Riverbanks and dikes are a big issue in the Netherlands, whose very existence depends on keeping water separate from reclaimed land—and it’s under constant threat from semi-aquatic rodents that burrow into dikes and banks, undermining them.
Active efforts by authorities trapped 84,438 muskrats last year, a 28% increase over the year before.
The Association of Dutch Water Authorities reported that the invasive species, mainly muskrats, are threatening the country’s flood defenses; each muskrat is capable of moving the equivalent of 13 wheelbarrows filled with soil a year.
Vincent Lokin, a board member of the Association of Dutch Water Authorities, highlighted the stakes. “About 17,000 kilometers of dikes, regional embankments, and other water defenses protect the Netherlands from floods,” he said in a press release. “The pressure on our dikes and embankments will only grow due to more extreme weather. Preventing burrowing by muskrats and beaver rats remains a crucial task for the more than 400 specialized rat control officers of the 21 water boards.”
A water board scientist checks a drain as part of efforts to monitor and control invasive muskrats in the Netherlands.
Credit: Unie van Waterschappen / Unie van Waterschappen
