Repelling / Deterring Beavers

[ArlyA]

Seems like most of the time its a whole famiy or whatever you call it and they can rebuild a cut dam overnight. Ya, they are tenacious builders in the fall-winter.

 

[Goode62]

I have a 5acre pond on my place. It provides water for my cows and is a pretty good fishing hole for the grandkids. The last 5 years I have been battling beaver. The biggest problem is the destruction of the dam. They burrow into the dam to build their homes and cause major damage. Also cows have the potential to break a leg in the sinkholes in the dam. Conibear traps work great but so far I have not eliminated the beaver. I occasionally shoot one but can’t seem to get rid of them. I continue to fill sinkholes in the dam with my tractor fel.

 

[BryceSteiner]

As for letting the beavers do their thing, they will continue to dam up until everything is underwater. There are 8 dams on my property right now. You can break one and they'll have it repaired in a day. They have worked it back to the point that it's starting to flood by the neighbor's house now. You can't just let them continue or it will cause problems elsewhere.
The bad part about it is the water is shallow but the muck has so much methane in it that even if it drys out it's too soft to walk on. Probably could sink a natural gas well.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I came across an interesting article online a few years back. It was titled "Beaver vs DCNR". I'll post the link if I can find it.

It basically was a story about a Pennsylvania landowner who applied for a permit to build a pond but it was denied by the DCNR due to wetland issues. The enterprising fellow trapped a few beaver on a friends property and relocated them to his wetland. The Beaver apparently liked the new location and proceeded to build a dam. The landowner now has a nice pond which the DCNR can't regulate.

The beaver eventually moved on but the landowner improved and continues to maintain the dam. Who knows how long it will remain but the guy is enjoying it while it lasts.

 

[charlessenf]

" a beaver family did enormous damage to our cottonwood trees a few years back "

Well KEVIN, I'm not at all sure you are OFF TOPIC in a forum called RURAL LIVING.

However, I'm amazed you don't see the irony in your posting here. We have critter that like chickens as much as we do and those that like a fresh egg or two before slithering off to digest the meal. Out chickens have to share their feed with non-domesticated creatures, too.

I can't complain and, of course, "our" chickens don't either. I moved here from a City where sirens and traffic and boom boxes resonated in teh congested streets and one seldom saw teh real night sky until the Hurricane took out the power plant.

I've a couple of year round springs that feed a man made pond that had diminished in depth almost every year (crawfish? tree roots? Not sure what caused the leak) and will provide out address if you will ship them beavers to North Carolina where the will find one content with the Rural Living and all the accouterments thereof'

I was especially taken by your line, paraphrased in quotes, above. You are living on lands taken from native peoples by trick, deceit and or force of arms and complain that creatures put there centuries before you might enjoy so much as a possibility of habitation there are naturally cutting down the same cottonwood tree (as your species calls them) they've been using some creatively for centuries as "your cottonwood trees!"

Why not seek to understand your neighbors and see how you can move into their neighborhood without drastically upsetting their lives - or trapping and killing them off. Seek to understand and work with nature. You may discover that those beavers will create special places you and yours can learn to appreciate and marvel at - and even profit from. They are interested in conserving water. There's folks in Arizona who would tell you 'That's a good thing."

Look it up. It couldn't hurt!

Ranchers and farmers benefit as water stored in beaver-created wetlands and behind beaver ponds provides valuable water during droughts. Cities and towns benefits with improved water quality and more dependable flows.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF BEAVER-CREATED AND ...​

People also ask
How do beavers help farmers?
What are 3 benefits of a pond made by beavers?
What benefits do beavers provide?
Why are ponds important to beavers?

 

[charlessenf]

They have worked it back to the point that it's starting to flood by the neighbor's house now. You can't just let them continue or it will cause problems.

Could it be that the beavers were there long before your neighbor built his house on the flood plain?

What sort of BUILDING CODES are there where such a thing would be approved by Building and Zoning?

You wanted RURAL LVING you got it. Accept it, work with it and enjoy.

 

[charlessenf]

"testes et eidem sequetur animum"

Aside from the spelling (sequitur) error?, what do you think that means?

 

[Rockbadchild]

Well KEVIN, I'm not at all sure you are OFF TOPIC in a forum called RURAL LIVING.

However, I'm amazed you don't see the irony in your posting here. We have critter that like chickens as much as we do and those that like a fresh egg or two before slithering off to digest the meal. Out chickens have to share their feed with non-domesticated creatures, too.

I can't complain and, of course, "our" chickens don't either. I moved here from a City where sirens and traffic and boom boxes resonated in teh congested streets and one seldom saw teh real night sky until the Hurricane took out the power plant.

I've a couple of year round springs that feed a man made pond that had diminished in depth almost every year (crawfish? tree roots? Not sure what caused the leak) and will provide out address if you will ship them beavers to North Carolina where the will find one content with the Rural Living and all the accouterments thereof'

I was especially taken by your line, paraphrased in quotes, above. You are living on lands taken from native peoples by trick, deceit and or force of arms and complain that creatures put there centuries before you might enjoy so much as a possibility of habitation there are naturally cutting down the same cottonwood tree (as your species calls them) they've been using some creatively for centuries as "your cottonwood trees!"

Why not seek to understand your neighbors and see how you can move into their neighborhood without drastically upsetting their lives - or trapping and killing them off. Seek to understand and work with nature. You may discover that those beavers will create special places you and yours can learn to appreciate and marvel at - and even profit from. They are interested in conserving water. There's folks in Arizona who would tell you 'That's a good thing."

Look it up. It couldn't hurt!

Ranchers and farmers benefit as water stored in beaver-created wetlands and behind beaver ponds provides valuable water during droughts. Cities and towns benefits with improved water quality and more dependable flows.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF BEAVER-CREATED AND ...​

People also ask
How do beavers help farmers?
What are 3 benefits of a pond made by beavers?
What benefits do beavers provide?
Why are ponds important to beaver

Why are you so provocative? this simply induce argument that will lead nowhere you won't convince anyone here by applying generation guilt and hypocrisy, this is not facebook. The Ops problem could be another person blessing but that not how things work ... it's like saying to someone who's house is flooded he is lucky since some people in Africa or Arizona have to travel miles to get water.

 

[BryceSteiner]

Could it be that the beavers were there long before your neighbor built his house on the flood plain?

What sort of BUILDING CODES are there where such a thing would be approved by Building and Zoning?

You wanted RURAL LVING you got it. Accept it, work with it and enjoy.

Sorry, but no. The beavers were introduced. There was even a house in this valley that is now underwater.
Your first and last statements seem to contradict. You say beavers were there first and should have free reign then your last statement says accept it and work with it.

That is exactly what this thread is about - working with it. We all who have commented have said how we are working with it because they can be a nuisance.

What really is your point?

 

[charlessenf]

I learned a lot about beaver control methods in the posts here. There is only one flat area on our place suitable for a pond, and they always try a dam there. Lumber roads and walking trails cross that little valley, so we need to ... kill three or more beavers every year.

Hmmm, talk about 'tough and single minded!'

BG