Leave it to Beaver

[bosco659]

My wife laughs at me each time I go after a pesky animal. She says it’s like watching Caddyshack. Lol

Thx for the advice @Downeaster. I’ll see how the wire works over the winter and if effective I’ll wrap the rest of my trees in the springtime. I can plan the electric fence thing over the winter.

 

[Wingedwheel]

I had an issue with moles this summer, I felt like I was being terrorized! Once I found the right trap I had 4 in a week. I was surprised at how shiny their coats were. my wife said I reminded her of caddy shack also the way I was obsessed with “getting those bastards”

 

[bosco659]

I had an issue with moles this summer, I felt like I was being terrorized! Once I found the right trap I had 4 in a week. I was surprised at how shiny their coats were.View attachment 254453my wife said I reminded her of caddy shack also the way I was obsessed with “getting those bastards”

Not an attractive looking creature. Fortunately for us, we don’t have those in our neighbourhood. Congrats on the catch!

 

[46th Georgia]

My wife laughs at me each time I go after a pesky animal. She says it’s like watching Caddyshack. Lol

Thx for the advice @Downeaster. I’ll see how the wire works over the winter and if effective I’ll wrap the rest of my trees in the springtime. I can plan the electric fence thing over the winter.

Carl, is that you?

 

[atom4488]

Good job! I believe that will be quite effective. Surprised the beavers are going after cedar; as you say, bottom of the list of preferred trees (as it is resinous). BTW, I have the same problem at my cottage...Dad used to sit on the dock on full-moon nights, a couple of refreshments at the ready as well as his .22. Open up the dam a little at dusk and the beavers come to fix it at night. You can guess the outcome!

Hey there Ads, couldn't help but notice your sad face reaction to my beaver hunting story. If you are opposed to killing of any animal, I can understand and respect that. However, beavers, in Canada at least, are very widespread and certainly not at risk. They are highly industrious ("busy as a beaver"), however their industry is often in conflict with man's interests. The object of their industriousness is to flood wooded land to bring food (trees) closer to their habitat (water). They fell the trees so that they fall into the water and are accessible under the ice as a winter food source. That's all very fine and good in remote areas, but when they are flooding my lakefront cottage land, I object. The lower 25' of my shoreline is now essentially swampy or at least perpetually wet. No bueno!

Beavers are rodents. As "cute" as some rodents may be (chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, etc), some are far less cute (think rats!). Most cause havoc of one sort or another. I have perpetual issues with mice, squirrels and chipmunks, not to mention the cottage beaver. For some obscure and completely incomprehensible reason, the rodents around my house like to chew plastic that has gasoline in it!!! Just this summer, I have had to throw out a gnawed jerry can, replace a fuel tank on a string trimmer and patch, for the second time, my lawn tractor tank. The mice love nesting in air filter boxes on my bikes and worse yet, they chew on wiring harnesses. I therefore, hopefully understandably, don't like rodents!!!

Canada has the distinction of being one of only two countries in the world to elect to have a rodent as the national animal! Swell! The only other rodent to achieve national animal status is the red squirrel in Denmark. This was written with humour and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, so I hope you take it that way. Brgds.

 

[bosco659]

Hey there Ads, couldn't help but notice your sad face reaction to my beaver hunting story. If you are opposed to killing of any animal, I can understand and respect that. However, beavers, in Canada at least, are very widespread and certainly not at risk. They are highly industrious ("busy as a beaver"), however their industry is often in conflict with man's interests. The object of their industriousness is to flood wooded land to bring food (trees) closer to their habitat (water). They fell the trees so that they fall into the water and are accessible under the ice as a winter food source. That's all very fine and good in remote areas, but when they are flooding my lakefront cottage land, I object. The lower 25' of my shoreline is now essentially swampy or at least perpetually wet. No bueno!

Beavers are rodents. As "cute" as some rodents may be (chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, etc), some are far less cute (think rats!). Most cause havoc of one sort or another. I have perpetual issues with mice, squirrels and chipmunks, not to mention the cottage beaver. For some obscure and completely incomprehensible reason, the rodents around my house like to chew plastic that has gasoline in it!!! Just this summer, I have had to throw out a gnawed jerry can, replace a fuel tank on a string trimmer and patch, for the second time, my lawn tractor tank. The mice love nesting in air filter boxes on my bikes and worse yet, they chew on wiring harnesses. I therefore, hopefully understandably, don't like rodents!!!

Canada has the distinction of being one of only two countries in the world to elect to have a rodent as the national animal! Swell! The only other rodent to achieve national animal status is the red squirrel in Denmark. This was written with humour and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, so I hope you take it that way. Brgds.

To me, the beaver is a large rat like animal with a flat tail, whose only mission is to make my life a little more miserable at our cottage.. They have only started taking down trees along our shoreline this past year. Many of the trees they are taking down are an estimated 30+ years old and once they’re down, I won’t be around long enough to see a replacement tree grow to full size. They are damaging our property and its value. I checked into this and property owners may take lethal action to address the problem. I don’t own a fire arm anymore but some of my neighbours do. Hopefully my wire mesh will encourage the animals to go “logging” elsewhere, perhaps at the neighbours property?

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

That chicken wire is a good idea! Hope it works, or at least the neighbours with 22s take out a few of them. I'm not into killing everything with fur either but those rodents are nasty destructive beasts.

 

[Adamc]

Hey there Ads, couldn't help but notice your sad face reaction to my beaver hunting story. If you are opposed to killing of any animal, I can understand and respect that. However, beavers, in Canada at least, are very widespread and certainly not at risk. They are highly industrious ("busy as a beaver"), however their industry is often in conflict with man's interests. The object of their industriousness is to flood wooded land to bring food (trees) closer to their habitat (water). They fell the trees so that they fall into the water and are accessible under the ice as a winter food source. That's all very fine and good in remote areas, but when they are flooding my lakefront cottage land, I object. The lower 25' of my shoreline is now essentially swampy or at least perpetually wet. No bueno!

