|
|
Beaver
(Castor canadensis) Order Rodentia
The beaver can adapt to aquatic human environments easily and usually by choice. In aquatic human environments beavers can adapt easily due to the abundance of food, shelter and the lack of predators. Urban landscapes provide the ideal bark from trees, such as poplar, birch, cherry, pear, willow, maple, and pine trees that beaver will favor. Once a beaver has found a prevalent food source it will look for a den site that is relatively close to that food source. Their home or burrow can be found in a high bank of the stream, pond, or lake. These burrows will have an abundance of mud, grass, and twigs that cover the sub-surface entrance. Lodges are built in areas that a burrow in a high bank is not available. Increases in urbanization or land development in beaver inhabited areas, and the overpopulation of beaver in these areas does not help. As long as we continue to urbanize and provide an abundance of food to the beaver, they will continue to adapt to human environments and pose a threat to urban landscapes.
If you need beaver removal services, Blue Ridge Wildlife Management, LLC is here to help you. Please Contact Us to help solve your problem.
Identification
Description:
The beaver is the largest North American rodent.
Body Size:
- Ave. Length (Adult): 34"-54" Tail: 9"- 17"
- Ave. Weight (Adult): 15 - 70 lbs.
- Young at Birth: 15" including tail, 1 lb., eyes open, completely furred, teeth present.
- Young at 1 Month: Able to swim.
- Young at 6-7 weeks: Weaned and weigh about 4.
- Young at 2 years: Leave voluntarily.
Voice &aamp; Sounds:
When surprised they slap their tail on the water.
Other:
Can stay under water for up to 15 minutes. Primarily nocturnal.
Reproduction
Time of Year: (Once) January - February
Gestation: 90 - 120 Days (Uncertain)
Young Born: March - May
Number of Young Born: 3 - 4
Average Reproductive Age: 3
Weaning: 6-7 Weeks
Other Information
Habitat:
They prefer streams, rivers, ponds, marshes, and lakes. We have trapped them out of culverts inside town limits.
Home:
Most of their homes are made in the banks of the water structure that they occupy. Lodges are impractical or rare in our area because of fluctuating water levels. The den entrance will typically have an abundance of sticks and mud stacked up against it appearing to look like a lodge. The actual entrance is usually just below the water level and will lead to a chamber above the water line in the bank that is about 3 feet wide and 2 feet high. Food piles are often mistaken for den entrances. Food piles are found below the water surface and are stored food for the winter months. In slow moving creeks and streams dams will be built to stabilize water levels for the den.
 |
|
 |
| Den entrance in a pond |
|
Dam built in a small creek |
Home Range:
Within a half mile of their den.
Food:
Their diet consist primarily of woody vegetation or the bark from trees. Woody vegetation: Willows, maples, poplar, birch, cherry, pear, and pine trees. Non-Woody Materials: Various water plants and corn during the milk stage.
Their diet varies with the seasons. In the spring and fall their diet is half woody vegetation and the other half non-woody vegetation. In the summer most of their diet is non-woody vegetation. The woody vegetation that they do eat in the summer is typically new growth sprouts on the banks of the water way they inhibit. (Damages are usually unnoticed in the summer.) During the winter their diet will switch to 100% woody materials.
Habits:
Primarily nocturnal in human environments.
Average Life Span:
6 - 7 years in the wild and up to 21 years in captivity.
Trapping & Removal Techniques
Beavers are very strong and powerful animals. Live trapping beavers is possible, but very expensive and time consuming. We prefer to use lethal traps when removing beavers because of their speed and effectiveness. A beaver can cut through a 5 inch diameter willow tree in less than 3 minutes. Time is of the essence when beavers are felling expensive ornamentals, flooding crop fields and roadways.
Damage and Damaged Areas
Urban aquatic environments offer the ideal place for beavers to thrive due to their biological habits and their ability to live around man made landscapes. Homes with man made ponds, streams, or waterfront properties are becoming popular for people to live in. As people move into these aquatic environments they will unknowingly plant favorable food sources for beavers. A family of beavers will travel up to half a mile a night by water on a lake for food. Once they are keyed in on a food source, they will typically exhaust that food supply then move to the next one. Late fall and winter are when people notice beaver damage the most, because they are felling trees for their woody food diet and the use of the trees for dam and lodge construction. The most popular trees in our area are poplar, birch, cherry, pear, willow, maple, and pine.
 |
|
 |
| 5 Bradford Pear trees cut in 2 nights |
|
Pine trees cut and pealed |
Health Concerns
Because of their aquatic nature, beavers really do not pose a direct health concern to humans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you charge for beaver services?
- Yes. We are not funded by your local, state or federal government. We are a private business and must charge for our services.
- See our Services page or Contact Us for pricing.
Do you guarantee your beaver service?
- We guarantee that you will receive the most courteous, honest, and professional wildlife management service in southwest Virginia or its FREE!
What does the beaver service fee cover?
- The service fee covers us coming out, inspecting the damages, setting traps if necessary, and keeping them baited as long as it takes to catch the beavers.
What does the price per beaver fee cover?
