Water where it wasn't last month. A culvert that keeps plugging up. Young trees felled overnight, stripped and dragged toward the water. Billerica knows beavers as well as any town in Massachusetts — the Shawsheen and Concord Rivers, Nutting Lake, and wetlands threaded through town have kept beavers here for decades — and in the fall they’re at their busiest, repairing dams and building their winter food cache. The flooding and tree damage only gets worse heading into winter.

Harvey's Animal Evictions LLC is a licensed Massachusetts wildlife removal company based in Wilmington, with our shop in Medford. We handle beaver problems for Billerica homeowners, businesses, and property managers — inspection first, then the fix that fits the site: a flow device that lets the beavers stay, or humane removal carried out in line with Massachusetts regulations, which tightly govern beaver work.

Signs beavers have moved in

• Water rising or spreading in a yard, driveway edge, or low area that used to drain

• A dam of sticks and mud building up in a brook, culvert, or drainage outlet

• Trees and saplings felled with distinctive cone-shaped, gnawed stumps, bark stripped, branches dragged off

• A dome-shaped lodge of sticks and mud at a pond edge, or bank dens along a stream

• Chewed shrubs and garden plantings near the water

• Blocked drainage that keeps coming back days after it's cleared

Beaver flooding is not a wait-and-see problem. Rising water can undermine driveways and septic systems, flood basements and crawl spaces, drown the trees and landscaping you wanted to keep, and turn a yard into standing water that breeds mosquitoes all next summer. And a beaver colony defends its dam — clearing the sticks without addressing the beavers usually buys you a few days, not a solution.

Where Billerica beavers cause trouble — and the flow-device lesson

If any town has learned how to live with beavers, it’s this one. Billerica’s long-running municipal beaver program is one of the best known in the state, and its experience taught a lesson worth knowing before you pay anyone: at many sites, the lasting fix isn’t removing the beavers — it’s managing the water. Flow devices — pond levelers and culvert fence-and-pipe systems — hold water at a set level so it never threatens the road, yard, or septic system, while the beavers keep their pond and stop building the water higher.

That approach works on private property too, where the site suits it:

• Culverts and drainage outlets — a fence-and-pipe device keeps the culvert open where a dam would otherwise flood roads, driveways, and yards upstream

• Pond-edge and riverfront yards along the Shawsheen and Concord — a pond leveler can hold the water below the line where it threatens lawns, trees, and septic systems

• Brooks and wetland edges behind houses — colonies dam small streams that were never a problem before; some suit a device, some don’t

• Commercial properties near wetlands — rising water threatens parking areas, loading zones, and septic systems

Flow devices are not a fit everywhere — steep streams, very shallow ponds, and some culvert layouts won’t hold one — and where a device won’t work, humane trapping and removal is the answer. Either way, beavers stay active all winter under the ice; they don't hibernate. A colony damming your culvert in November will still be there in February, and the water will keep rising behind a dam they maintain nightly.

How we handle a beaver problem

Every job starts with an inspection, which you can book online through our website. We don't give estimates over the phone or online, because the right plan depends on what we find: how many beavers are in the colony, where they're damming, and what the water is threatening, and whether the site suits a flow device. Beaver work in Massachusetts is regulated, and part of the inspection is making sure the plan follows the rules for your situation.

1. Inspection — We locate the dam, lodge or bank den, and feeding damage, assess what the rising water threatens, and tell you honestly whether your site suits a flow device — then give you a clear plan and price before any work starts.

2. The fix that fits the site — Where a device works, we install a flow device — a pond leveler, a culvert protective fence, or a fence-and-pipe combination — set to hold the water at a safe level. Where it doesn’t, beavers are trapped and removed safely and humanely, in line with Massachusetts regulations and any permits your situation requires.

3. Dam and site advice — Where beavers have been removed, we advise on dam removal and on protecting the trees you want to keep, so a new colony doesn't simply move into a ready-made site. Where a device is installed, we explain the simple checks that keep it working.

4. Follow-through — Beaver sites get rechecked, because an empty pond with good habitat can attract dispersing young beavers in spring, and a flow device does its job best when someone looks at it a couple of times a year.

See our beaver removal services and our wildlife exclusion and damage repair services.

Why Billerica property owners call Harvey's

• Licensed Massachusetts Problem Animal Control agents

• Wildlife only — no bugs, mice, or rats; beavers and other nuisance wildlife are all we do

• Both answers on the table — flow devices where they fit, humane removal where they don’t,  and honest advice on which site you have

• Inspection first, plan in writing — you get a clear price after the inspection, before any work starts

• 24/7 emergency service — a flooded driveway or a culvert about to overtop is a call we take any time

• Based in Wilmington with our shop in Medford — in Billerica for jobs regularly

Billerica beaver questions

How much does beaver removal cost in Billerica?

It depends on the size of the colony, access to the dam and lodge, what the water is threatening, and whether the fix is a flow device or removal, so we never quote a price without looking. Every job starts with an inspection — book online through our website, and the inspection fee is confirmed at booking. After the inspection, you get a clear price before any work starts.

What’s a flow device, and would one work at my property?

A flow device manages the water instead of fighting the beavers: a pond leveler is a pipe through the dam that quietly holds the water at a set level, and a culvert fence-and-pipe system keeps a culvert open so it can’t be plugged. Billerica’s own municipal program has used devices like these for years. Not every site suits one — that’s a main question the inspection answers.

Can't I just tear out the dam myself?

You can clear sticks, but beavers rebuild fast — often overnight — and Massachusetts regulates beaver dam work because tearing out a dam can drain wetlands and flood downstream properties. The inspection sorts out what’s allowed on your site and what will actually stop the cycle.

Are beavers protected in Massachusetts?

Beaver trapping and dam work are regulated, and some situations need permits through your local board of health — especially where flooding threatens septic systems, wells, or roads. That's part of what the inspection covers: we tell you what your situation requires before any work starts.

Will beavers come back after removal?

Good habitat can attract a new colony, which is why we advise on protecting specimen trees and recheck active sites — and why, at the right site, a flow device that manages the water can be the longer-lasting answer. The sooner a new arrival is caught, the smaller the job.

Do you handle other animals in Billerica?

Yes — raccoons, squirrels, bats, skunks, woodchucks, muskrat, opossums, birds, and more, plus mole and vole lawn treatment. See the full list on our FAQ page.

Book your inspection

Rising water doesn't fix itself, and a beaver colony works every night. Book an inspection online, or call 1-800-692-0406 — emergency service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Local pages: Woburn · Saugus