Organic Pest Control For Beaverton's Trees
Beaverton is home to many trees. The trees in Beaverton are very important, providing shade in the summer and shelter in the winter, as well as improving air quality and reducing noise.
Beaverton residents take great care of their trees. Because of this, pests rarely cause problems for the trees. However, in cases of extreme infestations or environmental stress, pests may cause damage.
Unfortunately, with the changing climate, environmental stresses are becoming more frequent. This means that even healthy trees may suffer from insect or disease issues.
How can you tell if your tree is having insect or disease issues? How can you prevent further damage? What can you do if a tree needs to be removed? These are all questions that tree experts get asked frequently.
Trees are valuable and should only use organic methods to control beavers
Beavers can cause major damage to trees by feeding on them. Because beavers predominantly feed on the tree’s bark and cambium layer, this is where organic pest control methods are most effective.
Beavers have preferences for certain trees, and will spend time collecting the ones they like. This collection can lead to overcrowding, which in turn can lead to tree mortality.
Since beavers breed year round, it is important to monitor them throughout the year. The best time to control the population is during the winter when they are less active and less reproductively active.
A common problem with controlling beaver populations is that they can re-establish in previously affected areas. Since they are very territorial, some ways of controlling the population are to either relocate them or trap them and then release them somewhere else.
Use steel traps
Beaver can be very hard to control. Because they can cause serious damage to homes and property, some jurisdictions have laws that require you to report a beaver activity and obtain a permit to remove them.
When it comes to trees, however, you can take matters into your own hands (or should we say tree trimmer?)
If you notice new tree bark damage or the trees appear to be thinning out near the ground, there’s probably a beaver at work. If so, contact a professional wildlife control company immediately. They will know how to handle the situation and safely get rid of the beaver.
You can also try placing steel traps in areas of suspected rodent activity. Be careful when doing this, as rodents can also carry diseases. Make sure all your precautions are in order before doing this, or contacting an expert for help.
Place bait around the area where you see the beavers
Once you have spotted the beavers and know their behavior, you can take steps to prevent them from causing more damage. The first step is to place baits around the trees they have been chewing on.
There are many products available that are designed specifically for beavers. These include commercially available soft plastics, dough balls, and dried fruit and nut mixes. Any of these will work well to attract and distract the beavers.
Once they have eaten the bait, they will no longer have reason to chew on the trees. By constantly replacing the bait, you will be able to stop their territorial behavior completely.
Be aware that if the beavers do not initially eat the bait, they may later suddenly eat it. This is due to the fact that beavers are semi-aquatic animals, so they may not recognize some of the softer baits as food.
Use aromatic oils
A popular way to keep away unwanted pests is by using aromatic oils. These oils can be infused into water or directly applied to the plant itself.
Many people use peppermint oil in their trees to repel wood chewing insects like termites, carpenter ants, and wood-boring beetles. Because these insects avoid the peppermint scent, they will not want to enter your tree or build nests within it.
Other oils like citronella, lemon rind oil, and lavender work just as well at keeping insects away. Just make sure to choose an oil that is scented enough to keep insects away but is not too strong for the tree itself.
Make sure to continually add new oil to your plant if it absorbs it all.
Use natural predators
One way to control beavers is to introduce natural predators into the area. If there are no other areas for them to live in, they will move into the area and prey on the beavers.
This can be done in a few ways. One is to place wood structures in the water that attract otters, which prey on beavers. Another is to place wire mesh over some of the trees that beavers use for shelter, so raccoons can get inside and kill the beavers.
Since these strategies require other animals, they are only possible in areas where these animals exist. They also require a lot of time and resources to implement, so they are not feasible in small backyard areas.
The most important thing to remember when trying to control beavers is that you need to let them go after a few weeks. If you do not see any improvement, then your efforts have been wasted.
Wash your trees with water to remove scent markings
Once you have removed the beavers from your property, youhave to remove their scent markings from your trees.
Washing your trees with water will help do this. Take a hose toyour trees and thoroughly wash them. Be sure to get into thecrown of the tree and wash down the trunk as well.
This will take some time, but it will help prevent beavers fromreturning to your trees. Beavers are territorial animals, so if theydon’t smell another beaver on your trees, they likely won’t return.
Be sure to do this early in the morning or late in the evening sothat you don’t lose a lot of water uptake due to sunlight. Wateris important for tree health, so try to avoid wasting it.
Cover the trees in netting
When trees are planted, it is important to consider how trees will be protected for the long run.
If beavers are a problem, it is best to install the trees before they become a problem. Once the trees are planted, installing netting over them can help protect them.
Beavers cannot chew through netting, so this solution would effectively prevent them from eating the trees. While this is not organic, it would keep the beavers from ruining your trees.
Once they have established a home in the area, it is almost impossible to remove them. The best thing to do is ignore them and let them go about their business. If there are babies in the colony, they can be relocated.
Use fluorescent lights near your trees
There are several natural ways to keep beavers away from your trees. If one method does not work, try another one! Beavers are very smart creatures, so just because one of these techniques does not work, does not mean that they will not figure it out.
One way is to place a light above your tree. If you have trees in your yard that are overgrown, then you can place a light above those trees to prevent the beaver from chewing down your other trees.
Beavers do not see well in bright light, so placing a light above your tree will prevent the beaver from chewing it down at night. During the day, when the beaver is not active, turn off the light to let it eat the tree.
Another way is to use fluorescent lights near your tree. Beavers are colorblind, meaning that they only see shades of grey. By placing brightly colored lights near your tree, the beaver will think that it is a stump or dead tree and leave it alone.
