This is a first for us, taking three beavers side by side in our wide 12x18x39 Comstock Beaver Cage Traps. This could be a first period, catching three beavers in a row in our cage traps. But, not knowing what everyone has experienced, it is possible it has been done before. At a single location we have more than once taken three and even four beavers in these cage traps placed in proximity to castor lure in a long channel. In those instances cages were either all in line or the sets were made with one or two traps placed in line and one pair of traps set side by side. Catches were made first night.
Most of the time on new small colonies, appearing to have only a pair of beavers, we just set two cage traps, sometimes placed separately and sometimes set side by side at one location, while often using castor. It is actually quite common to double, to catch two beavers in Comstock cage traps set side by side with castor lure. The reason we haven’t caught three together like we did this time is because we rarely set more than two traps adjacent to each other.
On larger colonies it makes sense to take advantage of a good location and “load up” on traps. It is definitely worth filling a wide spot with two or three cages placed a few inches apart.
It is a different mind set when using cages as opposed to body grippers. Wide openings, easy to find, can be utilized with cage traps. Body grippers require a small opening, natural or manufactured. With the killer type traps fencing is commonly used to narrow a wide opening in order to place a single 10 inch wide trap. With 18 inch wide cage traps that work independently of each other, cages become the “trap and fencing” all in one with the distinct advantage of making multiple catches frequently, minus a lot of fencing. Additionally, once a catch is made in a cage, that part of the “fence,” which is merely a cage with closed doors, remains in place, while forcing the next beaver into an open trap.
Update: The following day it was 3 for 3 again, three catches in the three cage traps set side by side, this time 2 more beaver and large snapping turtle, nearly 30 pounds. The traps held a 45 pound male beaver and what appeared to be a two year old beaver. Additionally there was another 30 pound turtle in a trap on the other side of the pond. In two nights the five traps produced 6 beaver and two big turtles. Both adult beaver were caught along with 3 yearlings and what may have been a two year old beaver, which was likely all of the beaver.
