ONLINE EXTRA: Nuisance Wildlife Pest Case Study

The call came into our office from a homeowner that had some type of animal cutting down trees in his backyard. The homeowner also said he thought it was a beaver but he didn’t have any ponds or streams near his home. Upon arrival I was surprised to find a large dogwood tree that had obviously been cut down and de-limbed by a beaver. In the back yard I also observed a storm water culvert that was stuffed full of dogwood tree limbs. The homeowner had unsuccessfully set a cage trap baited with dog food that was not of sufficient size to capture a beaver.

Considering the potential options that were available to remove this animal I decided to set two snares. I used the cage trap that was present to “narrow down” the culvert opening where I set one snare and made another set where it appeared the beaver had been passing through a row of irises into the neighbors yard. Before dark that evening I received a call from the property owner and found a 45-pound beaver in the snare by the culvert.

LESSON: Keep in mind that a dozen beaver snares weigh about the same as one 330 conibear trap. Becoming proficient in the use of snares can sometimes save carrying a lot of extra equipment into a beaver swap.