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Beaver Removal

Ready to learn all about pest beavers? Our website contains information on how to get rid of beavers, what kind of damage they cause, how to remove beaver dams, and so much more. Keep reading!

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How to Get Rid of Beavers

There are many areas in North America that will have a relatively large population of beavers, and with so many human settlements across the country it is not uncommon for the two species to cross paths from time to time. The dam building behavior of beavers can be a significant problem for people, flooding areas as well as damaging trees in the area surrounding the dam that the beaver will have built. There are several different ways in which you can deal with a beaver, and there are both lethal methods and live trapping methods which can be effective when dealing with beavers.

Trapping And Removing Beavers

When it comes to live traps, there are two main types of trap that are commonly used, with cage traps providing a sturdy cage that the beaver goes into, while a spring loaded cage is made of wire mesh and laid on the ground, which snaps shut to place a cage around the beaver when it is triggered. Both of these should be located in areas where the beaver is active, and you should conceal or cover the mesh of the trap with twigs, while placing logs to each side of the trap can guide the beaver in to the trap. Make sure that you check the trap regularly to deal with the beaver promptly once it has been caught, and make sure you relocate the animal in a rural aquatic location at least ten miles from where it was becoming a nuisance.

Excluding A Beaver From A Particular Area

In many cases, preventative action can actually be just as effective a way to get rid of beavers that are returning to an area even when they have been removed previously. There are several steps that you can use to exclude beavers from a particular section of the stream where they have built a dam, or especially to exclude them from culverts or pipes where they can often build dams. Installing a fence around these areas is the way to exclude these animals, and because of the size of beavers, a relatively large mesh can be used which will allow a free flow of water and fish to move through this part of the stream, while keeping beavers away.

Making An Area Less Attractive To Beavers

Although exclusion can work well in relatively short areas of stream or river where beavers are becoming a problem, this won’t always be effective because you may have a larger area that you are looking to protect. While trapping can work in these areas, you can also make the area less attractive to beavers by protecting the trees and saplings along the banks of the stream or river from being gnawed or felled by beavers. A metal or wire mesh sheath around the trunk of these trees can help to protect them from beavers, and restrict the activity of the beaver by meaning it has much less material it can use to build a dam in that location.

Lethal Methods Of Dealing With Beavers

As well as the humane approach to dealing with beavers, it is also possible to use lethal methods to deal with the beaver. Lethal traps are one approach that can be used, and these will usually be body grip traps that snap shut around the beaver’s body crushing it quickly to death. The other approach that can be used in rural areas is to shoot the animals, although because beavers are nocturnal it can be an approach that will require both patience and a very good shooting ability to be successful.