Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Beaver, otter, or muskrat?

Definitely have something in my BOW, cut down lots of long grass and deliberately put it in the pond. Wife and I saw it swimming across the lake, though it never put its head up enough to identify it. Seems not to be very shy of swimming around in broad daylight.

Grass clippings are bunched up on one side of the BOW, not the dam (thank goodness). I've seen beaver sign, one small tree chewed down, but that's it.

How can I identify the critter? I know otters are bad about eating fish, but what about beaver or muskrat? What is best way to discourage or get rid of it?

I have had at least two out of the three u mentioned. The grass cuttings were from a beaver that was building a home in my dam. So, I had little choice and had to get rid of him. Big old beaver, BPS trapper called him a hermit beaver because of it's size. But if u r like Pat from Oakwood, he said once, it was not a problem having one around. I guess "it Depends" once again. Look for a travel path they take, whether it is any of the three mentioned, they will all have a path they take to the pond and it can be found by traveling the shoreline and give a look see. A game camera set up along that path might give a clear picture of what is enjoying the fruits of your labor.

So Tracy, neither muskrat nor beaver (the most likely candidate) are big time fish eaters? Didn't know that!

I have a beaver around my pond and like you he carries grass into the pond I guess to eat the roots rizomes.... its Bahia grass and he digs it up and eats the roots off leaving the grass part floating.... no problem he is welcome to eat a little grass and a few sweet gums.

Thanks, Pat. So long as the beaver doesn't hurt the dam or eat a bunch of fish, I can live with it. Guess the rip rap on the dam helps discourage that kind of thing.

Far as I know they are herbivores

Could also be a Nutria.

I thought Muskrat ate fish. And I always considered myself to be an outdoorsman, only after building an owning a pond did I learn I was not near the outdoorsman I thought I was. Seriously, I thought the Muskrat did eat a lot of fish, so that is good to know.

Muskrat eat a lot of plants, but when I would trap them I would use ground up fish for bait. Hoping to catch a coon but would catch a lot of muskrats. They could of just bin inspecting the hole I dug in the bank for the coon set.

Copied from another site because I'm getting too lazy to type it all out.....

The muskrat can close its mouth around its protruding teeth and chew underwater! The muskrat eats aquatic vegetation like cattails, sedges, rushes, water lilies and pond weeds. In some areas it also eats clams, mussels, snails, crayfish, small fish and frogs. The muskrat doesn't eat its food where it finds it, it usually drags its food out to a feeding platform in the water or a feeding station near one of its travel paths. These feeding platforms are made of mud and vegetation. It can then eat its food without worrying about predators! The muskrat is crepuscular, that means it is most active at dawn, dusk and at night.

One thing to watch out for with beaver, nutria or muskrats is their burrowing into the banks to create a den or living quarters. Those can damage dams, but they also can collapse when walked or driven over, which could cause twisted ankles, etc.

Thanks for the info esshup, I thought they were 100 % fish eaters. I have not seen one in my pond and wonder why not, not having any salad making stuff in the pond may be the reason why I have not seen any. I do have a few new paths going down to the pond but have yet to figure out what is making those new little paths. My traps will travel you know the other day when doing some reading I read where beaver trappers were snake bitten more than other type of trappers. I hate snakes at the pond.

If it is a Muskrat or Beaver you need to get up at the crack of dawn and look over the bank with binoculars. They will be sitting on their butt eating breakfast and grooming them self's for the morning.

You can knock them off with a .22 really easy this way. Know your target and beyond.

Cheers Don.