Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help beavers

i have purchased 26 acres with an underground spring fed pond. it is located upstate ny.ihave not determined the depth yet but there are two active beaver lodges(pond is about 2 and a half acres) on the pond.what depth do beaverslike ponds to be?also there are tons of frogs.

Welcome to the PB forum Gizmo!

So long as he can stay submerged a beaver is happy. They will even make runways in the mud where water is too shallow in order to stay under & out of sight.
Beavers are generally unwanted in a pond. They can do great damage to dams & banks not to mention surrounding trees.
Also there is a danger of a tractor or other eqp. falling in their underground cavaties.

I've sprained my ankle three times in the last two years as I've encountered beaver and muskrat tunneling near my pond. I would look into ways to discourage beaver activity if you wish to use the shoreline for fishing or hiking.

Welcome aboard Gizmo . Don't know your situation but at our ponds beaver are public enemy no. 1. But they are not easy to get rid of as they learn quick how to avoid detection. I like trees to much to have them around.

Killem all!

thanks guys,i see no evidence of burrowing,all my big trees are about 3 acres away. they have chewed(or gnawed)down small crab apple trees but no other damage.the pond is not man made,so ill keep it as natural as possible,very secluded.no evidence of fish,have spotted blue herons though.

gizmo :

Good luck and I bet there are fish there. Having beavers you will need to read the link below (first post) about the dangers (LOL) of keeping beavers.

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000091;p=1#000004

I don’t disagree with any of the contributions above. But, the way you look at beavers, like everything else about your pond, depends on circumstances. My pond is about 90% surrounded by trees, and when the beavers kill some, there are plenty of others. I enclose the few trees which I specifically don't want to lose with a ring of hogwire. That seems enough to send them to other sources of bark.

Two of the lodges which were where when I bought the place in '92 are still active. They don't bother me, and I don't bother them (except when one slaps the water behind me and I nearly dive out of the boat). In fact, the lodges are "hot spots" for fishing because of the limbs and branches that the beaver have dropped in the water around them.

They do try to dam the spillway in winters with lots of overflow. All it takes to outsmart them is to pull down a foot or so of their dam with a hoe while it is still early. They will spend the next day or two rebuilding that and will not add to the rest of the dam or bring in any larger material until the damage is completely repaired with small sticks and mud. Then, I spend five minutes opening it back up again. I like the slight retardation of overflow because it raises the water a few inches, which makes for some good spots to cast at the bases of the swamp maples.

Now if the critters ever start tunneling in the dam, itself, they better pack their bags.

Good luck with keeping your pond "natural," and I hope you have a few lunkers in it, already.
Lou 13.5 acres

thanks again for the comments,soon as winter breaks will be investegating pond more closly.will eventually like to stock with bass(so much for keeping it natural)i subscribed to pond boss mag ,cant wait to get it.

Wow, the beaver lodges sound fantastic. That would be so great for kids to see. Good for you to keep a natural setting. I am getting a new pond underway right now and wondering what creatures will show up...

hey guys i got a call today from a trapper who wants to trap for beaver on my pond,does anyone have advice.should i let him?i dont want him to clean them out completly,but i worry about over population there are two lodges now .is this benificial?

I would call the local wildlife officer & ask about the trapper. If I was looking for a trapper he is the one I would be asking for recommendations also.
How did he know you had beavers in your pond?

Gizmo, is there a reason you don't want them completely eliminated?

thanks for the feed back,you can see the pond from the road and the lodges,my kids love to see the beavers...but im concerned about them gnawing there way thru my crab apple trees which are close to the pond,its a catch 22.the crab apples are wild and scatterd about.

hey guys how do i post a picture here so you guys can see this pond.its beautiful.

gizmo,
See Bruce's post here:
http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=001628

I have had a few expieriences with beaver here in Ohio. There are many ,many abondoned strip mine ponds in my area. The beaver in this area all set up camp in ponds where there are lots of Quaken Aspen trees. That is their #1 food supply in this area. They wont stay in ponds that dont have the right kind of trees surrounding them. Those type of trees have very soft wood & the beaver love the bark mostly & are so soft it is easy for them to bring down.Once all the large Quaken Aspen are gone they move to a different pond that has them.That type of tree is the most undesireable tree anyway for the timber industry The forestry experts will tell you to cut them all down anyway so the oaks & cherrys will grow better.I have never seen beaver in ponds in this area that didnt have Quaken Aspen trees.They also like sassafrass trees alot. I rarely see them cut into oaks or Cherry or Maple trees. There are no Quaken Aspen in the area of my pond so thus I have never seen a beaver near it in 20yr. They do make great fishing habitat though & the ponds that do have them are great for fishing around the lodges.As long as you dont have any of their desireable trees around your pond they wont take up residence there.If you do have the wrong kind of trees around your pond you cant get rid of them unless you trap them all out or kill them in some way. I have seen them over & over again kill all the quaken Aspen & then move on to another pond with them in a few years.
Also beaver have a way of knowing how much food supply they have in a given pond. Beavers will chase off their young in the second year if the food supply in that particular pond is low.They know how much food is available around the pond & control their own numbers. I do love to just watch them work but I sure dont want them around my pond for they are SO desructive.
I suppose there are other types of trees in other places that they like just as well so just find out which type of trees they are attacking & remove all those trees from that area & they will move out on their own.Dont even try to remove the beaver, just remove their food supply & they WILL move on to another pond. Thats far easier & more humane way of dealing with them.

I have only PERSONALLY had beaver problems in my creek. A neighbor had his dam destroyed. In my area, the beavers have a limited choice of willows, oaks, and cedars. They start with the willows which contributes to their spreading. When the willows get hard to come by, they go to the oaks and take down some beautiful trees. They don't mess with the cedars. I believe that they relocate when it becomes too dangerous to travel far overland for more groceries. Of course, it could be that our abundance of coyotes and bobcats eliminate them.

thanks for the input guys,there are bushes and apple trees that have been felled by them . around the pond there is crab apple ,locust trees,but not alot of beaver food overall, so i am puzzeled by there abundance..ie..two lodges also thanks ric for the site to post pics ,hope to post pic soon.

i got it on the first try, enjoy the pic.view from the road.

gizmo,
I couldn't get the link to work. Prob. the site.

Beavers here eat just about anything. My son is helping a neighbor remove some that are destroying his planting of Lobloly pines along the river.
You wouldn't think they would eat a pine. All that sticky sap!

hey guys can you click on my pond pic and let me know if you can see it?if so what do ya think? thanks,it didint work for rick,just wondering.

It's working now gizmo.
Nice pond!

thanks ric,im very proud to be a pond owner and pond boss subscriber,anyone else check my pond pic?. i will have lots of questions for you guys this spring. thanks