Anonymous Poster
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Del, In reference to your mole problem I read in a magazine where a fella would pour urine down mole holes to rid his property of them.
Beavers
- Thread starter PBMAX
- Start date
- Views: 3388
jimmoore
Platinum Member
I can just see this picture in my mind> A beautiful lawn, a house in the background, the sun just coming over the horizon and Del PEEING IN A MOLE HOLE. JIM
JohnS
Platinum Member
Just wodering if you ever found a "magic" solution? Since, I now have a similar problem /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif.
I first saw signs of beavers, what was left of the small trees anyway, this spring. It took awhile but found that they had dammed a small feeder creek, to the main creek. The small feeder creek is on my neighbors property, and was not causing any problems.
During the low creek flow, this summer, the beavers took to damming the main creek. Not a problem at first, since it was still contained to the creek bed. Well, now they are causing the water to go over the banks, and a portion of my tractor access trails are submerged. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Even this wouldn't be too bad, if the new beaver pond had any chance of surviving the spring runoff. The dam will either washout, or be filled in with allot of gravel, and the creek will find a new route.
My son and I spent a couple hours dismantling part of the dam (built much better than you would think). It lowered the level a foot or two, but within 2 days that had it repaired and water level back. They are very industrious!
I can get a nuccence permit that allows for trapping or shooting them for a year. If this was neccesary, I hope to find someone that would do it for the exchange of the pelts. I really don't want to get into live trapping, ie handling beavers and transporting them (rabies), etc.
Current plan, is to do nothing and wait to see how it makes it through spring, but figure there will be a mess, and will require a dozer to make new access trails.
I first saw signs of beavers, what was left of the small trees anyway, this spring. It took awhile but found that they had dammed a small feeder creek, to the main creek. The small feeder creek is on my neighbors property, and was not causing any problems.
During the low creek flow, this summer, the beavers took to damming the main creek. Not a problem at first, since it was still contained to the creek bed. Well, now they are causing the water to go over the banks, and a portion of my tractor access trails are submerged. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Even this wouldn't be too bad, if the new beaver pond had any chance of surviving the spring runoff. The dam will either washout, or be filled in with allot of gravel, and the creek will find a new route.
My son and I spent a couple hours dismantling part of the dam (built much better than you would think). It lowered the level a foot or two, but within 2 days that had it repaired and water level back. They are very industrious!
I can get a nuccence permit that allows for trapping or shooting them for a year. If this was neccesary, I hope to find someone that would do it for the exchange of the pelts. I really don't want to get into live trapping, ie handling beavers and transporting them (rabies), etc.
Current plan, is to do nothing and wait to see how it makes it through spring, but figure there will be a mess, and will require a dozer to make new access trails.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
JohnS,
Whew, Beavers. I don't like beavers. The first rural land
I owned had a beaver problem that the home owner
associations agreed to remove before I bought my land. It
turned into a big battle between the beaver lovers, aka, the
people whose land was not impacted by the beavers vs those
of us who where impacted. Very ugly. Sold the lot and
moved on after a few years. The lot was to small... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Yes, the dams are impressive. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Very Impressive. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
You might get someone to trap the beavers for free or you
can do it. I "followed" the beavers and they are active about
an hour or so around dusk and dawn. They are also up for a
few hours at night as well. This is a good time of the year
to shoot them at night with the full moon if it is safe to shoot
them.
They flooded a good 30-50% of my lot and killed hundreds of
trees with the water. They killed many more by girding them
for food. I ended up wrapping chicken wire around the big
trees for protection and that seemed to work.
The only real solution that I dug up was a series of pipes
pushed through the beaver dam. I think Clemson or Auburn
had a website on how to do this. Basically it was a long
section of PVC pipe pushed through the dam. The upstream
part of the pipe had many holes drilled into the PVC. An 90
degree elbow was put on the below dam end of the pipe and
another pipe was run vertically. The vertical pipe was used
to control the level of the pond. I supposed you sould do
away with the vertical pipe to just drain the pond.
This did work for my problem. The beavers think the dam has
a leak when it does not. They know how to handle a leak at
the dam face but they never figure out that the leak is
really behind the dam 10 or so feet. The pond drains and they
leave. The nice thing about this solution is that it prevents
other beavers from moving into the the pond. If you remove
the origional beavers others are sure to move in behind them.
