() Population Control Specialist 00 Buck - Licensed to kill | |
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woodman
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Jun 29 2014, 07:26 PM Post #6 |
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Advanced Hunter
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Experimented with pipes and ended up with 2 eight inch and 1 six inch sewer pipes as the 4 inchers did not let enough water thru. The beavers rebuilt the dam 1 foot then disappeared. There is a water depth of 3 feet being maintained which is 16 inches below drainage tiles in field. I think they got frustrated and hear they have built a new dame a couple of miles down stream. Because of the dropping of the land level above sea level this new dam would flood that area but not reach up to this farm. The plan seems to work. Thanks for the idea. Sure drilled a lot of holes with hole saw. |
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| Renegade | Jun 30 2014, 05:15 AM Post #7 |
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Atikokan, Ontario
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330 conibears on the runs will clean up the rest of the beavers you can't shoot. You can buy them for $25 each or so. Buy 4 and a tool to recock them and you will be in the beaver dispossal business. |
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woodman
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Jun 30 2014, 08:11 AM Post #8 |
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Advanced Hunter
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I may just do that,get some traps. Like I said earlier in the post quit trapping 20 years ago. Trapped with my uncle til he was 90 and he couldn,t any more. He still hunted til he was 93 and eyes went. He died at 97.5. |
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| Mike Warren | Jun 30 2014, 08:27 AM Post #9 |
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Regular
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call in the pro http://www.juliesnead.net/duckdynasty/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/duck-dynasty-phil-burning-down-beaver-house1.png |
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woodman
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Jun 30 2014, 11:16 AM Post #10 |
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Advanced Hunter
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That would probably do the trick. Have seen a trapper and municipal worker use dynamite on dam and lodges were they couldn,t get a wide track hi hoe there. Sticks and rocks and mud a couple hundred yards in the air. A few weeks later it was all dry. I like the way a trapper near Elliot lake told me, a bounty type payment for each beaver not like the way they do it in eastern ontario which is to have them called and paid so much per hour to trap them. One I knew well here told me it was just like printing money. Another problem is if land owners don,t complain about beavers after awhile the conservation authorities re zone the area to wet lands and you can,t do any thing to it any more even put a camping hunting trailer on it. |
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| Mike Warren | Jun 30 2014, 12:16 PM Post #11 |
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Regular
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Man thats tough good luck on it think if you can gets some traps out there and get them out of there GOOD LUCK TO YOU
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| Renegade | Jun 30 2014, 02:33 PM Post #12 |
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Atikokan, Ontario
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I deal with beavers every year. I bust out dams by hand. This means getting wet. I wear a headnet and bring a pitchfork but mostly done by hand. I break open one spot and use the flow of the water to carry loosened debris away. You should break them open starting with the upstream dams first and work your way downstream so you can use the flow created to make your job easier. The beavers will eventually leave. I will hunt them but they get wise to it and not every dam lends itself to hunting, especially flooded timber. I can clean up the remaining beavers with 330's. I usually set them up around the dam on runs and create funnels with sticks. You need to check your traps pretty regularly, especially in the first week or two since you will probably get beavers in good sets quickly and up here bears and wolves will carry away the trap and beaver if you don't get there first. Good luck. |
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Muskoka Whitetails
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Jun 30 2014, 02:54 PM Post #13 |
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wow that sounds like a lot of work Rene. I'll spend a lot of time hunting for pleasure but nuisance beavers I look at as work and efficiency is key. I'm not going to spend a lot of time. My solution is my excavator and 270 combo. |
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| Mike Warren | Jun 30 2014, 02:55 PM Post #14 |
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Regular
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i was out in a creek i hunt woodducks and hunted there for about 15 years and never seen a beaver in there but have seen tree chews so i know they are around.Then me and a buddy seen one we were told they are bank beaver whats the difference do they not build dams and just live in a hole in the bank of the creek. I was able to get a pic of him
Edited by Mike Warren, Jun 30 2014, 02:56 PM.
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| Renegade | Jun 30 2014, 02:59 PM Post #15 |
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Atikokan, Ontario
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I let the beavers do their thing in most areas but I have a few areas that I need to keep them at bay. It is a bit of work but I don't mind and I find once I have removed beavers from an area they often stay out and the result is some great habitat for game. I have a food plot in one area that would normally be flooded and a nice bridge. |
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woodman
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Jun 30 2014, 08:27 PM Post #16 |
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Advanced Hunter
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One of the problems around here is that there are few properties that are working farms of any type. Many of the old farms are overgrown and owned by people who moved from Quebec and are animal lovers and resist removing the beavers and the municipality has problems keeping the drains open so roads and farm land is not flooded. In a few cases they have had to get court orders to go on the property and remove them. 2 of the three sides of this farm have such owners but the drain is only on one of them. They do not hunt and don,t allow others on their land but this has worked out well for me as it is a safe spot for the deer. That is right Renegade about the trap set ups. Also after we set the trap lines up we checked every day for any in the traps. We used both conibears and leg hold in a drowning set up. Our biggest problem then was trap theft and no cameras available like now. Any thing about trapping beavers is hard work especially carrying them from bush and skinning them and getting on drying boards. |
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Mattones
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Jul 1 2014, 08:44 PM Post #17 |
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MOOSEHEAD
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We got beavers not long ago at my pond. This past year things have been more wet then normally due to the them blocking off the drainage causing water to rise more them normal |
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woodman
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Jul 7 2014, 11:20 AM Post #18 |
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Advanced Hunter
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With the huge amount of rain we had this spring and the beaver dams in ditch, the fields half a mile away had 6 inches of water over them because the ditch stayed full all the time and the water didn,t have any where to go. I would like a happy medium as the low swamp area is a refuge for game and would not be able to be tilled any way. The rest of the farm I don,t want it damaged by the beavers. |
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