By Rick Palsgrove
Southeast Editor
A city of Groveport public works department worker approaches a beaver dam blocking a drain pipe in the city.
Beavers are persistent critters who at times can keep Groveport city workers busy.
On July 21, city workers removed a large, 3 foot high beaver dam that was blocking a 72 inch drain pipe near Port Road and State Route 317. The dam was causing water to back up into retention ponds and drainage ditches in the nearby industrial park.
Groveport Public Works Superintendent Dennis Moore said city workers have to remove beaver dams from drains and streams throughout the city several times a year.
“It’s rare to find a beaver dam in the summer around here,” said Moore. “We usually find them in February and March (during breeding season).
He said the beavers often take advantage of man-made engineering by using objects like drain pipes as dam sites.
“It’s easier for them to block up a drain pipe than a stream,” said Moore.
Beavers build dams to create small ponds that serve to protect their lodge entrances from predators.
Moore said his crew used pitchforks and mulch rakes to tear the beaver dam apart.
“You hook it and pull it apart. It took about three or four hours,” said Moore. “It’s not an easy job.”
He said the water level dropped about two and a half feet once the dam was removed.
Moore said four beavers watched the workers dismantle the dam.
“They kept an eye on us,” said Moore. “They let you know that they know you’re in their house by smacking their tails. They can’t holler at you so they smack their tails. It’s loud enough to make you look over at them.”
According to Moore, sometimes beavers will come back to a site and rebuild their dam while other times they don’t come back and instead move on to another spot. In this case, the busy beavers returned and a few days later a new dam was partially back in place at the same spot. Moore said this time the city contacted a local licensed trapper to come in and attempt to trap and remove the beavers.
Moore added that, in the fall and winter, a park ranger from Slate Run Metro Park legally traps beavers in the city to help control the beaver population.
