I now have lakefront property

[jsasker007]

You have to eliminate the beavers or battle them for life.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I had a similar beaver issue this year. They turned a seasonal wetland into an awesome duck pond last fall. I thought this was great since I wanted a duck pond here anyway. The problem is they kept making the dam higher and higher, flooding things way, way beyond what I wanted. Neighbors were complaining because the water was backing up nearly to the road and causing drainage problems. I tried cutting the dam and placing PVC pipes under the dam to regulate the water height and the beavers solved that problem by building a second dam below the first.

I ended up shooting them with a shotgun. 00 buck worked well. They are pretty active at first and last light and you can kill them all and then do what you want with the dam. I left my dam and cut a channel in the adjacent shoreline to regulate the water depth. Hopefully that allows the water to stay at the perfect height.

 

[Telemark]

I had a similar beaver issue this year. They turned a seasonal wetland into an awesome duck pond last fall. I thought this was great since I wanted a duck pond here anyway. The problem is they kept making the dam higher and higher, flooding things way, way beyond what I wanted. Neighbors were complaining because the water was backing up nearly to the road and causing drainage problems. I tried cutting the dam and placing PVC pipes under the dam to regulate the water height and the beavers solved that problem by building a second dam below the first.

I ended up shooting them with a shotgun. 00 buck worked well. They are pretty active at first and last light and you can kill them all and then do what you want with the dam. I left my dam and cut a channel in the adjacent shoreline to regulate the water depth. Hopefully that allows the water to stay at the perfect height.

You should put in a sluice if you can. Then you can plant millet and such around the edges and then close the gate in the fall and flood it.

 

[Peeps]

How big is the property? Beavers can really improve spaces under the right circumstances. We had a huge beaver pond on a 300 acre property, and I wish we had another.

Mine is 40 ac

 

[Peeps]

My neighbor said about 30+ years ago the beavers had dam built in that same spot. He guessed about 8 ft tall making a pond on my land that was filled with big blue gills. Then the DNR blew it up.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Is anything immediately in danger downstream? I fully understand the potential for danger and damage when their dams break. And big beaver ponds can consume lots of acreage. But man, I see a beaver dam and I see more birds and waterfowl, more insects and aquafauna, frogs...an increase in biodiversity in general. Great edge habitat. Private little fishing hole.

 

[yoderjac]

We call them beaver bafflers, a 4 inch corragated drainage pipe that is tied down in the pond. The dam is broke to the desired level, pipe ran through that down stream. Usually the beaver just build another dam below the outlet of the pipe. Lol.

That is what I was referring to.

 

[Peeps]

Is anything immediately in danger downstream? I fully understand the potential for danger and damage when their dams break. And big beaver ponds can consume lots of acreage. But man, I see a beaver dam and I see more birds and waterfowl, more insects and aquafauna, frogs...an increase in biodiversity in general. Great edge habitat. Private little fishing hole.

That is true and I have considered leaving it. My hang up is that my low area now has several feet of water. I have to cross this area to get to the back 1/2 of my property including where my maple trees are. I have to causeways with culverts I put in to do this. They both have water over them, one is covered by 2 ft of water, and the water is still rising. I would have to build them both up higher and then when I’m done and ready to enjoy my Lake the stupid dam would probably break and drain the lake.

 

[Tree Spud]

The pond that is created is a nice addition until you start to see trees & shrubs dying because of the higher ground water table. I have 100s of dead tamaracks, tag alder, RDO, etc. because of a beaver dam and these species are suited for wet soil. Mature tree blow down in high winds is real common due to wet soil. Then wait till the beavers start to attack large mature trees as they need more dam material.

Look up "clemson leveler" and click on the images. A number of varieties on this design can be adapted for your situation. It is a protected drainage approach that makes it hard for the beavers to attack or plug. As stated above, you dig a passage way in the damn, place the device, and then cover it. The beavers hear & see a break in the dam and repair that. YouTube has videos also.

End of the day, beavers are very destructive until you eliminate them.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I HATE beavers!!! We have them move in every once in a while. We do controlled burns every spring to kill Woody saplings but they still show up. After a while the otters show up. And I wonder why it’s been so many years since we have had a decent sized trout.

Every single one I see gets shot at.


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[Chainsaw]

Beaver ponds for two years out of every ten have really added to the hunting here over the years. They reset the succession clock with a minimum of effort on our part. We leave the beaver alone for a couple years to let them build their pond and add to the area population. And then we remove them. The ends of the beaver pond are travel hot spots and then once the pond dries down the area fills in nicely with brush and becomes a daytime travel way.

I’d just keep tabs on the pond and as soon as it grows to where it Is close to causing damage to trees or growth you want to keep or is just too much of a nuisance, just take the beaver out. And we don’t call the government for assistance.

 

[Tree Spud]

Here is a guide from the Wis DNR on Beaver control.

Beaver Damage Control

 

[Peeps]

Busted a hole in their dam yesterday to Poss them off. This guy came by at 650 last night to fix it. I fixed him instead. One popped up 10 ft in front of my son and his friend but busted them. The kids went out later and shot at 2 more they think they got one. Trying again tonight.

 

[swat1018]

They are simple to trap. I catch 20 or 30 every year just helping people with similar problems. They are tough customers, they can do way more damage in a trap than a coyote. They are pretty tasty on a smoker too...

 

[weekender21]

Looks like a nice duck pond!