I have a small pond that's been there for years at the back of my meadow; it was always fine until some beavers moved in about 10-12 years ago and plugged the spillway to raise the water, etc. At the time, whenever I unclogged things, the beavers built even more back overnight or the next day.
All that was solved for the time being when the USDA wanted to do a Vermont test on a "Clemson Baffle" (a glorified siphon drain) (also referred to as a "Beaver Deceiver") that confuses the beavers so that they don't know what to plug, or where. I was able to call a truce with the beavers, as they were unable to keep raising the water/ flooding the field.
Last fall, some unknown person stole the lower section of polyethylene culvert comprising the baffle outlet, allowing the beavers to plug everything up, everywhere, and to start raising the entire dam and flooding my meadow, drowning some of the trees, etc.
I don't have the funds to hire a professional trapper right now, so am hoping to try to pull out a small portion of the dam with a hook and a 4WD tractor, so as to attract and then somehow dispatch the beavers, so that I can begin lowering the water level and figuring out how to unplug the drain baffles (now thoroughly buried underwater with sticks and mud).
Any constructive suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks
All that was solved for the time being when the USDA wanted to do a Vermont test on a "Clemson Baffle" (a glorified siphon drain) (also referred to as a "Beaver Deceiver") that confuses the beavers so that they don't know what to plug, or where. I was able to call a truce with the beavers, as they were unable to keep raising the water/ flooding the field.
Last fall, some unknown person stole the lower section of polyethylene culvert comprising the baffle outlet, allowing the beavers to plug everything up, everywhere, and to start raising the entire dam and flooding my meadow, drowning some of the trees, etc.
I don't have the funds to hire a professional trapper right now, so am hoping to try to pull out a small portion of the dam with a hook and a 4WD tractor, so as to attract and then somehow dispatch the beavers, so that I can begin lowering the water level and figuring out how to unplug the drain baffles (now thoroughly buried underwater with sticks and mud).
Any constructive suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks