Shown in the photo is a pair of bottom edge sets with one additional extra trap to provide another opportunity for a catch just in case there were more than two beaver at the location, while using three of the wide 12x18x39 Comstock Swim Through Beaver Cage Traps. As you can see, with these incredibly simple sets there is no fencing or blocking of any kind required. Additionally, there is no wiring and stabilizing associated with body gripping traps either. Since animals such as beaver often follow structure, like the bottom edge of a culvert in this case, these versatile traps are just dropped into place. The process to make the bottom edge sets takes no more time than it takes to set the traps themselves. Set the traps and let them sink to the bottom, done. Due to the triggering, this stabile trap can be placed, dropped or even tossed into the water without worry of firing. It will just fall to the bottom and remain set. In deep water you may want to square it up with a potato hook, but that’s about it.
The depth of the water may vary. Whether the water is two, three or four feet deep is not an issue. The set and function is the same no matter what the depth.
The outside traps were set close to the edge, but purposely set away from the wall several inches so that there wasn’t enough room for a beaver to hug the side of the culvert between the trap and the wall. Done this way the set up essentially turns an 18 inch wide trap into a 24 by adding the trap to the “in-between” space against the wall.
These sets are not 100% first pass sets, but over the course of the night are very likely to connect. On the first check, first night, both adult beaver were captured in the outside traps. The dam had been breached the day before. When the beaver returned to check on the dam they were both caught, but not on the first pass. It should be noted that there were a few sticks placed in the dam, which means of course the beaver had done a little cutting and swimming before they were caught. What is revealed is that beaver aren’t always on the bottom, but may have first swam the creek on top when they placed but a few sticks before capture. When the beaver do dive and swim the creek it is most likely they will be captured along the bottom edge the first time. Most important is that even if the beaver swim up and down stream even multiple times to add sticks to the dam, all they have to do is go through the bottom edge trap once during the night, which they are very likely to do and did do in this case apparently not long after beginning repairs to the dam.