Pond Boss
Posted By: Matzilla Beavers eating curly leaf pondweed! - 03/31/18 03:59 AM
I have at least 3 beavers frequenting my pond in the last two weeks, theyre not chewing any of my trees or brush but they seem to be eating my curly leaf pond weed...has anyone else had this happen? Are beavers welcome in your ponds? Im not sure what to think of this?

I was cruising around in the row boat yesterday and had the largest beaver tail slep the water within 10’ of the boat

I had to chase ofd a pair of GBH today and then had a pair of geese show up and refuse to leave. It never ends lol
Posted By: snrub Re: Beavers eating curly leaf pondweed! - 03/31/18 04:13 AM
I don't recall if it was here on the forum or in Pond Boss Magazine, but somewhere there were pictures of humongous beaver dens tunneled way back into a very large pond or lake dam.

Like giant muskrats on steroids. Don't think I would want them in my pond.
Posted By: anthropic Re: Beavers eating curly leaf pondweed! - 03/31/18 05:41 AM
Beavers ate my planted duck potatoes and my unplanted cattails. Bad news!
Posted By: highflyer Re: Beavers eating curly leaf pondweed! - 03/31/18 01:35 PM
Beavers Kill trees at time around our pond. One way or another, they leave.
Beavers are welcome in my pond as long as they don’t burrow into dam. They ate the only lily pads that had got a start from neighboring pond.... which is ok. And they like sweet gum trees which I don’t like so in our case no problem
Posted By: Matzilla Re: Beavers eating curly leaf pondweed! - 04/02/18 01:49 PM
Great input guys! I will keep an eye on them as the weather warms - I haven't found where they've burrowed into the banks yet. It is quite possible they took over the raccoon den that was along the north bank but I cannot confirm yet.

The pond has had beavers previous to me moving in as there are a few downed willows with chew marks on them.

I'll be a bit upset to lose my curly leaf this year, my water quality is just about right to keep it well controlled this spring - I was looking forward to the curly leaf being a sanctuary for my YP and kicking off some bug activity
Posted By: Quarter Acre Re: Beavers eating curly leaf pondweed! - 04/04/18 02:26 PM
I'm no beaver expert, but hopefully the beavers are eating your pondweed because it's currently available and there preferred forage has not yet started growing. I would think that the beavers will switch to other types of vegetation as spring brings more options.

I, personally, would not hesitate to have the beavers removed/relocated if they did not fit with MY desires for the BOW. I hope you have plenty of pondweed to spare for the time being. I believe beavers are strictly vegetarians and they could be a nice addition to a BOW unless, of course, they start burrowing in the dam or killing off your trees!

Keep an eye on them and hopefully they won't decimate your plant life.
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