Culvert Clogged Again

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

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If you followed my post ( http://www.duckboats.net/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=164642 ) you know Thomas and I have been working to get the water out of an area we want to better manage for ducks.

Before work this morning I went down there to check on the water level. There are now signs of active beavers. They have been working on the beaver dam and now no water is flowing. They've also started re-clogging the culverts. I guess it comes as no surprise but I was hoping for an easier road to getting control of the water.

So now I'm starting to think about trapping beavers myself or finding someone to do it. I've been doing some reading and have some ideas (conibear 330 trap placed on the creek leading to the culvert) but would really like to find someone near me who knows how to trap. So know it looks like I'm going to need backhoe to bust the dam and a trapper to get the beavers out. Who ever said duck hunting was cheap and easy????

Eric
 
Trapping course is on our list for next summer. Not just anyone can say they trap their own!
They make a big job when they get going. We had one flood about 15 acres.

Good part is Beaver and Beans goes well at a game dinner.
I sure wish the guy who does it would give me the recipe.

Good luck
 
seems about right...you finally get it to work, the something else pops up. Good luck getting it all done in time. I say try to trap them for a bit, I think Thomas would think checking the "trap line" would be fun.
 
Eric,

This situation would fit a couple of statements my wife's Aunt used to say:

1. If it's not one thing it is two!
2. Another one of lifes little pleasures.

The birds shot on this property will mean more to you and Thomas when you look back on it in the future.

Tom
 
Eric,
I am sure that myself and the other trappers on the forum can help you from afar with advice on trapping the beavers. It comes as no surprise that if they were in the pond they will try to keep the water level up.

Can you get permission to trap them out of season? If you can I am sure we can help you figure out how to catch them.

Keep in mind in a situation like this you have to catch ALL of the beavers and that is where it gets hard. The job I took on like that took me most of the winter to get the last beaver on the colony.

Tearing the dam out is not to difficult even by hand but its useless until you catch them.
 
Trapping is a ton of fun, especially for someone Thomas's age - beaver trapping is just funner. Beaver are BIG and so are the traps, I'd recommend a trapping course or at least some instruction from an experienced trapper before you start. I've been caught in all my traps at one time or another and beaver traps are definately on the bottom my list to be caught in again. A full grown beaver will be north of 55-60 lbs (my biggest was 67lbs.- the largest reported catch in Wisconsin was 110 lbs.) and take my word for it you want them drowned when you get there. A live one will give you pause to rethink your next move.

Better yet, enlist the help of a local trapper and watch/learn.
 
Eric,

I did a quick check and according to what i read in Alabama's hunting laws there appears to be no closed season on beaver. just an option....
 
Eric,
I have to echo the safety issue as well. I would feel terrible if you caught yourself in a 330. I have managed to catch myself in a 220 by both thumbs. Picture a guy standing in the middle of the woods with both thumbs caught in a body grip trap that is head high wired to a leaning log. I quickly realized I could not reach my leathermen to cut the wire since I could not move my hands...

A 330 is a big strong trap. I would recommend you learn how to set one with a rope. Its the safest way I know how. Be sure to use a thick round rope that can not slip out of the eyes if you go this route.

Local trappers may be a good plan as well but if you can not find any then you could probably take the job on yourself. Can you see where they are cutting trees to make the new dam? Do they have a lodge? Those are the two places I would locate first before I set a single trap.

Thomas would have a blast at his age learning about trapping my son and daughter love it.
 
Eric:

If my experience is any guide, if you have a relatively high beaver density and a site with good beaver habitat, trapping or shooting is likely to be only a temporary solution. If the site is good, other beavers will quickly move in. Trapping them out may buy you a season, but they'll be back next year when this year's kits disperse.

I have not used them, but lots of folks who manage forest roads up here swear by devices like the "Beaver Deceiver", which is basically a perforated piece of PVC pipe that can be incorporated into a culvert. A guy named Skip Lisle--a wildlife biologist for the Penobscot Indian Nation up here--invented it. I don't know the details, but it's a combination of fencing and perforated culvert or pipe. The idea is that even if the beavers block the culvert, water will still flow through the perforated pipe and prevent them from raising water levels. Also--and this is hearsay only--the devices apparently work to discourage beavers because they cannot hear the sound of falling water, which is said to stimulate their dam building behavior.

There is an extensive, though not terribly clear, description of one at this site:

http://www.greystonevillage.org/Lakes%20&%20Grounds/Beavers/GreyatoneNonLethalBeaverManagement.pdf



Of course you are in a very different environment than Maine, and I only know enough about this to be able to dangerous . You may want to check with your county cooperative extension office, or your local Soil and Water Conservation District, to see if folks there have suggestions that work locally.
 
Great advice and very interesting. Please keep it coming.

Brandon, I haven't seen where they are cutting trees but did observe fresh cuttings. I also observed a mud trail over the top of the dam, red star in image, and tons of prints at the culverts, located just downstram of the bridge. I do know where one lodge is, yellow star in image, but will have to see if it is active. There may be more than one lodge. It will take exploring to find others which probably do exist.

LongPondSwamp.jpg

 
We call the beaver deceiver a pond leveler around these parts. My understanding is that you need at least 4' of water for them to be effective . . . I know this because I put one in a shallow pond last year and this spring they literally buried the whole thing! We got it out with a backhoe . . . but not in usable condition.

Methinks you will see why it's called natural resource "management" . . . it's an ongoing process. Considering that Thomas will be around home for a few more years, I'd learn to trap them and just deal with it yourselves. It will be cheaper and more rewarding than hiring it done all the time.

