BEAVER SWIM THROUGH CAGE TRAPS SET UPSIDE DOWN IN AND UNDER WATER

I know there are some who may not understand the the virtues of setting a cage trap trap upside down in water, but there are many, making this trap and method of setting second to none when it comes to cage traps.

 A power door cage trap set upside will actually lift and push and animal into the trap as he swims forward, far superior to any guillotine door or gravity door ring or drop down door trap.  The power door firing up from the bottom works in tandem with the forward momentum of the swimming animal, propelling him into the trap as the door closes and locks.
 
A second advantage to the door coming up from the bottom is that as the door closes the animal's feet are located on a moving surface, the door, as it lifts the animal into the trap, meaning the animal can get no purchase to push himself back out of the trap as the doors are closing.  In conventional traps where the door comes down from the top, the animal has all four feet planted on firm ground, giving him the ability to brace and back out.  This can't happen in a power door coming up from the bottom.

Because the triggering mechanism is on the bottom when the traps are set upside down, these traps can be set in freezing conditions, even when a portion of the trap is left out of water and able to freeze in, yet still function.  When the traps are set in a dam break, with the upper door closed in a hole in the dam, water leaking through the trap, while the lower end of the trap is submerged, even if the exposed portion partially freezes in, the trigger and lower door will function flawlessly to make the catch.

Though traps can be left exposed and still take beaver readily, at times traps may require camo in the form of grass, logs, mud, brush etc.  When camo is applied to any trap with the mechanism on top, and/ or external components, care must be taken so that it is never placed in a manner that will interfere with the trigger action.  Cover can jam a trap a trap constructed in this manner quite easily, resulting in a misfire, no fire and lost animals.  The swim through trap set upside down with the trigger on the bottom can be camoed with any sort of cover without worry since all of the trigger components are out of the way on the bottom.  Even pushed into the mud, the trigger will still work as it should.
When adding camo, grass can be stuffed into the wires, logs laid on top of the trap, while mud and brush packed on top will have no effect on the mechanism, function or working ability of the trap.

By setting a trap upside down any debris that could hinder a drop down door will rest beneath the door.  These traps are stable enough to be thrown into the water without firing and yet sensitive enough to take muskrats with regularity.  When the trap is positioned on the bottom upside down, any potentially door clogging debris can be readily seen and removed.  Conversely, when drop down doors traps are placed, there is always the potential for a door to get hung up on an unseen snag on the bottom.

When these cage traps are set upside down and placed on the surface, suspended with wire, floated or on stakes, with the top of the cage just out of water, a beaver may stop and inspect the cage, but he is already over the door and in a sense partially into the trap and less likely to refuse.  Protruding doors from the top are far more visible and may act as a deterrent.













  

In a short while we will have a double powered door squirrel trap, 5x5x24, with a versatile new push through trigger never before seen in a small trap.  To follow, 6x6 and 7x7 for fox squirrels and skunks, perhaps a 7 or 8x10 for rabbits.  Each of these traps will have powered doors but will work as a colony traps simply by removing the springs and placing in runs for muskrats for multiple catches.  The traps will perform as either single or multiple catch traps.

An ADC trapper in Illinois pointed out the value in the larger single door 10x12 and 12x12 traps made by other manufacturers.  Because the all around 9x11 Comstock traps are smaller they will easily slip into the larger traps, allowing animals to be transferred into the larger traps.  The Comstock traps can be reset to do what they do best, catch critters, while the older pan traps can be used for what they are best suited, as a transport container for an animal caught in a Comstock.