Beaver Removal
Beavers are probably the most destructive creatures, in terms of altering their environment, that you will find in the animal kingdom. They like to build dams and, incidentally, when they build these dams they cause water to be backed up which creates ponds and floods. The reason they could cause a lot of damage is because if a house is close to where the beaver dam is located there is a possibility that the home will be flooded. Floods can cause water damage, rot and worst of all, they can cause mold. Mold is a very serious health risk to humans. Rot can also cause a risk of someone’s home collapsing on them by their foundation caving in. Beavers can also cause problems by cutting down trees. If you are looking for beaver removal methods, there are a few different things you can try.
Some people have gone to the extent of breaking up the dams that beavers have created in an effort for beaver removal. This may sound like a very good idea but before doing it there are a few important things to take into consideration. After damaging a beavers damn the beavers will just turn around and build the dams back up again. By doing this, you could also be breaking laws because you may cause large volumes of water to seep out onto your neighbor’s property and destroy their home or land. You need an effective beaver removal method and to find one, you may want to consider hiring a professional to be able to do this for you safely and effectively. By hiring a professional for your beaver removal needs, you are ensuring that all applicable regulations and laws are not being broken.
There are ways that you can prevent beavers from building dams and therefore you would not even have to consider using a beaver removal method. You could wrap chicken wire around the bottoms of trees. This will eliminate the beaver chewing on them and if a beaver does not have a source of food or building material they are soon going to leave your property. Before trying this method you will want to remember that it is going to take quite a while as it is a big job. Even if there are just a few trees it will be a time consuming task. You will also want to be sure that you do not connect the chicken directly to the trees and instead find a way to just wrap the chicken wire around the tree. By connecting the wire directly to the tree trunk you are just creating openings that could attract bugs and diseases to your trees. You will also want to ensure that you check up on all of the trees you wrap with chicken wire every few months to see if the chicken wire needs to be expanded. If the chicken wire is not made larger the tree will continue to grow and the wire will become embedded into the tree. This is not good and is just opening the doors for more issues with your trees than just beavers. You will need to wrap all of the trees in the area and not just a few trees because only doing half a job is not going to help prevent beavers from moving in at all. These methods will help you in not having to worry about beaver removal methods at all.
The other method that you can try so you don’t have to worry about beaver removal, is to just learn to live with them. This method would work as long as nothing major was going to get destroyed by the beaver dam. Beavers are relatively easy to live with as they are not very noisy animals and do not interact with humans much. They are also very interesting animals to sit around and watch them do their business as they are quite interesting animals. By learning to live with them you would not have to consider a beaver removal method.
Also visit my How To Get Rid Of Beavers yourself page for more information about beaver removal methods.
Beaver Prevention - Preventative methods for how to keep beaver away from your property.
What Kind of Damage Can Beavers Cause?
About Beaver: Appearance, Biology, Life Cycle, Habitat, Diet, Behavior
Humane Ways to Get Rid of Beavers
Beaver Information
Biology
Beavers are large semi-aquatic rodents who are active during the night and prefer to sleep during the day time. Deemed second largest rodents in the world, they specialize in the art of making homes and canals in waterways. They live in colonies and surround the area with dams they build in rivers and streams where there is a constant flow of water. This water keeps the predators away and the food and other building materials floating in it are utilized by Beavers. They have really powerful front teeth which are used to cut the trees for their food and other building material. For making the dams, the beavers first install the vertical poles and then connect them by using a number of crisscross branches. They use mud and weeds to fill in any vacant spaces in their homes. Beavers are slow on the land but are excellent swimmers and, if frightened, they immediately dive into the water and stay within for long periods of time until they feel that the danger or threat has left. They can stay submerged for about 15 minutes before coming to surface for air. Their flat, paddle-like tails are used to scare away predators, as well as sending an alarm signal to other beavers to warn them of danger in the area, by slapping their tails against the water. Their webbed hind feet and broad tail aids a lot in swimming. They have a good sense of hearing, touch and smell but have poor eyesight. Amazingly, their teeth continue to grow their entire life. The length, however, stays the same because they are grinded regularly while cutting trees. An adult Beaver can weigh up to 25kgs.
Habitat
The homes built by beavers have been a topic of study for many years and has attracted the attention of many. The beaver home is made in the middle of the dam they create; although the dam is surrounded by water, their home inside is mostly free of water. The entry of the home is from the bottom side which is submerged under the water. The surface above the water is covered by mud which hardens after some time, making it very difficult for other animals to gain entrance. A lodge is approximately 6 meters in diameter. There can be two dens in the lodge of which the first is meant for drying before entering the second den which is used for the beavers’ living quarters. You may find about four adults and up to eight small beavers living in a single lodge.
Life Cycle
Beavers choose their partners once and stay together for life. However, in case one of them dies, the survivor will usually find another mate. Male and female beavers are equal partners in raising their offspring and work together to defend their home and territory. The mother takes care of the young ones for the first month while the father defends the territory. After the young beavers are ready to venture out of the lodge, they accompany their parents and help them in repairing their homes and learn the techniques they will need to build their own homes. The offspring of two years or more, apart from helping parents in collecting food and repairing dam and lodge, also aids in taking care of the younger offspring.
Diseases they carry
Beavers carry Tularemia and Giardiasis which can be transmitted to humans. Tularemia results in fever, muscle aches, headache, weakness, cough and Pneumonia while Giardiasis causes intestinal problems such as diarrhea. It is advisable to wear rubber gloves while working in an area close to the lodges of beavers. Also, untreated water should be avoided as beaver waste can contaminate the water causing illnesses and diseases.
Beaver Nuisances
Beavers cause a lot of damage to vegetation and agriculture as they destroy timber, ornamental plants and crops. Several cases of beavers destroying the buildings have also been reported. They also contaminate water sources which can cause diseases in humans. The dams built by them blocks the sewage systems as well. Another area of concern with beavers is in crops where they chop down fruit trees and on roads where fallen trees can cause roadblocks and traffic issues.
