Options in New Products

Trapping is all about options in equipment, having the right gear for the job.  I really don't have a lot of equipment for my ADC work, but I do like to have a variety of traps and accessories.  We have 9x11 traps of all lengths from 18 to 36 inches long in single door, single door with a bait door, double door, multipurpose traps with built in nose cones and 3 way flaps, flush mount traps and adapters, not to mention solid nose cones with flaps.  The bait door is hinged at the bottom where animals work a trap to provide strength where it is needed.  Bait can be wired to the door, then lifted into place and locked.

We now have the option of yet one other feature, a rear slider door for single door traps.  This door rides in a track and can be lifted easily for transfer, quick release or just to add bait.  With this addition we have should have a trap that will address just about any need.  They are not on the websites but should be appearing soon.  The sliders should be available on both 9x11 and 12x12 traps.

By spring we hope to have more accessories and new cage traps for bobcats, fox etc.

Raccoon Saved by a Comstock Cage

Matt in Tennessee sent us this pic with a story to go with it.  He caught the 'coon in a 9x11 Comstock Cage about midnight.  The property owner told Matt that coyotes came upon the trap with the "coon in it, then hauled the trap and 'coon away, stopping intermittently, trying to get the "coon out of the trap.  Next morning the trap, with the 'coon still in tact, was located about 100 yards away from where it had been caught, but still alive and well.

With the signature wire trigger and powered doors, we built our cage traps to be escape proof, but never really thought about how that durability would also work the other by way by not allowing animals to get into a cage.  With internal triggering mechanisms that will take whatever animals can dish out from the inside, there is nothing externally for animals on the outside to break.  Tough cage wire and 1/4' frames will stand up to abuse from inside or out with little to no damage.  Matt said that the handle got bent, but the rest looked pretty solid.  

No Fur Damage to Animals Caught in Beaver Cages

ADC and fur trapping are separate, but blend together during the open fur seasons.  When I get calls during opening trapping seasons during fall and winter or spring there is opportunity to utilize the fur.  What is quite noticeable is that when beaver, muskrats or otter are caught in cage traps under water there is no fur damage whatsoever.  Body gripping traps seem always to leave a small rub like mark at the neck, a little patch of fur missing, especially in spring when beaver are beginning to shed.  Having used many different brands of body grippers, all sizes, standard and magnums, some fur damage is a fact of life in many cases.  The great part about the cage traps is finding animals  in tact, minus any kind of marks, no rubs, a "perfect" hide.  

Comstock 5x5 Squirrel Traps Catch Small Rodents

Though these powered, double door squirrel traps were designed primarily for gray squirrels, red squirrels and chipmunks they will take even smaller rodents like voles and even mice.  Above is a small flying squirrel left and a vole right.  With tight closing doors and 1/2x1 mesh, we have received pictures of mice in these traps, which means that the traps will take just about any rodent that will fit in them or trip the trigger.

Hints on Bobcat Trapping, What to Look For

For 8 years Judy and I trapped 'cats in California taking hundreds in the bobcat rich chaparral environment.  Daunting at first for an Easterner, we soon put it together and learned what to do and look for.  Look high and low.  Cats travel the ridges and washes and will leave toilets, segmented feces.  You can set location and or sign.  Rock outcroppings are a great attractant.  Check along the base.  Where we were we set sign, but in some areas sign may be hidden, so location is key.  Water is essential, not lots everywhere, just access.  When you begin catching you may find that areas of certain types of vegetation lend itself to 'cats.  Locating white sage where we were usually meant 'cats, no doubt because that was conducive to the rodents they hunted.  Beyond that, keep your eyes open.

There are always places that will seem to make little sense, not falling into the typical categories.
If you keep a sharp eye out you will find tracks and scat in unexpected places.  Don't try to figure it all out, you never will, but just accept that critters are where you find them and you will be surprised to see where they show up.  Rather than always look for the most remote areas, it's not uncommon to find all sorts of animals right up close to and living with the civilized world between houses etc.

Customized Specialty Cage Traps - Ferrets This Time

Ferret captured in a Comstock Specialty Cage Trap

We get calls for specialty traps from time to time, different sizes and or configurations than what we have in our standard lines.  With our manufacturer making the bulk of our products, we usually have the time to make customized traps in our shop when small numbers are needed for special projects.  In this case it was ferrets being inoculated against Black Plague that required a different sized trap.  Ferrets feed on ground squirrels that often have fleas that carry the Plague.  If a ferrets is bitten by the infected fleas they will contract the disease and die with a few days.  With ferret numbers low, an effort was made to catch, inoculate and then release the little weasels in order to protect them from disease in the future. 

The trap we provided worked great.  On the first night they had it out they went 2 for 2.

If anyone has a trap they can't find in production traps and need a different size for instance, just give us a call and we will see what we can do to accommodate.  Also, if anyone has ideas for a trap different from what is being produced that could be better than what is out there, we'd be more than happy to put one together if we can.

Bear Vs. Beaver-In a Comstock Cage

We got this pic from Glen in Washington.  A bear must have spotted the live beaver in the cage and went for an easy meal.  Looks to be a pretty big beaver by the tail, but no match for a bear.  Yup, the cage wire took quite a beating, but with the trigger on the bottom and doors at the ends, none of the firing or locking gear was hurt badly, not much at all.  Glen ordered a couple of new traps that he needed anyway and got some new wire and clips with them.  He just removed the bent stuff and clipped on new, back in business and has already begun catching beaver with the repaired trap, no problem.

With the configuration and upside down setting method, though the bear did a job on the wire, the rest was in good shape, one more plus never figured on, but nice to see that the trap could be salvaged.  From the beginning these cages did not just meet expectations, but at every turn have continued to surprise us in dozens of ways for durability and function.