Woke up to this little problem yesterday morning....

[Texas6]

Beavers chewed this tree in one night. Game on.

[jjackkrash]

Wow. Busy Beavers!

[Sethro]

Ugh, I feel your pain. I had an entire row of upright yews chewed down to nothing a couple of years ago. And a few other minor issues on other trees. This fall a beaver went through my yard, across the road, an into the cornfield to bring cornstalks back down to the river. My neighbor was able to destroy that one, however. I have a standing nuisance permit with the local DNR officer...I just need to let him know if I "get" one. They are elusive creatures, and I've wasted many hours sitting and waiting for the damn beavers to show up.

 

On a side note, my uprights yews are rejuvenated and look better than ever!

[Jody_Seal]

.22 mag !

[eleeski]

That looks a lot like the axe marks from the methheads chopping down my powerpole. Will the above responses work on copper stealing criminals? Furry rodents are a better problem to have...

 

Eric

[Than_Bogan]

@eleeski Not sure about the trap, but the .22 should work just about as well...

[Sethro]

I've got kids, and the neighbors have animals. Those traps are deadly...though I did set some right before the river froze one year. Literally froze two days after setting it so I didn't get one with the trap.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

We've had our beaver problems under control for a while but our hunting crew has gotten lazy. The little SOBs have recently taken to cutting the buoy lines all the way down at the anchor. I've lost half a dozen buoys since fall. I'm not looking forward to dropping new anchors in the spring. We have too many dogs running around to safely use traps. In the meantime there will be some late nights......

[klindy]

@eleeski unless you have some privately pulled power wires, the electrical wires on your power pole are aluminum anyway.

[ntx]

@Bruce_Butterfield not any fun. See the thread about gps location apps. Plus or minus 30 feet is close enough to find anchors. (sarcasm) how deep are the anchors.

[gregy]

Don't see to many beavers in Texas. I've seen a few canoeing on the Colorado River. One in a stock tank. They may be more common in east Texas?

[A_B]

If it wasn't for beavers, I wouldn't have skied in Galway, NY. They made a real nice ski lake for us!

[Hockdog]

And they taste like chicken........

[eleeski]

@klindy Old service lines were copper. These were old. And the methheads are stupid. They will do thousands of damage to get $12 worth of copper. At least beavers are directly eating what they damage. And they are cute. And they make great coats when you finally deal with the problem.

 

Eric

[LeonL]

I've had intermittent beaver problems over the years. Hunting them proves to be difficult as they are nocturnal. I paid a trapper and he was successful. If you have pets trapping is not an option. In my experience, if something "happens" to one of the clan they move on. I've found carcasses and have to assume the were killed by coyotes. You can hope for coyotes. If you're not talking about a lot of trees, try wrapping them with wire mesh up to about 3 feet. I was told you can tell the size of the beaver by where the cut is. They chew while stand on their hind legs. Chew is perhaps a misnomer. They take out big chips like an axe.

[trishel41]

I recommend enlisting the help of an experienced trapper. Beavers were clogging my outflow pipe. The trapper I called for help has removed four beaver in the last two days. Just make sure your dog owning neighbors are aware and keep their pets out of the water while the traps are in.

[BCM]

Years ago we used chicken wire wrapped around the trees (maybe 4 feet high). It worked very well. But, you need to do a little maintenance with the wire, make sure it isn't compromised and expand the wire as the tree grows. Don't let the tree grow around/into the wire, it can damage/weaken the tree and as someone who does lots of tree work, I am not happy when I cut into metal things inside trees.

 

Take a look at "Living with Beavers" from WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. They have some good information about beavers in general as well as mitigation measures.

[Texas6]

The late night beaver observatory. The AR was purely decorative for PETA activists.

 

 

 

[Edbrazil]

Every once in a while, you need a good old M-80.

 

[OldboyII]

Protection made of plastic half-pipes will save both tree and beaver.

[bigskieridaho]

I agree with @Texas6. Get the gun and be done with the beaver. Then make a cool hat.

[oldjeep]

I'd be more concerned with the giardia in a stagnant ski pond than the tree damage. Clean them out before someone gets beaver fever.

[thager]

A lot of college guys get that from the beer!

 

[dbski]

Does the picture from @texas6 remind anyone else of Bill Murray in Caddyshack? Come here you little varmit!

[LLUSA]

Texas6 the econo-bear trays OB1 pic work great no pets