beaver in live trap                          Beaver in snare                                               Flooding and destroying trees



Damage:
Beavers can actually do quite a bit of damage. From flooding roads, to tearing up timber, to clogging drainage systems. They also can erode banks, taking the land to the water. causing property lines to shrink. The one way you can fix the problem is to remove the beaver from the area, the other is to put fencing up all around the water-line in hopes they don't dig under it.. You then also play the chance that a new one will move into the area. A
Description:
Beavers are the largest members of the rodent family in North America. Adult beavers weigh from 35-65 pounds and may reach lengths of four feet. Beaver are usually brown in color and have distinctively large protruding front teeth. The tail is large, flat, scaled, naked and black in color. The hind feet are webbed for swimming and considerably larger then the front feet. The front feet are quite dexterous in manipulating food and are often used for digging. The eyes and ears of beaver are small.
Habitat:
Beavers are dependent on water for survival and are found along many of Iowa's waterways. Beaver particularly like to inhabit small rivers with willows and other brush lining the shoreline.
Habits:
Beaver may stay under water for up to 15 minutes. It takes a beaver about three minutes to cut down a tree five inches in diameter. Beaver often build dams across streams and small rivers. The dams provide more permanent habitat then waterways which may dry up during periods with no rain.
Reproduction:
Beaver breed from January through March with a gestation period of approximately 90 days. The young, kits, are born from April through June. There are typically three to four kits per litter. They are fully furred, have their eyes open at birth, weigh about one pound and are 15" long. The young are weaned when six weeks old and become mature when two years old. The young will live with their parents until they are mature. Most beaver do not breed until they are three years old.
Food:
Beaver eat from one to two pounds of food daily. They eat up 100% woody plants in the winter but only about 10% woody plants in the summer. Willow and cottonwood saplings are favorite woody plants. Corn and various water plants are preferred summertime foods.
Sign:
Beaver cuttings will be easily spotted if beaver are present. Beavers may also be distinguished by castor deposits and slides, leading from the water to cuttings, cornfields or other desirable food and habitat.
Predators:
Coyotes, otters and mink may prey upon beaver. People and flooding conditions are primary factors limiting the population.
Diseases:
Tularemia and giardia lamblia are the most common diseases known in beavers.
Parasites:
Lice, fleas, beetles, flies, roundworms and flukes parasitize beavers.