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.

Dan B