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Post by cep56 on Dec 4, 2009 15:12:58 GMT -5
Trying to make some beaver sets. I bought some #3 foot traps. My question is, do I need to boil and dye these prior to setting? Or can they be set once pan adjustments are made?
Thanks...
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Post by Itrapny on Dec 4, 2009 15:26:31 GMT -5
You don't need to, but they sure do blend in better with the bottom! I would certainly wax them to help with the rusting or you can spray paint them to do the same thing.
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Post by flatiron on Dec 4, 2009 17:18:28 GMT -5
I really like BIG footholds for beaver , my favorite one was the old #44 B+L longsprings , I lost a bunch of them in the fire and have had to do w/ some #3's , I find more sprung traps at times especially when the water fluctuates . If you can get close to where the beaver are working a castor mound set works well here . I put them all on drowners or sliders and like to front foot catch em' . Nose down on a slider ---------they don't get away . You can do the same w/ the #3 if placed proper though .
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Post by cep56 on Dec 4, 2009 19:42:32 GMT -5
I'll try the paint for this year as I have limited time. I can boil, dye and wax for next year. The couple I have in now are on sliders to a drowning bag in about 4 ft. of water. The set is for a front foot, I hope. I didn't have any scent so I made a small feed pile with some guide stakes. The traps are in 2 inches of water roughly 8 inches from the feed pile. Not much water fluctuation. If the sets sound good I'll set the next 6 the same way.
Thanks for the tips...
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Post by Itrapny on Dec 4, 2009 19:58:22 GMT -5
Look for places where they are climbing out to cut and place your traps under 2"-3" of water and offset to the right or left just like you would a K-9 set. Cutting a few small pople sticks and "planting" them on the bank will work too, but where they are hauling out is a better set in my opinion.
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Post by wnytrapper97 on Dec 4, 2009 23:07:35 GMT -5
i have a friend who is having a problem with beaver on his property. there are slides just like the ones shown in this picture where the enter and exit the water. i havn't really done any water trapping before. do you place foothold traps right below the run? if so, what would be the best way to stake them down?
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Post by cep56 on Dec 5, 2009 5:48:34 GMT -5
Thanks for the pics Wayne. I found some slides similar to the ones shown but I thought they might a be good place for a 330, so my foot traps are about 4 feet from the slide with eye appeal. I'll set my new traps next to another slide as you described above as I'm out of 330's.
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Post by Itrapny on Dec 5, 2009 7:07:19 GMT -5
You can place the traps shallow for a front foot catch or deeper for a hind foot, depending on your preference or size of trap you'll be using. I like to go for a front foot catch if at all possible because it doesn't take as much water for them to expire. I use a one-way slider wire set-up (9 guage) and make sure that the trap is swiveled up just like you would a K-9 trap with a minimum of 2 swivels, one of them being a mid point one. I attach the bottom of the slider wire set-up with a wooden or re-rod stake in at least 3 feet of water for a front foot target or 5 feet for a rear foot target. I then run the wire to just below the water next to the set and attach my trap with a regular K-9 type J-Hook swivel to the slider wire - Make sure that when the swivel goes down the wire, it doesn't freely come back up, but catches. and then attache the wire to another wooden or re-rod stake. This way when the beaver is caught an heads for deeper water which it considers safety, it takes the trap down the wire with no way to get back to the shallow water and without air, quickly & humanely expires. If your bottom is rocky you can use a feedback full of rocks or some other heavy object to anchor your bottom wire to, but beaver's are strong and that weight needs to be a minimum of 40 lbs. Make sure that you off-set your trap (just like you would at a K-9set) to either the right or left side of the haul out because if you set it right in the center, the beaver may spring the trap with it's chest and all you'll get is an educated beaver. I'm certainly not an expert at it, but you can see from the pictures, they do work on beavers ;D Here's a link from the Michigan DNR that may help.... www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/TEM_Chapt_11_206590_7.pdf
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