Hope this helps,
Dan McCarty
Whew, Beavers. I don't like beavers. The first rural land
I owned had a beaver problem that the home owner
associations agreed to remove before I bought my land. It
turned into a big battle between the beaver lovers, aka, the
people whose land was not impacted by the beavers vs those
of us who where impacted. Very ugly. Sold the lot and
moved on after a few years. The lot was to small... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Yes, the dams are impressive. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Very Impressive. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
You might get someone to trap the beavers for free or you
can do it. I "followed" the beavers and they are active about
an hour or so around dusk and dawn. They are also up for a
few hours at night as well. This is a good time of the year
to shoot them at night with the full moon if it is safe to shoot
them.
They flooded a good 30-50% of my lot and killed hundreds of
trees with the water. They killed many more by girding them
for food. I ended up wrapping chicken wire around the big
trees for protection and that seemed to work.
The only real solution that I dug up was a series of pipes
pushed through the beaver dam. I think Clemson or Auburn
had a website on how to do this. Basically it was a long
section of PVC pipe pushed through the dam. The upstream
part of the pipe had many holes drilled into the PVC. An 90
degree elbow was put on the below dam end of the pipe and
another pipe was run vertically. The vertical pipe was used
to control the level of the pond. I supposed you sould do
away with the vertical pipe to just drain the pond.
This did work for my problem. The beavers think the dam has
a leak when it does not. They know how to handle a leak at
the dam face but they never figure out that the leak is
really behind the dam 10 or so feet. The pond drains and they
leave. The nice thing about this solution is that it prevents
other beavers from moving into the the pond. If you remove
the origional beavers others are sure to move in behind them.
Hope this helps,
Dan McCarty
JohnS
Platinum Member
The area I am having problems with, is low lying land, that doesn't have many trees of value. Most is thick brush, 1-3" diameter. Too big for my KK rotary cutter, but prime beaver building material. I like the drain pipe idea, but with current creek flow, would need a 24" diameter or larger, just to keep up /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif. Four to six 4" PVC might work, in the mid-summer months. The spot they have choosen, is also beyond tractor/backhoe reach. Maybe a few sticks of TNT /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.
Talking to one of my neighbors, he indicated about 15-20 years ago, they (DEC?) trapped 30+ beavers out of there. WOW! I've been there 10 years, and this year was the first I saw any signs of them.
Talking to one of my neighbors, he indicated about 15-20 years ago, they (DEC?) trapped 30+ beavers out of there. WOW! I've been there 10 years, and this year was the first I saw any signs of them.
riptides
Super Star Member
Ok,
My beaver story. I'll come out and tell you the true cost.
Go see this link.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=safety&Number=137590&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post137590/>Roll Over</A>
I was collecting those logs because of Beavers.
I tried soap in the water...
I tried pokin holes in dams...
I tried .357, .30 and ahhh..... rounds....
We used chain link to help save selected trees....
then we got Beaver traps. Real ones. Not have-a-heart either.
ConiBear maybe the name? Anyway, the Beavers are still around. One is a permanent addition to the study. He weighed in at 45 pounds.
Only cost me about 350.00 dollars for the taxidermist and about untold sums of money for the new
plastic eye.
/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif
Oh, the dam..... still there, more of them, but the one that stretches across my property, about 300 feet long, 4 feet wide. Deer use it to move across the pond! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
-Mike Z.
My beaver story. I'll come out and tell you the true cost.
Go see this link.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=safety&Number=137590&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post137590/>Roll Over</A>
I was collecting those logs because of Beavers.
I tried soap in the water...
I tried pokin holes in dams...
I tried .357, .30 and ahhh..... rounds....
We used chain link to help save selected trees....
then we got Beaver traps. Real ones. Not have-a-heart either.
ConiBear maybe the name? Anyway, the Beavers are still around. One is a permanent addition to the study. He weighed in at 45 pounds.
Only cost me about 350.00 dollars for the taxidermist and about untold sums of money for the new
plastic eye.
/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif
Oh, the dam..... still there, more of them, but the one that stretches across my property, about 300 feet long, 4 feet wide. Deer use it to move across the pond! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
-Mike Z.
JohnS
Platinum Member
"Oh, the dam..... still there, more of them, but the one that stretches across my property,
about 300 feet long, 4 feet wide."
