SIDE by SIDE SETTING

Perhaps overlooked, and or taken for granted, are the very positive features of side by side setting of the Comstock Beaver Cage Traps.  These swim through cage traps offer the only practical side by side setting of any type of trap in beaver trapping, allowing double, triple or unlimited side by side catching.   These cage traps can be placed virtually anywhere you wish to set a trap on soft or hard bottom.  Body grippers are incredibly limited in that aspect, as are snares.  If there is a single run or location that could accept two body grippers side by side, in order to secure them the bottom has to be solid enough to hold a stake, but not too solid to prevent a stake from being driven, very limiting.  The same goes for soft muck.  Many times the bottom is either rocky, mucky, solid steel or concrete of a culvert, none of which will hold a stake.  True, you can use stabilizes to place body grippers on a hard surface, but set side by side once a catch is made both traps will be involved in the catch and out of action, taking but one beaver with two traps.  The same is true for snares set close together.  Both will be involved in a single catch and out of commission at the location.

Independent of each other, these swim through cages can be set side by side anywhere, no matter what the bottom.  The cage wire separates the two, making them independent of each other, able to make a catch without moving, shifting or effecting the other trap.  In fact, where streams or runs are wide, there is no limit to how many may be set touching or nearly touching, two, three, four...

Comstock Beaver Cage Traps at work.

The other day I checked 4 sets at this location,  which produced a blanket beaver, a two year old and a muskrat.  This catch is indicative of a double colony and reason to add traps.  I put in one more trap, 5 total.  On this check the result was 5 for 5, a blanket, two more two year olds and two yearlings.  Three were caught in 12x12x36 and two others were caught in the 12x18x39.  Beaver ranged in weight from 20 to 45+ pounds.  In wide runs the 12x18 traps work great.  A second alternative is to place two 12x12x36 cages side by side in wide runs.  Beaver can easily be taken in cages set next to each other.  If set with triggers to the outside, the first caught frequently does not spring the second trap.

Under ice setting is quick and easy, with the ice acting as a deadman and no camouflage required.

   

THE COMSTOCK MULTIPURPOSE TRAP

The multipurpose trap, designed for denning animals living in either free standing dens or dens under buildings, is the most versatile trap ever developed.  This trap is a double door trap made to take animals coming or going, woodchucks, skunks, rabbits etc.  There is an opening in the bottom of the trap, another at the end of the trap and one on each side of the trap, meaning there is virtually no position or situation this trap with 4 openings can't handle.

While single door traps will take only animals living in the den at the time the trap is set, this trap will not only take the animal living in the den, but he one returning to the den.

With the side entrances on the nose cone portion with the 4 openings, the trap can be placed parallel to buildings, either way.  This comes in handy when there is a large object, trees or brush opposite the den.

Other double door traps may have this nose cone portion with 2 openings, but none have 4 like the Comstock Multipurpose trap.

 

You don't have to worry about catching big beaver in Comstock Cages.  Pictured above is a 61 pound beaver taken in a 12x12x36, the largest beaver taken in the smaller Comstock Beaver Cage Trap to date.  Information and pictures acquired from others using traps with the same size opening, 12x12, indicate that this is not an unusual occurrence, but to be expected.  I have also seen a picture with a 58 and 64 pound beaver in cages of this size.  Though the traps are only 36 inches long, it took a 44 inch long beaver!  

This is another 66 pound beaver taken in a standard 12x18 Comstock Beaver Cage Trap.  One trapper in Massachusetts claims to have caught dozens of 60 pound beaver, some 70 pound beaver and even a couple of 80 pound beaver in untrapped areas in the Comstock Swim Through Beaver Cage Traps.

Positive Side Effects of Cages

Besides the fact that cages go in fast and easy and rarely sprung, even if they are sprung it is usually not a beaver that did it.  On the rare occasion that it is a beaver, that beaver still may be caught in the same cage when the traps are set at a different location in a different manner.

All that aside, since cages do not require, tying off of any kind with wire or other and don't need staking or stabilizing either, they are difficult to spot by lay persons or even trappers because no one is looking for them.  There is nothing to look for.  There are no "tell tale" signs of them found with other methods.  When a catch is made under water, out of sight, it "doesn't exist."  This week I had 10 cages set in muddy clay water.  Muddy water can be a plus.  A trapper moved in on top of me, planted a half dozen 330 Conibears around the cages and had no idea the cages were in place though he would have had to almost step on one of them.

New Record For Us

Amazing, today we caught a 61 pound beaver in a 12x12x36 inch cage, the largest beaver we have taken in a trap this size.  Six beaver were taken at a single location in the Comstock swim through beaver cage traps, while 3 of them were taken at a single castor lure set.  This adds more information and fuels the argument for shorter traps with the realization that swim through, wire trigger cage traps with powered doors don't need to be as long as once thought.    

POWDER COATING began last week on all of the 9x11, 12x12 and 12x18 Comstock Cages

A long time in the works, powder coating is now a feature of all of the larger framed cage traps.  Not only will the frames be coated, but the entire trap will get the powder coating, even the cage wire.  The traps will be a flat black in color, requiring no additional covering to hide the shiny cage wire.  Best of all, the price will remain the same!