- Cost effective to the customer knowing that we may not catch two or more beavers every trip.
- The price per beaver fee covers us coming out, removing the contaminated trap and beaver from your property, re-setting a clean trap with fresh bait, disposal of the beaver, cleaning and disinfecting the contaminated trap for the next customer.
How do you prevent from catching non-target animals?
- It is rare that we catch a non-target animal in our beaver sets.
- We try our best to set the traps in the area where the beavers are traveling.
Do you charge for non-target animals?
- Yes we do. We still have to come out, remove the contaminated trap and animal from your property, re-set a clean trap with fresh bait, disposal of the animal, clean and disinfect the contaminated trap for the next customer.
- See our Per Animal Fee page for more details.
What if the trap is stolen?
- The customer is responsible for the trap. If the trap is set in an area that you feel like it will get stolen, please let us know so that we can move it or anchor it to the ground.
- There is a replacement fee for stolen traps.
Do I have to sign a contract agreement?
- Yes. In order to protect you and our company a contract must be signed.
- Our contracts spell out the services to be provided, as well as our guarantee and warranties.
- You should not do work with a company that is not willing to back up their work in writing.
- See our Contract page for more details.
How many traps will you set?
- We set a minimum of two professional grade humane lethal capture traps.
- See our Trapping Services page for more details.
How long is the beaver service fee good for?
- Your contract will specify the time period that it is good for, which is usually a minimum of 30 days.
- If the beavers have not been caught in 30 days, which is rare, we will leave the traps out as long as it takes to catch them at no additional service fee cost.
How long does your standard beaver service last once you pull the traps?
- Our standard service fee is usually a minimum of 30 days. Once we pull the traps or after the beavers have been captured, we will re-set the traps if another beaver is seen within one week.
Why did you pull the traps before 30 days?
- Once thebeavers have been captured and we have not had any captures or you have not seen any in a week we will pull the traps. Leaving the traps set will only increase the chances of capturing non-target animals.
- See our Per Animal Fee page for more details on non-target animals.
- You also have the option of purchasing the optional service warranty.
- See our Optional Service Warranty page for more details.
How long does your optional service warranty last for beavers?
What is covered in my optional service warranty fee for beavers?
- Once the target animal(s) have been captured or we pull the traps the optional service warranty period will start.
- This warranty will cover coming out, setting traps, re-baiting as long as it takes to catch the beavers and the per beaver fee.
- See our Optional Service Warranty page for more details.
Will you renew your optional service warranty?
- No. January 1st of the next calendar year will require a discounted service fee, plus price per beaver service fee.
- See our Warranty page for more details.
How often do you re-bait the traps?
- Every 1 to 5 days depending on the time of year and weather.
- We like to keep the bait as fresh or not dried up as possible. If you feel like the trap needs bait or you do not see the bait in the trap, call us and we will send someone out to re-bait it as soon as possible.
How soon can you set the traps?
- We will typically set the traps the day you call.
- We always have traps available.
- We carry the necessary traps needed in our trucks daily on a seasonal basis to better service the customer the day they call.
- We do not like to put anything off until tomorrow.
How often do you check the traps?
- State law requires that the traps are checked daily.
- We ask you as the customer to check the traps and notify us when we have an animal in the trap.
- By the customer checking the traps, this will eliminate additional costs to the customer and it will also speed up the removal process.
How do I get in touch with the technician once an animal is trapped?
- The contract has our office number on it as well as our business card.
- Our secretary will notify the technician.
- See the Contact Us section for more details.
We live out of town and cannot check the traps everyday?
- We can provide a complete service to you.
- If this is a rental property we can contact the tenants and ask them to check the traps if necessary.
We are going out of town next week and do not have anybody that can check the traps daily?
- We will make arrangements to have our technicians check the traps for you.
- An additional cost may be incurred.
Will you pick up trapped animals on the weekend and holidays?
- Yes, we work on the weekends.
- We typically shut the traps down for holidays so that the customer does not have to be bothered with checking them.
How long does it take for a technician to pick up an animal once I have called it in?
- We will make every effort we can to pick up the animal and re-set a trap as soon as possible.
- We often have two to three trucks out at a time and the secretary will notify the closest technician to your property.
Where do you relocate the animals?
- Our permit only allows us to relocate squirrels.
What do you do with the animal after you catch it?
- Our permit allows us to transport the live animals to another location to be euthanized.
- Relocating a beaver may risk the chance of spreading disease to an uninfected area and creating damage to someone else’s property.
How do you euthanize the animals or put them to sleep?
- There are several ways to euthanize an animal. We use the most humane methods approved by the American Veterinary Association.
- The traps we use to capture beavers euthanize the animal for us in a humane way.
What if a beaver is trapped when you come out to re-bait?
- We will call you or leave a note on your door that we picked up an animal.
What types of bait do you use?
- We use specialty paste baits that are formulated for beavers designed by professionals in our industry for professionals
How many traps will you set?
- We set a minimum of two traps, more if available.
See our Trapping page for more details.
Where do you set the traps?
- As close to the damage area as possible.
Can the beaver get out of the trap?
|