WOW!!!, 300' !!!! Can't say I've ever seen a beaver dam that large. Most I've seen would be less than 50'. From my experience, they seem to pick areas that are ideal to make as short of dam as possible. Most I've seen are no more than 4' high. Has anyone seen taller ones?
about 300 feet long, 4 feet wide."
WOW!!!, 300' !!!! Can't say I've ever seen a beaver dam that large. Most I've seen would be less than 50'. From my experience, they seem to pick areas that are ideal to make as short of dam as possible. Most I've seen are no more than 4' high. Has anyone seen taller ones?
looch
Veteran Member
There's 2 I know of that are over my head - I'm 5'10". There's something bizarre about walking up to a lake with the water at eye level.
Trev
Platinum Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2002
- Messages
- 918
- Location
- Williamson, NY (near Rochester)
- Tractor
- Currently tractor-less
<font color=blue>Speaking of moles, I hate killing them too, but they find the island of topsoil I made to have a lawn an ideal place. I like to least keep the area around the house intact. Are there any old "wives" tales (or farmer's knowledge) that works to deter them.</font color=blue>
I think the conventional wisdom about moles is that they only show up when there are grubs for them to eat.. so, get rid of the grubs and voila.
We are experimenting with ways to do this on our own propery. The grubs also turn into beetles of some kind that eat our veggie garden, so they are a double whammy. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Most of the really good grub killer that isn't toxic to other critters is very expensive ... stuff like "Milky Spores" ... but is supposed to last almost forever. We used that in the garden itself, and tried a cheaper brand for the rest of the yard (spread with a 3pt hitch spreader.)
I'll let you know next year if this method works! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Good luck,
Bob
p.s. No idea what you "mystery animal" is. If you ever find out, please let us know!
I think the conventional wisdom about moles is that they only show up when there are grubs for them to eat.. so, get rid of the grubs and voila.
We are experimenting with ways to do this on our own propery. The grubs also turn into beetles of some kind that eat our veggie garden, so they are a double whammy. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Most of the really good grub killer that isn't toxic to other critters is very expensive ... stuff like "Milky Spores" ... but is supposed to last almost forever. We used that in the garden itself, and tried a cheaper brand for the rest of the yard (spread with a 3pt hitch spreader.)
I'll let you know next year if this method works! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Good luck,
Bob
p.s. No idea what you "mystery animal" is. If you ever find out, please let us know!
Argee
Silver Member
<font color=blue>Most I've seen are no more than 4' high. Has anyone seen taller ones?</font color=blue>
I've got one on the back end of my property that runs a good 300 to 400 feet and in places is over 6' tall.
I've got one on the back end of my property that runs a good 300 to 400 feet and in places is over 6' tall.
JohnS
Platinum Member
WOW, just curious, how big of pond (acres) did they make? I hope the ones that have started on my property, don't become as industrious as yours! While I do want some ponds on the property, not the type or location I would have prefered.
MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 66,209
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
Moles primary food is earthworms. Grubs are apparently tasty, too. Check this guy out. He is the "authority" on mole removal. Best site I ever found dealing with moles. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.themoleman.com/>http://www.themoleman.com/</A>
I followed his advice and killed 29 moles two years ago, 50+ last year and around 20 this year. We had a drought and the moles went deep. Now that it is moist again, they are back.
As for beavers, the Army Corp of Engineers removed some beaver dams from a local state park many years ago. They used bangalore torpedos. Apparently, all of them did not go off and one was discovered by some hikers about 15 years later, while crossing a beaver dam. They looked it over, saw that it said torpedo on the side and did the prudent thing........
They hauled it out of there, carried it to their car, put it in the trunk and drove it to the police station/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif Fortunately it didnt' go off. The police went back and found one more still in the beaver dam.
I followed his advice and killed 29 moles two years ago, 50+ last year and around 20 this year. We had a drought and the moles went deep. Now that it is moist again, they are back.
As for beavers, the Army Corp of Engineers removed some beaver dams from a local state park many years ago. They used bangalore torpedos. Apparently, all of them did not go off and one was discovered by some hikers about 15 years later, while crossing a beaver dam. They looked it over, saw that it said torpedo on the side and did the prudent thing........
They hauled it out of there, carried it to their car, put it in the trunk and drove it to the police station/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif Fortunately it didnt' go off. The police went back and found one more still in the beaver dam.
riptides
Super Star Member
You mean they didn't shoot at it first? Or try and light it on fire?
