What kind of damage can beavers cause?

The human and beaver conflict has increased over time because of the human encroachment on wildlife habitats and the growth of the population of beavers. Since beavers have the ability of building dams in order to impede water, they will alter the environment where they stay. The problems that are caused by beavers may be put in two categories: flooding or tree cutting. In certain cases, the activity of a beaver may lead to damage concerning property, safety, public health and agricultural crops. Beaver dams may affect natural resources and they could serve as barriers to migrating fish. They also may cause siltation and the inundation of some rare plants or animal habitats.

There are cases when the landowners may be unwilling to let the activity of the beaver continue on their properties. The problem is that there is no repellent that is known to keep away a beaver and harassing beavers will not make them leave either. In some instances, especially when dealing with a young beaver that has yet to establish its territory, removing the dam materials may make the animal move away from the site.

Beavers may become a nuisance if they interfere with the use of lands. The dams may flood a large area where agricultural lands and forests are found. Nearby roads can get washed out and any shrubs and cultivated trees in the area could potentially get damaged or destroyed.

Destructing the beaver dams is not typically recommended as this will usually not make the place unattractive to the beavers. The beavers will simply start to build up the same dam once again, and they may even start that same day. They are going to use new trees to make the repairs, and this can accelerate the damage that you wanted to prevent in the first place. If a dam has been established in a place for a long time, when it is released the sudden surge of water or silt can lead to flooding. Before large dams can be removed, extra precautions have to be taken.

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