Simple answer
They'll use it.

Beavers are very adaptable creatures and use what ever material exists to build their dams. Looks like you won't have to worry about your invasive bamboo afterall.

Actually, it looks like I'll have to get a gun and be skulking around in the bamboo grove each morning at dawn- or, better yet- each dusk- because I wouldn't want the neighbor looking at me cross-eyed while I have a gun in my hand and before my caffeine has kicked in.
I've never been much of a hunter. But I don't intend to give up gardening with woody plants- so, I'll learn!

its been awhile since ive been hunting, but i would say to check into the local hunting laws for beavers, you might have to get a special hutting permit, or have a certain season you can only hunt them in. lol, unless your a very good hider.
hit them in the head with a 22cal or get some steel traps , and skin them out for their pelts after you kill them, would make a wonderfull coat for your wife or girfriend....

sure its beaver you have? ground hogs look close to beaver except for the tail if i remember right..

The law is on my side, thank goodness.

However, if I were to accidentally kill a groundhog that would make an especially lovely gift since Groundhog's day is our anniversary. (Evil southern laugh) We've always considered the groundhog our lucky token.

Beavers and muskrats will both cut down and eat bamboo.

I don't know about beavers eating bamboo, but they might since they eat about any woody plant, but as mentioned above, they would definitely use them, if needed, to build with.

Here, beavers don't have a need to dam off waterways, since stock tanks are not running waterways. They do a lot of damage to valuable trees, and apparently have to constantly chew things to keep their teeth short.

They are illegal to kill, at least here in Texas. I don't know anything about muskrats or groundhogs, but a 35-pound water rat, better known as a nutria, will do the same damage to trees, as a beaver. They are almost indistinguishable, in size, shape, and colour, but have a large rat-tail instead of a flat beaver tail.

Good Luck

Kt

Hmmmm.... I wonder if beavers are as delicious as nutria? Actually, I can't really speak to nutria being delicious but I know that people do eat them.

Lower food bill = more bamboo buying power. Eureka!

I hear that beaver is known as the 'other' white meat...kind of tastes like chicken, but with a lot of fat.

But since they are illegal to kill here, I would not know that from experience. Right? Oh, and the tail of the beaver, if cooked slowly with the right herbs and spices, is considered a delicacy, at least this is what I have heard.

Seems that I hear a lot of things...

Kt

I've eaten beaver (no jokes please, I'm serious). It was musky and tough, just terrible. I suppose a lot has to do with how good a cook you are. It smelled faintly of skunk.

Second, beaver dams are most likely protected under some US Forestry service guideline and you could go to prison for altering or destroying a dam. It falls under the category of altering a wetland or flowing water.

Third, check local hunting laws before shooting beaver, and make sure you know EXACTLY where your property lines are so you don't shoot it on some other property. It could be a serious offense to shoot one on government property.

Fourth, I'm sure any animal would love to eat tasty bamboo shoots. If you live in the wild, I would be more concerned about rabbits and deer eating the shoots.

And considering bamboo, just build some kind of wire fence around it that helps prevent the beavers from destroying the main grove. Then they could help you keep it contained by destroying any unwanted shoots and culms. Beavers are more of an asset than a nuisance, whether you want to believe it or not.

Cooked right beaver is really good! I grew up with some trapper friends who would trap paper mill country in GA, once a year. For a week or two all they would eat is beaver.

Hoe Hoe, where do you live. The state one lives in make a big difference how you handle beaver. I grew up in NJ and there they were (and probably still are) highly protected, regardless of whatever damage they might cause. But back in 81 I lived in NW Arkansas. I noticed beaver sign on the creek I was trapping and checked with the game warden about limits, season, etc. He informed me that it was legal to trap, shoot or otherwise kill beaver almost anywhere, at any time in the state of Arkansas! (This may have changed since that time, I don't know.)

Beaver do a lot of their damage under cover of dark. I remember a friend on a lake front in NJ who lost a 35' white birch tree overnight. It was not only cut down, but floated off and disposed of before dawn!

George
Tahlequah, OK

I heard on a news report after Katrina that the Nutria weakened the New Orleans leve's, but that might have just been anti-rodent propiganda.

Strange, how the law varies in different parts of the country. Here, beavers are illegal to kill, but you can destroy their dams(if you ever find one) without any legal action being taken against you. They are nothing but a nuisance here, and elsewhere they may be beneficial.

Years ago I used to hang with some of the deepwoods cajuns in the very far south of Louisiana. Now THEY can cook!! They can make an old leather shoe taste like a juicy well-done steak. As far as eating beaver, well I'm not sure if I ever ate any, but who is to say? Most were afraid, or maybe just knew better, than to ask what those cajuns were cooking up, but it always tasted good.

Those same cajuns told me that in Arkansas, it was legal to shoot any animal, anytime, and anywhere, and in some cases, the word 'animal' included people. I never knew if they were joking, serious, or if they thought that maybe we were from Arkansas and were trying to get a stir out of us, but we kept quiet.

