Beavers

[PBMAX]

Woodchucks sound like real nusance...But can any one suggest how to get ridd of beaver...I realy wouldn't mind them if it wasn't for the sharp pointy stakes...They live in a man made pond so no damn to dill with...I also have found no hutch...Suppose they could be under ground..I've walked the stream that runs down from the pond above and have't seen any visable sign other than stakes...Not supprising since I'm no hunter and they mostly stay in the water going to and from I would think...I could sit out I geuss and shoot them or trapp them ...Was just wandering what ya'll have had the best luck with...They are open season here yr round but no nightg hunting of course...I would be just as happy to run em off...or detur them from leaving those stakes...Rapping the trees would be a pain "TO MANY TO WRAP"...I'm in no real hurry...Guess I I could wrap the ones I want to keep and just clean up behind them...

Lil' Paul

Laziness is the Father of invention.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Rowski]

If you break the dam slightly (or cause the water to flow out of their pond) and sit around for about 1/2 hr near dusk you will see them. As for getting rid of them we have tried many things killing them, or moving them but they always ways come back. Nice to watch them but very dirty animals. If you find a way that works and keeps them from coming back let me know. Best of luck.

 

[PBMAX]

I share the pond with other property i doubt the neighbors would appriciat me foolin with the damn...One fella did tell me to try putting out a heavy dose of lime on there favorite paths in and out of of the water between rains...The theory is the lime should burn there feet...Discouraging them from comming ashore....Doubt it would work for long..........

Lil' Paul

Laziness is the Father of invention.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by PBurns on 7/21/00 11:11 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[Rowski]

When you open the dam you just open it slightly, 2 or 3 shovel full. The beaver will have it patched by morning. My father and I opened a dam one night for about 1 hr solid with shovels and pick axe. was a pretty big hole. The pond drained about half way. The next night it was fixed! Busy like a beaver!

 

[PBMAX]

Rowski,I would need something a bit larger than a shovel..As I mentioned it is a man made pond and the dirt that is there is a couple of feet higher than the water and been there about fifteen yrs.It's hard as concrete and the center of the damn were the spill way is,is concrete...I guess I'll just have to sit out like you say and be patient but not till this fall when it's cooler...

Lil' Paul

Laziness is the Father of invention.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

1. Cut of the big "sharp" trees with a chainsaw
2. Mow over the little ones with a bush hog.
3. Get rid of your rubber tire tractor, get a track machine, you'll no longer have to care about "sharp" things.

IMHO Learn to enjoy them, live with nature it's less stressful than anything else we do.

I'd love to have those guys here, they'd save me swinging the chainsaw on the alder and cottonwood and willow that come up like grass everywhere they shouldn't

PS to you wildlife enthusiasts...I have beavers on my property that do no go near water, don't cut trees, sure aren't interested in the pond I built.

What do I have?

(serious, not a porno joke!) Other Northwest people, no kibitzing!
del...

 

[PBMAX]

del,Yeah I've thought about just dealing with it and leaving them be...But they way they keep sharpining those stakes...I'm sure to find a couple the hard way...I don't even know how many there are...

Lil' Paul

Laziness is the Father of invention.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[jyoutz]

You have mountain beaver, and those are not really the same as the common beaver.

 

[Rowski]

I don't like to go out and just kill them. After all the animals have been around a lot longer than we have. The reason we have to get rid of them is because the keep messing up our water system. Our spring (100+ years old) is located near the beaver pond. The water pipe runs near the edge of the pond down to our 5K gallon resevoir. The beaver keep making thier pond bigger. One year they took out 2 50ft sections of our water line (pcv) and placed it nicely on their den (house or what ever it is called) /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif. Basically we could never get rid of them so had an excavator come in and bury the water line 6 to 8 ft and burm up another 3 to 5 ft. so far they haven't bothered it. They have ended up in out trout pond a few times but that is a no no.

It must be nice to have them around and not do any damage. They are pretty neat to watch and can build pretty good too.

 

[TomG]

I seem to recall a news story this year in Saskatchewan or Manitoba about beaver problems and what was being done. Don't know myself, but I think it's easier just to put up with them unless a roadway or cropland is being flooded. Maybe a web search would turn up some 'how to do' information.

Chances are that beaver aren't living in your pond if there aren't beaver sticks in the spillway each night. As far as I know a beaver pond always has a hutch, and it isn't hard to identify. Beaver stockpile sticks near the hutch, but the sticks are mostly below water. Part of the hutch is above water.

Could be that you've got young beaver just setting up residence. If so, you may be in for a bigger pond. I think the young are tolerated for several years at home and then forced to go out on their own. Sometimes they travel considerable distance over-land.

I think beaver will range quite a distance for food, but they are reluctant to go far over-land. Some colonies even have what amounts to a system of canals to get to different bodies of water/food. I guess, in theory, if beaver are getting to your pond through a canal that's incidental to area drainage, it might be possible to fill the canal over a long enough distance to deter them from using your pond. I don't know what that distance might be--probably miles. The question is: 'Where is the hutch?'

If you decide to trap, there was an article in the paper several weeks back. The article encouraged people to learn trapping basics. Somebody lost their dog to a poorly set beaver trap. Traps are set under water.