Beaver Trapping
Flooding caused by beaver dams can damage timber, agricultural crops, homes and other structures, roadways, and ornamental or garden plants. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that beavers annually cause about $100 million in damage to public and private property in the Southeast.
Timber Using their large, continuously growing teeth, beaver will gnaw bark around the base of a tree for food and sometimes fell the tree. The tree dies, causing a financial loss for the timber owner. This loss can be significant, particularly if high-grade hardwood trees are damaged. More importantly, beaver dams can cause flooding over large areas of timberland. If water is not quickly drained, trees will die and become unmarketable. Also, this flooding may make timber more prone to rot and disease. One beaver dam can flood and destroy thousands of acres of timber.
Agriculture Flooding caused by beaver dams can also destroy agricultural crops. The flat areas throughout many of the important agricultural regions of Mississippi allow just a few beaver dams to flood significant acreage of cropland. This flooding often makes parts of the field inaccessible to farm equipment. Sometimes beaver enter crop fields, cut the plants, and use them for food or dam building material.
Homes and Other Buildings In situations where beaver and humans both live, floodwater can cause significant damage to human homes or other structures. In some instances, entire subdivisions or neighborhoods have suffered water damage. Occasionally, beaver may cause direct damage to wooden structures, such as backyard decks, by gnawing on the wood, thus causing appearance and structural problems.
Roadways A significant but often overlooked consequence of beaver dams is damage to public roadways. Water drainage ditches on the edge of roadways offer good habitat for beaver. Dams can flood the road or, in some instances, damage the road itself through erosion. Beaver dams and the flooding they cause have resulted in roads being closed, bridges and culverts requiring replacement, and occasional car accidents.
Water Control Beaver can obstruct water control devices and damage structures by burrowing. Irrigation canals and drains often are plugged by beaver and must be cleared. Beaver can cause water control structures, often used for temporary flooding to create waterfowl habitat, to be useless. Pond owners should be particularly watchful, because beaver can cause substantial damage to pond dams by burrowing into them.
Ornamental Plants Finally, the natural feeding behavior of beaver can damage ornamental trees, shrubs, and other plants. For homeowners, urban parks, and commercial landscapes, damage to ornamental plants can be a frustrating and costly problem. When such areas are next to beaver habitat, damage is almost certain to occur unless control measures are implemented.
Beavers are noctunal creatures and trapping is the most effective method of controlling them. Trapping can be done year-round, however fall, winter and spring are the best times.
Large Conibears and snares are two excellent methods of trapping beaver. Foothold traps can also be utilized at the water's edge on beaver slides.