When everyone down there goes by only one name, it kind of makes you think of what they are hiding from. Just keep quiet and don't become part of their next meal.

Kt

I am in NC and it is legal to shoot OR use a variety of traps without a permit. I was surprised at this information, but I can't imagine watching them doing all that damage and being powerless to stop it, but I guess its just something they hope you consider before buying such a property in other areas! I think there are limits on the time of year you can kill them, but if they are doing damage to your property, those limitations are lifted.
The parcel I am buying is being surveyed off and will show that I own the creek at least half way across if not totally.
Truthfully, I don't delight at the idea of killing living creatures. I don't even own a gun- YET! But, I'll do what I have to. I'm sure I'll see a rabbit or two, but I expect to lose a few emerging culms each year anyway. That's different than watching mature culms being felled before your eyes!
I'm more likely to give the Beavers a quasi-Christian burial than I am to try to eat the things especially given the mixed reviews here, but maybe I'll work up the nerve. I've been told I have some Cajun ancestry and I KNOW I have some French so maybe I'll get back to my roots. Lol!
As to deer- it's odd, but I rarely see them anywhere in the area. I've always been thankful of that. This will be the most urban area I will have lived in the last 6 years, so I'm hoping my luck will continue in that respect.
Kentuck, too funny about the cajuns. That might explain certain urges I've had lately. LOL! Before Katrina, I actually would consider from time to time reinventing myself in cajun country. Do you think the estate of Justin Wilson will be auctioning off his phoney accent anytime soon?

Thanks everyone for the entertaining thread. Certain aspects of this real estate deal have been working my last nerve, so it was a welcome distraction.

We live in Western Arkansas on a large private lake and have lots of beavers. I planted two Weeping Willows on the bank and within a month the beavers dug,yes dug, them up and hauled them away, I ouuld see them sticking out of their dam. I have lots of different Boos 20 to 30 feet from the bank and have never had any problem with beavers molesting them(3+Years now). If I do decide to plant boos next to the lake,I will fence them in with chicken wire until they grow large.

I forgot to mention that beavers don't seem to mess with arundo donax either, so maybe they won't chew down bamboo as Bamboobubba also said.

HHH, the Justin Wilson accent is quite common in the southern swamplands of LA, in fact the name Justin is also quite common. One moonshine gathering that we were at, had several people named Justin, it kind of reminded me of those guys on TV some years back..."this is my brother Darrell, and this is my other brother Darrell", maybe that's where they got the idea from,...go figure. But one thing is for sure, they sure know how to party.

Kt

Chuckr30 says, "It smelled faintly of skunk."
MacDaddy says, "Eeeew! You've cooked and eaten skunk"
:)

Our home and bamboo nursery has been located on Wolf Creek since 1985. Bamboo has been planted on land along the 60 foot wide river since we purchased the property in 1984. Native A. gigantea and A.g. tecta have always grown along the river here. Over the years there has been insufficient damage to several groves from beavers. Culm damage has ranged from 30 to 100 on several groves containing 500 or more culms. In our experience they prefer more solid tree structures over the bamboo and have never been what we consider a problem. New plantings of bamboo should be protected by wire enclosures so that the bamboo can become established. Many of the culms cut down by the beavers have been left lying around or near the river bank. These are cut off 8 to 18 inches above the ground. The remaining above ground cane does pose a safety concern as it is cut off at a dangerous 45 degree angle. These should be cut off even with the ground to prevent a possible accident.

Roger Sr.

In Texas, beavers were practically driven to extinction early last century. They're still rare through most of the state, with some exceptions. That's why they're a protected species. Folks who come from states with thriving beaver populations have a hard time understanding that, sometimes. :-)

Nutria, on the other hand... ugh. Non-native, invasive and destructive.

I agree that beavers will likely use any material for dams but are most voracious cutters of willow and cottonwood for the cambium ... their salad.

As for their eating qualities, it likely depends on what they are eating. They also have musk glands and if not careful in removing their pretty hide it could taint the meat. I've cooked haunches like pot roast with veggies and rate them as quite tasty but can only speak for the ones from the great northwest. I was careful to remove all fat since that can carry some strong flavors.

I'm a bamboo lover as well but the only predation I've experienced has been by some small birds who eat the tender side branches of my henon as they open up off of new culms. I cut out a falcon flight profile from some 1/16 " sheet plastic, hung it on fishing line from a nearby high tree branch and that has been a successful deterrent for two years...high altitude functional yard art

Toymkr

MMMMMMMMMMM!!! When did you say open season on beavers starts?

Macdaddy, skunk is pretty good too. It's getting it out of the skin that's tricky!

In rural Mexico skunk meat brings a very high price. Folklore claims are that it'll cure rabies in humans.

George
Tahlequah, OK

Beaver just ended in Pa. Beaver pelts this year have actually been getting good money, so do not make to big of a hole.