How To Kill Beavers

The beaver is the largest rodent species to be found in North America, and it is commonly found in rural areas ranging from Mexico all the way up through the United States and Canada, where it will live in or around rivers, streams and lakes. There are a number of problems that beaver can cause however, as they will usually build a dam in the area where they are living, as their natural instinct to avoid predators is to dive below the surface, so having a deeper pool of water is a safety net for them. They will also drag and damage trees while they are in the area, so one of the ways in which some people will look to deal with these animals is by killing them.

Shooting

If you are living in a rural area and you have the appropriate permit and a suitable rifle, then one of the ways in which you can kill a beaver is to shoot it. In order to be able to do this, you will usually need to be quite patient, as beavers can be quite cautious creatures and will have built a lodge on the dam where they will remain hidden throughout the day. Beavers are generally nocturnal, as this gives them more cover, so you will need to set yourself up fairly close to the shore with your rifle, and use a night scope in order to ensure that you can secure a clean shot to kill the beaver.

Lethal Traps

For those who aren’t going to be able to use a rifle to kill the beaver that is causing problems in the area, then another approach is to use traps that are designed to kill the animal quickly and as painlessly as possible. There are two main types of trap you can use, and these are snares and body grip traps, with the body grip traps generally an easier type of trap to use if you don’t have experience when it comes to trapping animals. These should be located in and around the shore of the body of water where the beaver is active, and should be monitored regularly so that you can remove the carcass once it has been trapped.

Can You Poison A Beaver?

There are many approaches that people can use when it comes to dealing with a pest animal, and poison is one approach that is used for many different animal species. Poison is a particularly difficult option to use when dealing with beavers, as their diet is made up of bark and wood, so poison doesn’t usually come in a form that is likely to be consumed by the beaver. The other reasons to avoid this approach is that you will often kill other wild animals rather than the beaver you were hoping to kill, and even if you do get the beaver to consume the poison, you will have no control over where the beaver will die to be able to remove the carcass.

Alternative Methods Of Dealing With A Beaver Problem

When it comes to dealing with a beaver problem, it is worth noting that you do not necessarily have to use lethal methods to resolve the issue. There are several different live trapping options that you can use to catch the beaver, including cage traps and briefcase traps which can make it quite straightforward to transport the animal and relocate it well away from the area where it is causing the issue. If you are having repeated problems around culverts or a particularly narrow area of a stream or river, there are also fencing options that you can use to prevent beavers from building dams in these areas.