Beavers are rodents. As "cute" as some rodents may be (chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, etc), some are far less cute (think rats!). Most cause havoc of one sort or another. I have perpetual issues with mice, squirrels and chipmunks, not to mention the cottage beaver. For some obscure and completely incomprehensible reason, the rodents around my house like to chew plastic that has gasoline in it!!! Just this summer, I have had to throw out a gnawed jerry can, replace a fuel tank on a string trimmer and patch, for the second time, my lawn tractor tank. The mice love nesting in air filter boxes on my bikes and worse yet, they chew on wiring harnesses. I therefore, hopefully understandably, don't like rodents!!!

Canada has the distinction of being one of only two countries in the world to elect to have a rodent as the national animal! Swell! The only other rodent to achieve national animal status is the red squirrel in Denmark. This was written with humour and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, so I hope you take it that way. Brgds.

No problem with exterminating & pest control of animals when necessary. I shoot rats, squirrels, rabbits and pigeons myself; but not bigger game in the UK.
Rabbits & Pigeons are good for food, not so keen on eating rats. Beavers in the UK were hunted to extinction and we now have flooding problems in down stream areas where the beaver dams higher up would control water flow . In some regions they are being re-introduced. I suppose its a bit like the saying 'There are no such thing as weeds; they are just plants in the wrong place'.

 

[gggGary]

Everyone is a conservationist til they are inconvenienced or hungry then it's

True story; Three of us, backpacking, climbing. Our "guide" hated marmots with a passion.

My bud was all that's so terrible, they never did anything to you...
Next morning bud's tent and sleeping bag had holes chewed through them. TWO Marmot haters in camp LOL

Our DNR Dept Natural resources you know the ultimate conservationists constantly wages war on Beaver. Townships and county also, beavers like culverts as a convenient place to dam streams. The pond they create softens the roadbed. They have special permission to shoot them from a truck on the roadway....

 

[Mailman]

Out here my primary problem is rabbits. They eat just about everything! I always shop for plants that are supposed to be rabbit resistant, but you never know until the plant is in the ground. Both of these plants were supposed to be rabbit resistant but they just descended on them as soon as we turned our backs. We had to screen them off until they get a little bigger.


Not even cactus is safe. They’ll squeeze their little face between the thorns and chew the edge of the ribs! Like this small devils tongue cactus I planted last fall.


And then there are the roving herds of Javelina, my neighbor had a big succulent cactus ripped out of a pot and carried away by one!

 

[bosco659]

Out here my primary problem is rabbits. They eat just about everything! I always shop for plants that are supposed to be rabbit resistant, but you never know until the plant is in the ground. Both of these plants were supposed to be rabbit resistant but they just descended on them as soon as we turned our backs. We had to screen them off until they get a little bigger.
View attachment 254489View attachment 254490

Not even cactus is safe. They’ll squeeze their little face between the thorns and chew the edge of the ribs! Like this small devils tongue cactus I planted last fall.
View attachment 254491View attachment 254492

And then there are the roving herds of Javelina, my neighbor had a big succulent cactus ripped out of a pot and carried away by one!
View attachment 254497View attachment 254498

I bought a repellent spray that’s supposed to work well on keeping rabbits at bay. It’s called Plantskyd. Maybe check it out. Might help?

 

[Mailman]

I bought a repellent spray that’s supposed to work well on keeping rabbits at bay. It’s called Plantskyd. Maybe check it out. Might help?

Yeah I did the same thing, bought some expensive stinky spray and granules to spread around the plant. They thought it was delicious!

 

[bosco659]

Yeah I did the same thing, bought some expensive stinky spray and granules to spread around the plant. They thought it was delicious!
View attachment 254527

I was going to spray my cedar trees at the cottage with a repellant but thought much the same - what happens if this actually attracts the buggers! I‘d never live that one down. Lol

 

[Wingedwheel]

I actually like the rabbit repellant I have. Supposed to smell like bear piss, seems to work a week or so but you gotta keep your guard up. It also seems to help with the deer that like snacking on our plants.

 

[bosco659]

I actually like the rabbit repellant I have. Supposed to smell like bear piss, seems to work a week or so but you gotta keep your guard up. It also seems to help with the deer that like snacking on our plants.

yes, the guy at the garden Center said the stuff I bought was supposed to smell like predator urine.

 

[Wingedwheel]

Off topic but still about beavers. Off I75 here exit 69 is Big Beaver Rd. Lol

 

[Kevin Werner]

@Ben1 does some trapping. Pelt values are down and some of his recent work was contract for farmers eliminating pests. But he traveled to Missouri a few years ago, trapped a sizeable beaver, cures, tanned, cut and sewed this beaver tail billfold, Father's day gift to me 20 or 21 IIRC. Always nice to carry some beaver with you where ever you go...

 

[Wingedwheel]

Don’t spill your “apple juice” on that nice wallet!

 

[bosco659]

@Ben1 does some trapping. Pelt values are down and some of his recent work was contract for farmers eliminating pests. But he traveled to Missouri a few years ago, trapped a sizeable beaver, cures, tanned, cut and sewed this beaver tail billfold, Father's day gift to me 20 or 21 IIRC. Always nice to carry some beaver with you where ever you go...View attachment 254816View attachment 254823

Thats a nice looking wallet! Maybe I’ll have a duffel bag by the springtime.

 

[Kevin Werner]

Thats a nice looking wallet! Maybe I’ll have a duffel bag by the springtime.

Paniers?