Well my phone rang yesterday afternoon.
“Iowa Wildlife Control, this is Mike” I said.
“Hi this is Sherri at ******* we have some problematic wildlife we need removed” the voice on the other end of the line said.
Turns out the townhouse complex has a very large beaver in its pond and they are losing willow trees at an alarming rate.
I went over and talked to the manager, got the contract signed then went to scout the pond and damage. Well I thought at least the beaver isn’t cutting down the ornamental trees along the road YET! I found the damage isolated to a grove of willows in the SE corner.
While I was inspecting the site and locating both the beavers preffered feeding ares and bank den, an elderly gentleman came out of his house. “Are you the man?” he asks me politely with a slight southern drawl. “Yes sir I am” I replied with a smile.
He’s a retired policeman who grew up in southern Arkansas, and had been trapping, hunting and fishing all his life. Sounded a good deal like myself I thought. Told me how when he was 8 years old he trapped because he wanted to buy himself a geetahhrr (guitar), and how the only one he had left was a 1950 Fender!
We talked about the big snapping turtles in the pond (maybe I’ll get another call in summer). He asked me if I ever eaten turtle, and I assured him I had. He then asked if I ever had bbq’ed raccoon, and I told him I hadn’t but had thoguht about it. He told me I was missing a treat, and he even made his own BBQ sauce. He said to skip eating oppossum as it wasn’t very good, but beat having no meat to eat. He even invited me in to have a test of his bbq sauce (darn good!).
I then went back home to get my beavering equipment, and come back to set up. I placed a castor mound at the destroyed willows. (When I walked down the bank I saw a big bow wave in the water so I think I disturbed the beaver.) I used a #3 victor coil, and some sac oil I had as I could not find and of my castor lure. Then I went over to the run leading to the den. As I went down the slope to the den, I went to lean on a big limb, and it snapped. I just caught myself before doing a header into the pond. I placed a 330 to guard the run, fenced it in and put my dive stick on it.
I feel confident I should have a beaver when I check it today or at least by the end of the weekend.