Having a problem with beaver

[Chris]

I've got a bunch of beaver moving in on my land. They are destroying the timber around my creek and it's high time I thinned their numbers a bit. Any suggestions on the best way to go about this?

[QuietDan]

Careful now. You can pretty much predict where this is going . . .

[E4 No More]

Predators

The predators beavers face will vary from region to region, but include wolves, lynxs, bears, coyotes, common red foxs, bobcats, owls, otters, minks, alligators, wolverines, weasels, hawks, eagles, dogs, humans, and most other large mammalian carnivores.

How about some decoys around the area???

[Dolomite_supafly]

Well if you have a beaver that is ruining your wood then you definitely need to do something.

Not really sure how to go about solving your issue...

Dolomite

[R_Bert]

In TN, hunting season for beaver is year-round, no limit (unlike our time available to spend on the problem).

Is it in an area where you. can shoot them safely ? They have to come out sometimes...

[DaveS]

If legal in your area, shoot them out. If not, take up trapping. Conibear traps work real well on beaver. Leg holds work too. Just follow the regs. If I lived closer, I would love to take care of your beaver problem. I love trapping them (and hunting them)!

[Steelharp]

Well if you have a beaver that is ruining your wood then you definitely need to do something.

Not really sure how to go about solving your issue...

Dolomite

Best to just let them find other wood, and walk away.

[mikegideon]

Best to just let them find other wood, and walk away.

Only after they start costing you money, of course. If they're NOT costing you, they can be lots of fun to have around.

[ShaunM]

Let's keep this on topic and not derail this thread thanks.

[Ebow1]

To be fair the title of topic derailed the thread from the start.

[ShaunM]

Although funny this is a hunting forum and the topic is a valid one. Lots of people have problems with beavers on their land. They can cost land owners lots of money each year to the land in damages. The OP was asking how he could get rid of them. The derailment comes from the innapropriate comments.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Reckon there is anything that could be sprayed or painted on the tree trunks, that would make em taste bad to the beavers but not harm the trees? Low probability maybe. Just curious. Don't they sometimes paint damaged or pruned trees with tar? Would tar on the trunks encourage the beavers to look elsewhere for building materials and food?

Think I recall reading about some kind of paint or chemical somewhat effective discouraging squirrels from nibbling on buildings.

Maybe chemical treatment would have such low odds of success that it wouldn't be worth trying. Dunno.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Or maybe try some cayenne pepper. Buy a few dozen spice containers of cayenne and mix it in with water then use a garden sprayer to cost the trees. Or maybe some bitterent like alum or the like.

Or if all else fails sit out in a lawn chair and shoot them as they surface. And if you don't have the time or want to I am sure there are a few on here that would love to kill that problem beaver for you.

Dolomite

[QuietDan]

Loosely wrap chicken wire around the tree? Or that heavier mesh wire?

[Chris]

It's pretty amazing how much damage the little devils can do. They've dropped a half dozen trees already and are working on several more.

I've got some traps ordered and I guess I'll start hanging around down by the creek w/ a .22. Thanks for the advice.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Hi Chris

I dunno nothin about wildlife, but am curious how big are your beavers? The beavers I occasionally see in tiny streams around Chatt burbs are tiny little things. Have seen bigger wharf rats or nutria.

It would be fun to observe them more but am not an outdoorsman. The wimpy little local beavers I've seen, one might think it impossible that they could take down a tree much bigger than a sapling. It would be interesting to watch such small critters take down a big tree. Ain't saying it would be impossible. Just that it would be interesting to watch.

[DaveS]

Hi Chris

I dunno nothin about wildlife, but am curious how big are your beavers? The beavers I occasionally see in tiny streams around Chatt burbs are tiny little things. Have seen bigger wharf rats or nutria.

It would be fun to observe them more but am not an outdoorsman. The wimpy little local beavers I've seen, one might think it impossible that they could take down a tree much bigger than a sapling. It would be interesting to watch such small critters take down a big tree. Ain't saying it would be impossible. Just that it would be interesting to watch.

