Beavers are herbivores, and they do eat apples and apple trees. While the fruit is an opportunistic part of their diet, the tree itself is a potential food source. Beavers will readily consume fruit when it is available, but their primary concern with the tree is the soft, inner layer beneath the bark. This preference means that an apple orchard located near a body of water inhabited by beavers is at risk of damage.
Natural Primary Diet
The bulk of a beaver’s natural diet is composed of herbaceous plants, leaves, and the soft, inner bark of woody plants. This inner layer, called the cambium, is rich in sugars and nutrients that the beaver’s specialized digestive system can process effectively. Beavers do not consume the hard wood of a tree, but rather the nutritional layers just beneath the outer bark.
Beavers prefer certain fast-growing, deciduous trees that are easily digestible. Their favorite species include aspen, willow, and cottonwood, which offer a readily accessible source of cambium near their aquatic habitats. During the summer, their diet shifts to include soft vegetation, such as aquatic plants like water lilies, cattails, and various grasses. This seasonal shift ensures they receive a balance of fiber and nutrients throughout the year.
Attraction to Apples and Fruit
Apples, both the fruit and the tree, are attractive to beavers, though they are not a staple food source. The fruit is a high-calorie, high-sugar food that beavers readily consume if they find fallen fruit or access an orchard. This opportunistic behavior allows them to take advantage of the available energy source, especially when other soft vegetation becomes scarce.
The apple tree itself is consumed for its bark and cambium layer. Apple trees are listed among the species whose bark beavers will eat, alongside black cherry, birch, and maple. Beavers will fell an apple tree to reach the tender upper branches and inner bark, which they may then cache for food. The combination of palatable fruit and desirable inner bark makes apple trees a target for foraging beavers.
Protecting Apple Trees and Orchards
Protecting apple trees from beavers requires implementing physical barriers. The most effective method involves creating a cylinder of heavy-gauge wire mesh, such as galvanized welded wire, around the base of the trunk. This barrier should be at least 4 feet high to prevent the beaver from reaching over it.
The wire mesh must be installed a minimum of 100 millimeters away from the trunk. This distance prevents the beaver from reaching the bark to gnaw through the mesh openings. The cylinder should be secured to the ground, and in areas with heavy snowfall, it should extend at least two feet above the expected snow line for year-round protection. For an entire orchard, a robust perimeter fence made of the same heavy wire mesh can be installed, ensuring no gaps exist large enough for a beaver to exploit.