Beaver Repellents - What Types Are Available And How Effective Are They?

Beavers can be a significant problem when they find their way into urban or suburban areas, and their habit of building dams can lead to a serious problem for those people who are living in and around the area where they are present. Flooding is one of the main issues caused by a beaver’s dam, but they will also fell small trees and gnaw larger tree trunks too, damaging the lower parts of these trees. Like any animal, the idea of a repellent that will get rid of the animal is certainly attractive, and if you do carry out a quick online search you will find several different options that claim to be able to keep beavers away from a particular area.

Chemical Repellents

These are usually in either liquid or granular form, and will be designed to have a strong scent that can be used to drive the beaver away from a particular area. When it comes to distributing the scent the instructions will usually guide you to either sprinkle the granules or spray the fluid around the banks of the area where the beaver is present, and as close as you can get to the dam itself. This can be quite challenging, as they will often be in areas that are actually quite difficult to get to.

Audio Repellents

This type of device is one that is commonly said to get rid of many different animal species, and they can either be battery operated or mains operated depending on the number of speakers employed in the system. The theory behind this type of repellent is that it will emit a high pitched sound that is too high to be detected by human hearing, but is actually quite unpleasant for the beaver, and that this sound will cause the animal to leave the area. These can either be motion-activated devices, or ones that emit a permanent high pitched sound to get rid of the animal.

Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Beavers

The home remedies that tend to be used to get rid of beavers are actually quite different to the commercial repellents, and are actually made by creating a textured paint used to cover the trunks of trees around the areas where the beavers are present. In most cases the mix will require a combination of sand and latex paint that is mixed together, and then used to coat the trunks of trees around the area where you are looking to keep the beaver away from.

How Effective Are Repellents?

When it comes to the commercially produced animal repellents, those that are designed to keep beavers away through scent are usually ineffective, as the features attracting the animals will have a great biological imperative for the beaver. Similarly for audio repellents, in most cases the device will not be effective at getting rid of the beaver. However, when it comes to using the sand paint to change the texture of tree trunks, there have been studies carried out that suggest this can be quite effective, and without trees the beaver will then have to move on to another area to build its dam.

Dealing With A Beaver Problem

There are several other ways that you can use to get rid of beavers, and trapping and removing the animal is one of the best ways of doing this, with cage traps being installed in the shallow water where the beaver can be active. Once caught, make sure you locate the beaver near another water source at least ten miles away. You can also use lethal traps or even shoot a beaver if you want to use lethal methods, but bear in mind that you will then need to deal with the carcass of a beaver too, which is quite a heavy one.