[anthony11]

Beavers have set up shop just upstream of my driveway, which via a culvert crosses a stream. Twice I've gone chest deep in cold water and mud to clear the culvert when they clogged it and sent the stream over my driveway. Last week they dropped a 10" tree across the driveway and took out my power and phone lines. Today we have regional flooding, and I see tonight that they've clogged my culvert yet again and the water's about a foot deep in my driveway.

Conventional response is to trap and kill them, which I've been resisting but it's come to the point where I just don't know if letting them be is feasible. I've read that trapping and releasing is seldom effective given territorial fighting.

What should I do?

 

[karenlovessnow]

I'm sure you've researched this already, but I did a little search anyway and came up with this:

http://www.beaversww.org/solutions.html

http://www.beaversww.org/catalog.html

To me, beavers are cute, but then I've never experienced one up close, let alone have the problems you are having. I had no idea they could be so bothersome!

 

[anthony11]

Yes, I've read of these sorts of solutions to the flooding issue, but they're all predicated on a deeper flow. My stream is normally just a few inches deep.

They also don't address the danger of having trees dropped across the driveway.

 

[Ludi]

The only thing I can suggest that is evenly remotely fair to the beavers (and really not, if you think about it), is, if you have access to the land where they are building, to hang out there a lot, play loud music on a radio, throw things at them when you see them, and pee and poop around their house.

Other animals have a right to live here too, even if it is inconveninet to us. It's pretty darn inconvenient for THEM to have us taking up all the room.

Beavers have been almost extirpated from large sections of the continent, we should be thrilled to have enough of them now to cause a problem.

 

[Ludi]

Incidentally, we have a flooding culvert here too, with water sometimes 2 feet deep and 50 feet wide across our "driveway" (eroded mudpatch). We just deal with it, as this drainage situation was here when we moved in. In our case, it's the county road crew who fill up our ditch with debris, not beavers. I'd be happy to have beavers.

 

[karenlovessnow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by anthony11

They also don't address the danger of having trees dropped across the driveway.

I hear ya. It would tick me off if that happened to me, especially if the tree knocked down electrical wires.

 

[IamJen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by anthony11

Last week they dropped a 10" tree across the driveway ...

You must have a really small car.

 

[Ayrlin]

Have you tried fox urine?

You can pick it up at most home improvment stores and if you spray the area around I would think they would leave.

It works with most other wild animals that do not care to live near an animal that could potentialy hunt then.

Works on deer, rabbits etc real well.

 

[Ludi]

NO FOX URINE! It's cruel to foxes.

 

[peace]

Just a word about fox urine:

It's a byproduct of the fur industry, and fur companies collect it by placing pans under the small wire cages the doomed foxes are held in. Coyote urine can be collected in the same way, or it can be collected from coyotes captured by hunters.

You might want to try sprinkling urine from a domestic dog (yours or a friend's) instead.

PS. As for the beavers, I've heard of "beaver bafflers"--PVC pipes run through the beaver structures. Are those among the options which would not work for you?

 

[Ayrlin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by peace

Just a word about fox urine:

It's a byproduct of the fur industry, and fur companies collect it by placing pans under the small wire cages the doomed foxes are held in. Coyote urine can be collected in the same way, or it can be collected from coyotes captured by hunters.

You might want to try sprinkling urine from a domestic dog (yours or a friend's) instead.

PS. As for the beavers, I've heard of "beaver bafflers"--PVC pipes run through the beaver structures. Are those among the options which would not work for you?

ew I did not know that