Pondmeisters,
After 15 years my pond attracted the first muskrats late last summer. Since then I have trapped or shot 6 of the little diggers. They came in two waves with months of no muskrats in between. The first two were trapped before Dec. 2011. This pair didn't dig in the dam. The next 4 came this past summer and they did dig in the pond. I think the pond is again clear of the furry little destruction machines. My thinking is that they may be a fact of life from this time forward. I plan to line the dam with rock from about 2-3 feet below the waterline to about 4 feet above. Do you think this will be enough rock? I have lowered the pond level to facilitate rock placement.
I wonder if I am getting the cart before the horse though and if there is anything else I should do. Since the dam has several holes in it is there anything I should do before I place the rock? The pond was not full at the end of summer when I pulled the plug to make muskrat eradication easier. Should I let the pond fill before I place the rock to check the dam for leaks before the rocks make the job more difficult? Should I fill the holes with something? If so what? Is there anything like "Great Stuff" for dams - Some kind of waterproof foam that could be pumped into the muskrat holes? Any counsel would be appreciated. You can only do something right the first time once and I'd like to get this right.
BTW - How do I get one of the little "I subscribe" fish?

Kru Heller
Powhatan, Va.

I'd throw some clay over the existing damage then cover with rock.. I don't know if muskrats burrow in rip rap? If so you could lay chain link fence under the rock..

Subscribe fish is copy and pasted from somewhere? Sorry someone had it I can't remember

IMG]http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k247/jmilczski/Fish/PBSubscribe.gif[/IMG]

There's nothing you can do about what they've dug out unless you want to dig up their den from above, fill with clay and smooth out the surface of the ground.

I've seen them start their dens deeper than 3' below the water line, but that's very rare. If your water level fluctuates, make sure that the rip rap will extend at least 3' below the lowest water level.

I've seen bank Beavers start their run in water that was 6' deep...............

If you can fill the pond to it's max to check for leaks, that would be best before placing the rip rap.

Thank you all for the sage counsel. I never thought about chain link fencing that would be a better and less expensive alternative. I can put it down all the way to the bottom as I had no idea the little creatures would start a hole 6 ft. under the waterline. Then cover it with the rocks as I planned where the chain link would show even when the water level dropped. As usual great advice. Thank you very much. Now I need some rain to make sure the dame isn't already leaking. Another good thing is this gives me some time to save up and pay cash for the rocks and maybe I can add some structure to the pond and clean up the bottom while I'm in there.
Thanks for the icon too, it should be on my next post.

Kru Heller
Powhatan, Va.

PS do not hit fence with mower/bushog major mess. Guy I work with lined his whole pond with a layer of fence he says he still gets muskrats but they only hang around a few days then leave (he told me about the bushog wrapped about 20' up)

been watching your post and answers closely as i have a similar problem and was interested in what the Pond Boss gods would say. I've got rid of my 6-8 varmits and have used a track hoe to dig out their runs and then fill and compress with clay.

However, I believe my dam is actually too narrow (only 5 ft across in some areas with almost no backside to the dam) and was thinking of using the muskrat holes (i have had leaks in the dam from the muskrats) as a reason to drain the pond, clean it out (probably has 2-3 feet of muck), dig it deeper in a few areas, and then repack the inside of the dam with new clay (maybe add about 2-3 ft to the width of the dam).

My thought was to dig a trench just south of the dam (along the deepest part of the pond) and let the water drain into the ravine behind the pond.

Anyone have any ideas/suggestions based on your experiences if my thought process is sound or am i getting ready to make a big mistake. Any comments are greatly appreciated.