@#$%! Beavers

[upfrombottom]

I have been fighting beavers all summer. They keep stopping up a creek that drains one of my pastures. With the heavy rains we have had here in Arkansas this year, it has been a real pain. The dam (two actually) is on my neighbor's hunting property, he could care less if they are there or not, so I am on my own. I have torn them out as many as four times in a week. My question is: are there any proven solutions ( and I have tried many homegrown (ie. hair-brained) concoctions suggested by others) that will deter them from plugging it back up overnight? I know the obvious solution is a shotgun but I don't care to much about laying in head high weeds, on the side of a creek allnite wondering if a cottonmouth is going to show up first.

 

[dun]

Raise moose, they like to feed in shallow water

 

[upfrombottom]

Thanks Dun, You know of any polled bull moose for sale?

 

[dun]

Have you contacted your state conservation department? They may have some ideas, maybe NRCS would have some too.

 

[upfrombottom]

Been there. I am still trying to get them to show up at another pasture I've been wanting to build a stock pond for two years now. Seems the head honcho there was do to retire three years ago and they did not have a replacement so he stuck around and opened the door, filled the coffee pot, and created a list of things to do for the next guy. The new guy started about three months ago and all I get from him is "your on the list." Maybe that's where I need the shotgun. :lol2:

 

[Jogeephus]

When you tear it out, place a pipe in the dam and secure it in place. The pipe you put in needs to have both or at least one end capped and then about 2 foot back from the cap cut a section out of the side of the pipe (you can attach hardware cloth ove hole is you wish) and place this down so when the water rises it enters the pipe from the bottom side and flows out the other end. Its also best to put this as far out into the wet area as possible and not up against the dam. Beavers have a hard time figuring this thing out.

If you know anyone with a license for explosives you can also locate the lodge and wire this up with a block of sure fire and wait till you see a beaver swimming. Shoot at and miss the beaver and let him and the others run home. Wait just a few minutes then hit the electricity and say good bye to the lodge and the rodents. BTW If you do this, by all means resist the temptation to doctor it up with two sacks of laced ammonium nitrate cause its completely unneccessary and you will probably pi$$ off every neighbor for a mile or so.

Another method is to put an alligator in the water hole but if you have a neighbor owns a yapping little toy poodle that was more bark than bite, I'd advise against it. ;-)

 

[dun]

Another method is to put an alligator in the water hole but if you have a neighbor owns a yapping little toy poodle that was more bark than bite, I'd advise against it. ;-)[/quoteI I would think that would be the BEST reason to do it. But gators around there are probably as common as polled Moose

 

[Jogeephus]

Another method is to put an alligator in the water hole but if you have a neighbor owns a yapping little toy poodle that was more bark than bite, I'd advise against it. ;-)[/quoteI I would think that would be the BEST reason to do it. But gators around there are probably as common as polled Moose

So what you are saying is that I know longer need to shoulder the guilt. :lol2:

 

[dun]

Another method is to put an alligator in the water hole but if you have a neighbor owns a yapping little toy poodle that was more bark than bite, I'd advise against it. ;-)[/quoteI I would think that would be the BEST reason to do it. But gators around there are probably as common as polled Moose

So what you are saying is that I know longer need to shoulder the guilt. :lol2:

Go ahead and feel pride in doing a community service

 

[grannysoo]

Everyone around here either traps or uses the shotgun. Our county actually has a couple of good ole' boys that get paid for every beaver tail that they bring in. Sort of like contract labor.

They say it's cheaper to pay them to hunt than to repair the damages caused by those creatures.

 

[blranch]

We had a beaver dam and whenever we tore it down the beavers would come swimmin over to fix it cuz they could sense the water current, thats just what i was told. Maybe you could try tearing it down then sitting by it and waiting for them?

 

[S&WSigma40VEShooter]

Aside from blasting them with a rifle or shotgun I havent any good ideas.

 

[Jogeephus]

Here is a link to something similar to what I was talking about. I've also seen spaghetti type setups using bundles of drain tile and these confused them some but I always had trouble keeping the stuff underwater.

Go to page 12.
http://www.umass.edu/nrec/pdf_files/beavers.pdf

 

[HerefordSire]

I have been fighting beavers all summer. They keep stopping up a creek that drains one of my pastures. With the heavy rains we have had here in Arkansas this year, it has been a real pain. The dam (two actually) is on my neighbor's hunting property, he could care less if they are there or not, so I am on my own. I have torn them out as many as four times in a week. My question is: are there any proven solutions ( and I have tried many homegrown (ie. hair-brained) concoctions suggested by others) that will deter them from plugging it back up overnight? I know the obvious solution is a shotgun but I don't care to much about laying in head high weeds, on the side of a creek allnite wondering if a cottonmouth is going to show up first.

I know a guy down the road that gets money for the pelts. I had him get most of mine by one of my levies. He did great, except I can't hold water anymore beyond a certain depth. The beavers were plugging the cracks. He also got many bobcats, coon, etc.

 

[angie1]

Was sitting in a science class the other day, and the teacher said that beavers are the only animal that adapt their environment to meet their needs. Kinda off topic, and I am sorry for that, but is this so?

 

[Jogeephus]

Was sitting in a science class the other day, and the teacher said that beavers are the only animal that adapt their environment to meet their needs. Kinda off topic, and I am sorry for that, but is this so?

Am no beaver expert by any means but I do have a little experience with them and I would say this is true. By damming a small creek the beavers will flood countless acres of otherwise mesic woodlands and turn them into wetlands thus making a huge buffet plate for themselves. Additionally, the beavers will dig canals within the flooded areas - some as deep as 4' beneath the bottom - to be used in dry periods or for escape routes back to there lodges. Additionally, beavers are more prone to feed on trees that stump sprout. Again, insuring a new crop of food in the upcoming years. In these ways I think they do modify their environment to meet their needs.

Sadly, when beavers flood an area - in time - the flooded land will become wetlands and will be regulated as such by the gov't.

 

[angie1]

I should have been more clear, I know beavers do it. I was wondering if other animals do not also? Apes? Anything? Ants?

 

[FarmGirl10]

I should have been more clear, I know beavers do it. I was wondering if other animals do not also? Apes? Anything? Ants?

Different species of ants are really smart. They are the original farmers. They grow fungus underground and actually weed out the ones they don't like, and some species (I beleive from south africa, but I'm not sure) have domesticated Aphids and "milk" them.

 

[angie1]

Different species of ants are really smart.

Yes, I thought I had heard something about ants, but could not be sure. There must be others(?).

 

[Jogeephus]

Different species of ants are really smart. They are the original farmers. They grow fungus underground and actually weed out the ones they don't like, and some species (I beleive from south africa, but I'm not sure) have domesticated Aphids and "milk" them.

Fire ants will also collect the "milk" from the aphids and will carry them into their holes on cold nights.

But is this the same thing as adapting their environment or is it simply making use of the environment? (I don't know)

Also, don't know if this would count or not but you know how cows always walk a single trail. In a way this fits too but I don't know if they are actually adapting or altering their environment to meet their needs. I guess it really depends on which of the many definitions of environment you use.