I have a 2 acre spring fed pond in southeast PA. There is a family of beavers living on the bank. Lodge has been getting bigger and they are starting to take down some bigger trees. I guess they are doing this in anticipation of winter. Any ideas on how to take care of this problem on my own? I don't want to set traps. Could I:

- set the lodge on fire to drive them out and then "take care of them" as they exit?

- would lowering the water level temporarily help make them leave? Is so, how much and how long would I have to change the water level?

- any other ideas/experiences?

Thanks for any help.

RobA,

I can't offer any advice to directly deal with your question but here are a couple of thoughts.

You state that you do not want to set traps. Does this mean you don't have traps to set or you don't want traps on your property? If its the former, contact your State DEP. They should be able to provide a list of trappers to assist you. Also, before implementing the scorched earth approach I would definitely check your State's game regs to see if this is acceptable.

Russ

Not sure if they are getting ready for winter. Here in GA they are more active in cool weather. I start getting alot of calls about now for trapping. LIke mentioned the best way is trapping. If you do get them to leave temp they will probably come back.

Like Greg & others said .. trap them or get someone to trap them. Your local wildlife officer could line you up with a trapper.
Trapping is the only way of removing all of the beavers. The only other way is to remove the food source ie: all trees within 200 yds of your pond which they will eventually do & then leave.

If you tear down the house, they may decide to take down some more trees to build a new one. That is what happened to my father-in-law.

Layton Runkle

Lots of people don't like the idea of traps of the leg-hold type and think of animal suffering. You don't seem opposed to killing the critters or burning their home. There are conibear traps which immediately kill the animal which are extensively used today. There are many trappers which would be willing to help you with your problem using this type of trap. Run an ad in the paper or contact fish and game commission.

Even with the leg hold trap the animal will die quickly if placed properly. The trap is set so the animal will imediatly dive to deep water & drown.

We have tried several times over the years to get help removing beavers by calling the state to get local trappers to come out. Not much luck! Double-Ought Buck has been our solution. It usually only takes 2 or 3 evenings and they don't come back! Good luck!