Another thing I've heard but never done . . . since I can't have guns at work . . . is that you can break the dam and just wait for them to come back to fix it . . . and kaboom! (I'd go for #4 buck or something) They aren't stupid though, so you would need concealment and they might not come back til dark.

Do you have any idea what the trapping pressure is like on beavers down there? Our contract trapper was telling me that beavers will get educated, especially if they are exposed to a lot of conibears. And yes, apparently some are capable of learning by observing their buddies go down. He was saying he prefers to use drowning sets, I believe with #4 jump traps. But since I had already been lowering the water level, he was stuck with using conibears. He said experienced beavers will actually stop and back up when they feel the metal trigger wires, but he had a trick for that.

Neat stuff . . . wish I had time for another hobby!
 
Eric i've got a beaver conibear in my dad's garage, i should be out there tomorrow, what time are you gonna get home tomorrow?
 
Tom, I should be home by 6. Thanks.

Nick, I don't think trapping pressure is high at all. In this mild weather the pelts are probably poor quality. Nuissance trapping is probably the most common and I don't think this area has been trapped in a long time if at all.

Eric
 
I've heard that those pond levelers can be used with some success but have also heard that they need to be located in a deeper pool. While searching for info on the levelers I once called an animal damage control guy whose website I found on-line, I think he was in Massachusetts. He was very willing to pass on his knowledge.

I also enjoy trapping beaver with my sons. Anywhere that you see them climbing out of the water is a good spot for a set, such as that mud trail over the dam and where you saw tracks. I prefer large footholds on a heavily weighted drowning wire, but the 330's will also work. Just watch as some states have laws about how close you can set a trap to a dam or lodge. Definitely be careful, I caught my arm in a 330 last spring. Luckily it was while adjusting the trigger at home in my garage. Alone, in a swamp, with a securely fastened trap would have been much worse. They do make safety devices for the 330's that you leave clamped on the jaws until everything is all set. You will learn a lot if you can find an experienced trapper that you can tag along with. With experienced help you'll also be less likely to spook the beaver, which can make them very hard to catch. Good luck and have fun. I've found trapping to be as addicting as duck hunting.
 
He said experienced beavers will actually stop and back up when they feel the metal trigger wires, but he had a trick for that.


Could you please share that trick with us?
Click to expand...
 
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John

I've been watching youtube where guys are using a wire with a weight and a drowning wire. I haven't been able to make out just how they rig it. One guys said he used a one-way slide, meaning the weights could go deeper but not come back up. Can you point me in the direction of what hardware is needed or how it's rigged?

Eric
 
1 – 16’ x 48” livestock panel fence
3 – 5’-6’ T post (depending on how soft the soil is)
15 – Heavy duty cable ties or bailing wire.
Hacksaw or heavy duty wire cutters.

At home:
Cut panel in half and cut one of those halves in half again so you have two 4’ sections and one 8’ section.
Bend the 8’ section in half. (Lay a 2x4 or something sturdy to use as a break to fold the panel. Bend the panel till the interior angle is approx 60 deg.

On site:
On the upstream side of the drainage pipe.
Approx 6” back from the front of the drainage pipe drive two t-posts 4’ a part. (center the pipe)
Forming an equilateral triangle drive another t-post 4’ from both of the other posts.
Take the bent panel and place the bend on the “front” post so the two ends are lined up with the two other posts.
Take hacksaw or heavy duty wire cutters and cut a “hole” (more like a closed horse shoe shape) in one of your 4’ sections of fence that the pipe will just fit through.
Place this panel along the “back” and either cable tie or bailing wire this section to the ends of the other panel and the t-post.
Take remaining 4’ panel and lay on top of the triangular box you have just built.
Cable tie or wire this panel along the “back” side. This will allow you to open the top to go inside and clean out any debris if you.
You may want to place another cable tie or wire the front corner just so heavy current doesn’t open the guard.

Another idea is to place a “rat guard” on the downstream end of the pipe. Agri drain has a bunch of various sizes. This is a swinging grate that prohibits animals from climbing inside the pipe and swing up to allow heavy flows and debris to flow out.

By building these most beavers and muskrats will leave the drainage pipe alone or at least make it much easier to clean out.
 
These are the slide locks. Just make sure you rig them up with the long end pointing down into the water.

http://www.fntpost.com/Products/Drowner+Slide+Cables+Locks/Long+Drowner+Slide+Locks

You can also buy them pre-rigged on 1/8" cable.

http://www.fntpost.com/Products/Drowner+Slide+Cables+Locks/F+T+1+8+Drowners+Slides

Stake the top end of the wire at the waters edge and anchor the other end in the water with a feedbag full of 50+ pounds of rocks. 3+ feet of water works best with this rig, although a front foot catch can work in shallower water. Most people would recommend a minimum of a #4 coilspring or double longspring. I prefer the MB 750's but they do cost twice as much (although worth it in my opinion). I set the trap about a foot or so out from the waters edge in about 9" of water. Steeper banks work better than gradual ones. Connect the trap to the slide lock and place the trap slightly off centered in the beaver's trail. A mound of mud with some castor lure placed slightly above the waterline will also help to bring them in.
 
Trapping is fine, I used to do it. But you will never get rid of them all and others will just come back. It will be an on-going project!
The 3-log drain or beaver deceiver is the better route to truely solve the problem.
Put one in the culvert and they wont be able to completely stop the water.
Another option is to bury one in the dam and one in the culvert.
 
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