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Beavers eating lotus plants??

18 years ago

I have a 5 acre natural pond. I put some lotus in pots and sunk them at the depth recommended. They came up for 2 years and then....gone! We have had a problem with beavers and wonder if they ate the plants? If anyone has any information on this I would sure appreciate it.

Also, I am looking to plant on the steep sides of the pond to stop erosion. The soil is clay, hard and dry.

Thanks,

Julie

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Comments (4)

curdog007
18 years ago
Julie-I don't know if beavers eat lotus or not but I do know they are bad for a pond with a levee and most vegetation in the area. They'll tunnel into the levee and the pond will blow out. Real problem.
lynn
catfishsam
18 years ago
Julie, perhaps Muskrats ate your lotus since they mainly eat aquatic plants? Beavers mainly eat tree bark.

Here is a link that might be useful: Muskrats
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Beavers are such incredible engineers! We had an ongoing problem with them damming up our creek. DH would tear it down every weekend. I finally got the notion of putting a long piece of that black plastic drainage tile from above their dam, through their dam, to below their dam, so the water behind it would constantly be able to drain. We checked it the next day, and they had pulled that long piece of drainage tube out! I absolutely hate the philosophical dilemma having them around poses for me. They are incredible animals, and make great parents to their babies. They are so smart. I guess the problem arises when they eat trees that we love. If the country was as it used to be......miles and miles of forest, then it wouldn't matter. We've always tried to scare them away with just noise, firecrackers, smoke bombs, etc. .....things that would just irritate them and not kill them. Its a challenge. Fortunately, our creek has been low in the past few years, and they moved on (for now.)
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Yep........lotus. They are sooooooo aggressive. In fact, when I used to plant one in a 7 gallon pot and put it in a larger stocktank, I would have to thin it every 2 years. When I would dump it out, there would be no soil at all.......just roots. I had a relative who put in 2 big ponds and he added lotus. He really regretted it when both of them had the lotus take over everything. I've heard about cutting off the stem under water, but I'm thinking with so many of them, a lot would surely survive. I fear you (or your community) will have to pull them out. They are such a beautiful plant/flower, but they just don't know when to quit. And every year you'll have all those dead leaves and seed pods in the pond. The pond might start getting a bit unhealthy. Good luck!
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Hi gang, I was amazed when the stinkers moved in under my dock. They truly are mess makers and have no respect for property but I cant help admiring them and their persistence. My dock is very old and time for replacement is near but when the beavers started chewing away at the sides and piling the crap on top of the dock, that was it. This means war! For weeks I would clear out everything they stuffed in and on top of the dock looking for ways to get rid of them. The neighbors suggested the only way to be rid of them was to shoot them. No thanks, not up for that. I tried almost every product available but to no avail. My dear wife came up with the idea of some very smelly deodorant soap. What had I to lose?? I bought some Irish Spring bars and using a cheese grater, shredded them up and filled a couple of small yogurt containers, placed them in the den one night. 2 days later, no beavers, they are gone!!! And I didn't have to shoot them to my relief!! May have also helped that I also took the liberty of taking a leak over the den every night.
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catherinet
18 years ago
I wonder about the muskrats too. I've heard how delicious lotus are, and it could be any number of animals that ate them.
HU-624413335
3 years ago
Yes, beavers definitely eat lotus plants. They start with the lotus flowers themselves and then will eventually eat the remainder of the plant. I know because, well, I have watched them do it in our pond. With all types of options for them to eat in our acreage, they prefer the lotus above all else. Also, as someone said, they burrow into the levees, which can cause problems. That being said, there are upsides to having beavers for us. They keep the dam at the back of our swamp intact to prevent the swamp from turning into a mud pit. And for us, without beavers, the lotus plants get completely out of control in both our pond and swamp. Oh, and over time, they grow more comfortable with our presence and add some interest to the yard.

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