How to remove a raccoon from your house

Jim Horton of Quality Pro Pest and Wildlife Services captured this raccoon, demonstrating the incredibly fast powered Comstock Cage Trap doors.

Large beaver in 32 inch cage and small fish in a 5x5x24

Today we broke the size record for beaver taken in a 32 inch trap, 52 pounds.   Also there was a new record for small set in the squirrel trap in the form of a 1-1/2 inch sunfish caught in a 5x5x24 inch trap.

Smaller 12x12x36 Live Comstock Beaver Cage Traps work Great for Beaver too.

Developing a clear cut preference for one size Comstock beaver cage trap over another is a tough call, something that is taken from many catches made over time, a slow learning curve.  Most often it comes down to situation in the width of the run, which will dictate what size will work best.  Simply, he trap should fit the run, no fencing, no crowding.

Having taken 50 and 60 pound beaver in our cage traps with a 12x15 inch opening, I have heard of  60 pounders being caught in 12x12 traps.  I am now setting the smaller traps with more confidence.  Beaver seem not to refuse the 12x12 as the opening is much larger than a a 10x10 body gripping trap that take large beaver with regularity.

Many, if not most runs, are wide, meaning the 12x18 cages are perfect more often than not.  I would  not substitute the wide 12x12 trap for a 12x18 in wide runs.   However, a wide run can be covered in another way with two 12x12 cages set side by side a couple of inches apart.  The 12x12 cage will not only take large beaver, but this side by side setting strategy will provide two chances for catches.

Just yesterday I checked two side by side 12x12 cages and had large beaver in both, a 36 and a 42 pound beaver.  

Muskrats caught in the new 5x5x24 squirrel traps.

Local trapper Mike W. set 5 of the newest 5x5x24 double door, panel triggered, squirrel traps in bottom edge and run sets for muskrats day before yesterday.  Today, on the first check, he caught 3 muskrats in the 5 sets, showing more promise and usage for the study, lightweight, versatile traps.

60+ Pound Beaver taken in a 12x15x36 Comstock Swim Through Double Powered Door Cage.  As you will notice, the beaver is almost as large as the cage.  This trap recently took a 50 pounder.  Fifty pound beaver measure about 32 inches from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail.  The body length of the 60 appears to be a bit longer than the 50 pound beaver, 33 1/2 inches from nose to base of his tail.  I'm always amazed at the effectiveness of these cage traps since the overall length of the beaver is about 44 inches, 8 inches longer than the trap!

More Large Beaver

Today netted 3 more big beaver and brought closure to two more ADC locations.  The smallest beaver was 41 pounds at the first location, while the next spot produced a 45 and 60 pounder.   Again, the smallest trap took the largest beaver.   A 12x15x36 double door Comstock trap constructed like the 12x12x36 got the 60 pounder.

Plans are to make a 12x12x32 for beaver, which will push the practical limit in a small but adequate trap.  With one 12x18x32 inch trap currently in use,  I hope to put some more 32 inch traps together this winter in 12x12, 12x15 and 12x18.

Testimonial: New line of double door, swing panel traps, 5x5x24 squirrel trap, 8x10x36 rabbit trap.

Homeowner Lou C. in New York took 8 squirrels and 96 chipmunks in the 5x5 traps last year and this year caught 16 squirrels and 56 chipmunks.  He also mentioned catching 4 mice in them!

Lou tried a second trap for rabbits as his garden was overrun with them.  With no traps springs, he used the 8x10x36 to take 10 rabbits, 1 opossum and 2 woodchucks, a small and a medium chuck.

The 8x10x36 double door trap was designed for rabbits, feral cats, skunks and opossum.  Though the 8x10 trap was not intended for woodchucks, it is possible that it may hold up to woodchucks too.  

More about Double Setting

Dam crossovers are very obvious and easy to spot.  Except where theft is an issue or someone might disrupt your traps, dam crossovers are hard to beat.  Where beaver have multiple dams forming several ponds, they will, of course, have a point or points where they cross their dams nightly.  The crossover usually corresponds with the stream channel.  Placing a Comstock Cage trap at the base of the dam works well.  The trap will be set upside down as usual on the angle of the dam with the upper end of the roof of the trap about even with the water level and lower end submerged.

If there are multiple dams it certainly won't hurt to set all of the crossovers.  Where there is but one crossover you can increase your odds and speed the trapping process by simply setting two cages side by side.  Recently I did just that and took a 45 pound and 30 pound beavers side by side.    

Tips on Beaver Cage Trapping with Comstock Cages, Top Setting

Beaver swim on top as much as they do on the bottom of runs, perhaps more.  When setting runs top sets are no less effective than bottom sets.  This can be accomplished with snares, body grippers and even cage traps.  The beauty in the Comstock Cages is that they can be set up on long T-bars or wired to vertical poles with the top of the trap running even with the surface of the water.  Because the traps are set upside down, poles can be slid horizontally through the cages to support the cages on top in narrow runs, poles running bank to bank or supported with forked sticks.  With the mechanism on the bottom of the traps, poles and or grass etc. can be stuffed into the wire framing to hide and support  without interfering with the operation of at the trap in any way.  Triggers are unimpeded and doors will close and lock as they should.