<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>
They hauled it out of there, carried it to their car, put it in the trunk and drove it to the police station Fortunately it didnt' go off. The police went back and found one more still in the beaver dam.
<hr></blockquote>
HAHAHAH. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
-Mike Z.
I should get a picture this w/e of our little pond.
<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>
They hauled it out of there, carried it to their car, put it in the trunk and drove it to the police station Fortunately it didnt' go off. The police went back and found one more still in the beaver dam.
<hr></blockquote>
HAHAHAH. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
-Mike Z.
I should get a picture this w/e of our little pond.
rps
Member
Here is a link that might be helpful. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://deal.unl.edu/icwdm/handbook/handbook/rodents/ro_b1.pdf>Beaver damage management</A>
This is a chapter from the authority on wldlife damage management. No B.S. here.
I hope this is helpful.
Robert
This is a chapter from the authority on wldlife damage management. No B.S. here.
I hope this is helpful.
Robert
Anonymous Poster
Epic Contributor
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As a innocent teen in the late 70's, I didn't really understand the slogan "Save a tree, eat a Beaver"
cchoate
Gold Member
I've been at war with beaver for 2 years now. In short- they dam up a crick on my property and it floods over most of my land and driveway. Whenever I'd tear a hole in the monster dam it was good as new the next mourning.
I proved them to be a nusince and got a special permit from the conservation dept to trap them.
I'd line the crick with steel stakes except for 1 hole they could swim through. In that hole I'd have the largest coniber trap I could buy and anchor it well. In 2 years, I've trapped 5, one of which weighed 55lbs. They only show up in the spring and after I've trapped a few, no more show up the rest of the year.
I proved them to be a nusince and got a special permit from the conservation dept to trap them.
I'd line the crick with steel stakes except for 1 hole they could swim through. In that hole I'd have the largest coniber trap I could buy and anchor it well. In 2 years, I've trapped 5, one of which weighed 55lbs. They only show up in the spring and after I've trapped a few, no more show up the rest of the year.
Argee
Silver Member
The pond is about two acres. It's in a good location for me (at the back corner of the property). I had them trapped for a couple of years just to slow them down. Now there is a couple still there for maintenance. We had a windstorm a couple of years ago that blew down a lot of poplar trees (their primary food supply) that were near the pond. So I had the area logged out so the oaks and maples could get a foothold. Sold the timber and still have the pond and a terrific hunting spot. I'd say I got the best of both worlds. Now they're going after my neighbors poplars on the other side of the pond./w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif
riptides
Super Star Member
I find the neighboors usually complain about my methods of
removal, until, the beavers show up on their lots. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
-Mike Z.
removal, until, the beavers show up on their lots. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
-Mike Z.
JohnS
Platinum Member
I have till next spring to decide if I will fight them or adapt to them. Given some of the posts, I am leaning toward adapting. Their current location will require me to make some new tractor trails, but that will probably be just a weekend rental of a 6' dozer. The kids have lost their swimming hole, but that should only be building a digger dam further upstream. The area has always been on the swampy side, and the current trails provided access to cut dead trees down, clear brush, and provide a nice circular property walking path. I don't believe they will move further upstream. Their source of food and building supplies disappear as it turns to open fields bordering the stream. If they did move up, I would be forced to take action. At this point, not sure I am willing to get into a long term conflict/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif or an all out war!
On the plus side, I have already seen additional wildlife due to or inpart to the dam construction. A heron and a couple of species of ducks, have been spoted numerous times. Deer and fox have been seen more regular in the nearby field, ie pushed upstream for easier stream crossing. Also thought I saw a river otter, or at least a similar type animal, dart infront of the tractor, and quickly disappear in the brush. It will also make it harder for tresspassers to cross onto my property, without being noticed. That is, unless they brought some waders with them/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.
On the plus side, I have already seen additional wildlife due to or inpart to the dam construction. A heron and a couple of species of ducks, have been spoted numerous times. Deer and fox have been seen more regular in the nearby field, ie pushed upstream for easier stream crossing. Also thought I saw a river otter, or at least a similar type animal, dart infront of the tractor, and quickly disappear in the brush. It will also make it harder for tresspassers to cross onto my property, without being noticed. That is, unless they brought some waders with them/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.
