Beavers are wreaking havoc on some rural roads in Dallas County.

Recently, Dallas County commissioner Larry Nickles called for some kind of eradication program to rid the area of the natural dam builders.

Nickles said last year three culverts in his district near Orrville kept washing out because beavers would pack them and use roads as their dams.

“Nearly every weekend, the roads are washing out and it’s costing us several thousands of dollars,” he said.

Dallas County isn’t the only area suffering from dam-building beavers. And their work goes on year around, said Mike Sievering, a biologist for the state Office of Conservation and Natural Resources.

“There is no time of year when they are more active,” he said. “In the drought years, they will curb their activity a little bit. It’s the end of the breeding season for them. Some of them are pregnant. They’re doing what they can do to maintain that water source.”

Last year, the county spent about $1,800 on a beaver eradication program, according Nickles, for two districts.

Generally, the experts at Conservation and Natural Resources will put the county in touch with a licensed trapper, said Mark Sasser, coordinator of the nongame wildlife program for the state office. “You usually don’t eradicate them; you usually control them.”