Beavers! what to do?

[rebuilder]

I'm calling the NYSDEC tomorrow morning to ask for a permit to rid myself of some bucktoothed guests. I don't anticipate any problems with the permit as I've done this before and they were very easy to deal with, so long as a roadway is involved. Since I can no longer find the culvert in my farm lane (underwater) I guess that qualifies, as it did a few years ago.

Did I mention I've done this before? So... the question is does anyone have any experience with removing our little paddle-tailed friends? I got several of them the last time, but they only came right back. The main lodges are in a half acre pond and I really don't mind them there but they're getting greedy with my land.

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

Out west where there are coyotes and some wolves that have been reintroduced, the livestock owners call it the "3 S's". Shootit , shovelit, and shut-up about it. We got rid of a few beavers back here that way.

 

[Scrounger]

Trap them in a box cage and deliver them to a 'friends' property or onto some county property. Our local paper just showed picture of a beaver dam tat was 150' long and 50' wide at one point. Some freak North American record.

 

[DrainPondDesign]

NYS DEC has some suggestions on building extended culverts that do not attract beavers with the sound of running & are harder for them to plug.

 

[KubotaSteve]

I saw a show on Discovery (I think) and they would put down heavy fence around the culvert in a certain way and the beavers would not bother it. The fence was on bottom and sides. It was pretty need how it worked, but I didn't know enough about beavers to understand the strategy behind it.

 

[gordon21]

What to do with beavers?

Beaver jerky
Beaver steaks
Roast beaver
Beaver sausage
Beaver fur lined seat covers

 

[MarkV]

I’ve had some problems with beaver and they are hard to get rid of. The two methods used in my area are trapping or shooting. There are guys in this area that will trap for the pelts, you might check in your area. Shooting is an option but being primarily nocturnal it is often hard to find them when it is practical to shoot.

MarkV

 

[rebuilder]

I saw that on Discovery as well and I think the idea is to make something oblique to the entrance of the culvert. Apparently beavers like to deal with right angles...

Last go 'round I shot a bunch of 'em (with permit, of course) and found they were quite active just before sunset. It was actually kinda nice sitting on top of the lodge watching for beavers and catching the sunset on the way back up to the house.

Ya know, them critters is REAL quiet. Funny how they suddenly appeared gliding along in the water.

DEC also sent a guy over who was a trapper and he set his traps, but pulled 'em a few days later and I never saw him again. Of course, he did say the pelts weren't worth much any more, thanks to PETA, so he only went where it was easy picking. My pond wasn't easy enough to get to, I guess. Need to build a bridge, huh?

We've got coyote around here too, but they have a hard time catching ol' paddletail.

 

[mscheer772]

Try this, in the morning open up a portion of his/her dam. Come make at dusk with a 12 gauge loaded with Turkey shot.He/she will come back to repair the dam. Shoot said varmin.

I have a beaver dam in Northern Wisconsin that spans 600-700 feet.
This past summer Northern Wisconsin had the driest, or one of the driest seasons on record. The beaver created or recreated a 75 plus acre waterfowl paradise. The duck hunting last fall was phenomenal.

I beleive the price of beaver pelts are up substantially over previous years.

Good luck with your beaver problem.

Gotta go help a friend with a goose problem. I recommend goose loads for this problem.Later.

-Mike-

 

[WayneB]

I saw a show on Discovery (I think) and they would put down heavy fence around the culvert in a certain way and the beavers would not bother it. The fence was on bottom and sides. It was pretty need how it worked, but I didn't know enough about beavers to understand the strategy behind it.

I have had that same problem with the pond below my house. We tramped them a couple of times, but within a few months they would be back and before we knew it the water was up over the road.

A few years ago the town finally decided to fix the problem and dug out the entire area and put in a new culvert and the constructed a V-shaped steel grid fence that was about two feet wider than the culvert on each side and perturbed out about three feet with the point of the V facing toward the pond. At the time I thought, "Wow here we go spending more money". Well it is going on three years and on sign of beavers.

Wayne