It sounds like you're seeing "Muskrat" and not a beaver. Just thinking.....

[DaveS]

If you don't want to deal with the problem yourself, contact your TWRA Regional HQ and/or your local Officer. Most of the time, they have a list of people looking for places to trap beaver. This may help your problem. It's worth a try....

[E4 No More]

If you don't want to deal with the problem yourself, contact your TWRA Regional HQ and/or your local Officer. Most of the time, they have a list of people looking for places to trap beaver. This may help your problem. It's worth a try....

I think this is a great idea if you don't want to spend the time or effort to do it yourself.

[Guest BungieCord]

FWIW, I hear they're good eatin', especially the tail.

[gjohnsoniv]

I have a friend in Arkansas who has the same problem on his farm every year. Last I heard he was drilling the damn and dropping dynamite down the hole and leaving just enough sticking up so that he could shoot it. Not sure if that's still legal though, actually I don't think it is but when you live on a massive acre farm no one is going to stop you. You just would have to find the dynamite though, that would be the tricky bit.

[gjohnsoniv]

I would just say shoot or trap them though.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

It sounds like you're seeing "Muskrat" and not a beaver. Just thinking.....

Thanks wd-40. Apologies for the thread drift.

That may be. Am ignorant of it. These critters have flat tails and make dams, but the ones I saw are not much bigger than a maine coon cat. Maybe they were not grownups, or not beaver, or I misjudged the size.

Was wikipedia reading on wharf rats, muskrat, nutria, beaver, etc. Wikipedia said low-weight range of beaver is about 33 pounds but dunno if the ones I saw are that big. Said beaver are typically about 3 foot body length, which seems longer than the ones I saw.

The description of nutria seems consistent with the ones I saw in louisiana, 11–20 lb weight, 16–24" long.

It said wharf rats are about 10" long with similar tail length and weight about 10 oz. Long ago played music at a hotel near the river. The hotel was not filthy but in the shrubbery behind the back parking lot at night would be skulking rats at least as big as a good-sized cat, though not as big as a maine coon cat. They plainly looked like rats, just real big rats. Unless memory is failing, they were bigger than wikipedia's description of wharf rats. Wonder if there is a cat-sized "other aquatic rodent" that looks near identical to an ugly old rat?

Edited March 1, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[whiskey]

My buddy had to take his two dogs to the vet after the tangled with a 55 pound beaver in his backyard. The beaver died from the fight, but the dogs got bitten up pretty bad. I can tell you a 55 pound beaver is HUGE! I couldn't believe the size of that thing.

We had a problem on our land when I was a kid. Me and a buddy, both 15 at the time, sat for hours waiting to shoot one. Never did see them. Finally my uncle brought over dynamite and blew the dams and dens to pieces. That worked for a few years and then more moved in. I think you might be best to try and trap them. That way you know you are taking them out of the breeding population.

[whiskey]

Thanks wd-40. Apologies for the thread drift.

That may be. Am ignorant of it. These critters have flat tails and make dams, but the ones I saw are not much bigger than a maine coon cat. Maybe they were not grownups, or not beaver, or I misjudged the size.

Was wikipedia reading on wharf rats, muskrat, nutria, beaver, etc. Wikipedia said low-weight range of beaver is about 33 pounds but dunno if the ones I saw are that big. Said beaver are typically about 3 foot body length, which seems longer than the ones I saw.

The description of nutria seems consistent with the ones I saw in louisiana, 11–20 lb weight, 16–24" long.

It said wharf rats are about 10" long with similar tail length and weight about 10 oz. Long ago played music at a hotel near the river. The hotel was not filthy but in the shrubbery behind the back parking lot at night would be skulking rats at least as big as a good-sized cat, though not as big as a maine coon cat. They plainly looked like rats, just real big rats. Unless memory is failing, they were bigger than wikipedia's description of wharf rats. Wonder if there is a cat-sized "other aquatic rodent" that looks near identical to an ugly old rat?

Muskrats live around beavers. You probably saw them, but the beavers are doing the damage.