Not a secret, castor is a super attractant for beaver. Most beaver won’t go past it. In this case two traps were placed side by side in a slot along a stream not far from the dam. The traps filled the opening almost completely. Castor lure was located on the bank behind the traps. The water was the same depth as the traps, while the width of the opening was just over the width of the two cages. Set in this manner, quickly I might add, there isn’t a much room for beaver to avoid capture. If they do miss a trap by going around, they will run into the traps while existing. By filling a slot in this manner with enough traps to cover the opening the odds of catching one or both beaver are very high. The traps were not covered or brushed in, which I will explain.
Cage traps themselves do not intimidate beaver. There is no fear or suspicion. One day earlier I had dropped in a single trap leaving a great deal of room beside them. I just brushed it in, hoping the beaver would dive through it. A log would have been the right call, a deadman, but I didn’t have one close by, so I got lazy and put brushed the trap in. On the following day the bare trap was just sitting on the bottom, while all of the brush was incorporated into the dam. I suspected that would happen when I set it. The quick fix was to add a second trap and forget the brush. Both were waiting the following day.
