# Beaver Den



## neb (Jan 5, 2008)

Can someone help me because I would like to trap a beaver and get it skinned out. I do believe this is a beaver den and how or if I can trap one here and how.

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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

Are there any tracks.


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## neb (Jan 5, 2008)

If any very little but not sure what to do. I have been reading and trying to learn what I can on trapping one but still not sure how to do it.


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## patrick grumley (Mar 9, 2007)

Yes that is a beaver hut and I don't believe that you'll see any tracks around, seeing that everything is froze up. There are two ways you can go about setting this location. The easiest is to find the den entrance and drop in a 330 body grip, the second and better option is to place a snare pole out by the feed pile. You're less likely to spook the beavers and multiple catches are not uncommon.


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## patrick grumley (Mar 9, 2007)

I should also warn you to be very careful around a beaver hut. Because of their activities around the hut under the ice, the ice is most times much thinner than the rest of the lake or river. I've always used an ice spud to check thickness of the ice as I made my way around the hut. Its also a sure fire way of finding the hut entrance.


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## neb (Jan 5, 2008)

Will the hut entrance be on land or on the ice. Will they ever come out of the hut to land or will they stay in there all winter.


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## patrick grumley (Mar 9, 2007)

The hut entrance will be under the ice, usually it's on the side of the hut. Looking at your pic, it appears to be on the right side. The small tree limbs sticking out of the ice in front of hut is their feed pile, most times the hut entrance is under it or just off to one side of it. They don't like to go to far from hut if they don't have to once their frozen in. For the most part they won't be out from under the ice until iceout, except huts and bank dens.


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## patrick grumley (Mar 9, 2007)

Neb, after thinking about your questions to my replies it sounds as though your looking to trap these beavers on land or frozen water. This isn't going to happen, your going to need to chop through the ice to get to these beavers. You could wait until iceout and trap them then though.


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## ND trapper (Nov 14, 2006)

Gotta agree with Patrick on the snare poles and yeah, be dang careful around those huts. Breaking through is no fun. Been there, done that.


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## maanjus11 (Nov 17, 2006)

I always like to wear snow shoes when I approach the hut. I don't know how much they help, but I've never fallen through.


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## adokken (Jan 28, 2003)

Be careful wearing snowshoes around a beaver lodge. If you fall through and the shoes tangle on brush you could be done for,happened to me maybe fifty years ago,still get the chills thinking about it. I was able to get the shoes off and get out, wait until ice out and enjoy trapping them.


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## maanjus11 (Nov 17, 2006)

Wow, I never thought of that...you could really be in trouble if you did fall through with snowshoes! I agree about waiting for the ice to come off. I haven't trapped in the winter for a few years, but won't miss spring trapping for anything. You can really stack 'em in the spring.


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## Snowshark (Jan 31, 2007)

I started to go through wearing snowshoes once. Scary, I was able to run with the snowshoes getting about 5" down in the water before my next step. I had to cover about 10 yards like that. My entire back was wet, but if I had gone down, I would probably have died. It was about 10' of water and it would have been hours before anyone misssed me. 
BE VERY CAREFUL AROUND BEAVER PONDS!

Patricks adive sounds good. The only thing I would add is that you could also try baited conibears around the food pile.


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