LEEDS — Teenagers are always causing trouble. In this case, it’s youthful beavers, striking out into the woodlands to make their mark on the world. But Jim McNaughton, the road foreman for the town of Leeds, says those new homes are hurting his roads.

“In the spring and fall is when you have the issues with the beaver, because the younger beavers are kicked out of their homes by the parents in the spring and they have to find a place before fall,” he said. “Needless to say, we’ve had quite a few issues this fall.”

McNaughton has been coping with the large, pesky rodents for some time. Their homes and dams can flood culverts and roadways, costing towns thousands of dollars in maintenance repairs. He testified before a state legislative committee in March in support of a bill that would have allowed town officials to shoot beavers.

The measure was defeated. And his attempts to control the population on his own have been frowned upon by state officials.

“Legally, I’m supposed to call a person that is an animal damage control agent,” he said. “(They) charge the municipality whatever they want, basically. We’ve had to pay up to $150 to get rid of a beaver before.”

McNaughton said he’s working with state and local officials to come up with a better system for dealing with the destructive critters, which he argues are a growing problem.

“There are actually more problems because there are more beavers, the population has risen and nobody’s trapping them,” he said. “One of the trappers that we’re using, he actually says there’s probably not even going to be a market for beaver pelts this year. There’s no demand for it.”

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A beaver swims around the water near its lodge in Livermore Falls April, 2009.