The bigger the better or smaller the better? 5”, 6”, 7” or 8” traps?

I have my Best Luck with 5" or 6"

Go big or go home. LOl

We are limited to 6x6 x 36. In my opinion That's to small well the 36 Is ok but 6x6 to small.

WE can't set culverts but If you can go with at least 8" traps. You can always put a 8X8 in front of a den hole and you can always jam a 8x8 In a run.
Know If you were to be using them In B&E sets then you might want to be using a 6x6.
Water depth will also play In to the equation.

The other thing you can do with ten larger traps Is to put wings on the front. Lets say you have a 8 x 8 trap then you add 2 8 X 8 wings on the front you can know cover a area of about 24". Now One trap can close off the mouth of that culvert. Same with those large channels. The wings can be zip tied on and If you don't need the wings just fold them back along the sides of the trap.
The thing with the lets say 6X6 trap you can only get so many rats In It at one time. The best I ever did In 6x6 was 6 rats. But In a 9x9x 30 I got 12 rats In It at one time.
Either buy or make some of each size one size will not fit all situations.

Bigger is better...seems like most of the runs or dens that I encounter, the 5" trap either colony or bodygrip really fail to provide adequate coverage.

All the above. Make them all of those sizes. They slide into each other. You will always find runs that fit each of those sizes.

You will only usually get 2 rats in the 5x5s...but they still come in handy. up to 6 in the 6x6s and 7 in the 7x7s, etc.

I have some that are 13x7 (double doors). You would think you would get a boat load in some of these mega runs but you just don't. You actually do better with two smaller ones pushed side by side....for some reason.

Funnel traps work sweet also we can go 12X36 here toss these in a 6 foot culvert and you would think a rat would stay on top of the water and swim over it but no a few on the bottom side by side will take rats no problem!

We can use up to 8x8x36. Great rat trap.

I have held as many as 7 on one check. Then 2 more the next day.

These are the style I built with the tapered ends. It leaves room for the rat to try to go out the end.

It won't keep the door closed by binding it shut.

Ours have to be fully submerged, so there's times it's nice to have the 5".

I make all mine 6 wide 5 high...works good for me...should make some 4" tho

I have limited experience with colony traps, but the few runs I plugged one in last year, no way they would have fit an 8" colony trap, if they were legal. The 5x5 I had worked alright, but I picked up 7 more 6x6 for this year. I had 2 rats more often than I had only 1 in the 5x5, hoping to duplicate and improve on that success in 2 weeks when our season opens.

Our colony trap rules suck big time.

One thing to remember, ya want the entire trap submerged! I've had problems with a lot of bites if the rats can breath and fight. I have a verity of sizes( 6x6, 7x7, 8x8, 6x9, one 8x12 that I've never found a place it fit) and I try to match the trap to the run. Seniortrap, all my colonies have the "bite guard" also, I think it helps to keep the door swinging freer.
Dennis

Can you explain a bite guard?

It is important to keep them fully submerged. Also, if you decide to go larger than 7"x7", the design in the above photo's are the way to go because anything larger than 7" high the sides tends to bow outward. The design in the photo's will keep then rigid.

In my opinion bite guards are a waste of time. I'm always catching 4 and 5 and some times 6 rats In a 6x6x30 trap and never seem to have any problems by not using a bite guard. But If it works for you go for It.
As to sides bowing out. I build my own and I build them out of 1x1 14 gauge wire. Using 1x2 wire will bow outward. It's just not ridged enough.

The other thing about bite guards Is they shorten up your over all length by a good bit.

Rats also become really buoyant when In the water. So I figure the rats that are entering the trap are easily pushing the dead rats up and out of the way. So far I have never ha da rat hung up on the door It's self. They are always hung up In the top wire or not hung up at all.

Beav we made single cage traps for rats back when colony traps were illegal in Wisconsin. We got the game wardens approval to use them. It amazed me how two rats could get jammed up in those.

Of course we turned all those extra rats into the game warden.

Ya right


I had some traps like that. The guy that used them was setting those ponds on those condo complexes. He set them on a small float. Then when the rat got caught the trap being top heavy tipped over and the rats drowned. It actually worked but was a lot of screwing around.
I think I got them from some guy In MO.

We just placed these 12" long traps in the runs, just like colony traps. They were just like colony traps, but since they were made so only one rat could be caught, they weren't.

I haven't seen 1 of those 'single' traps. I suppose once the long colony traps became popular, the single ones couldn't be found anywhere on the market.

Ok I see what you mean about the single door trap. Good thinking Dirt.
Before BGs and colony traps we would use #3s In the den hole. WE would just raise the loose jaw and It was kind of like a BG.


I had 6 of those small single door traps. But mine were just like a regular box trap. I sold them a few years ago.

"Colony traps became a legal method to trap muskrat in Wisconsin on February 1,
2011."

Traps that allowed the capture of more than one animal were illegal. There would be little demand for a colony type trap that in theory could only catch one animal. We made ours and we had a use for them. Bulky, but easy to set.

Those 'single' ones, perhaps like Dirt is talking about: I guess I could see them working in certain situations. If people have them, I see no reason to toss them. Were they 12" long with 2 doors? I'm thinking of making one, just for that odd situation maybe in a tight shallow spot where a 2 footer might not fit.

Colony Traps illegal in New York. Another bad Reg.

The bite top is a good thing....I call it the upper deck.
The rats that lock in the wire are up there and the bottom door stil swings

I have 40 years experience using them, starting with designs we were testing for the standards.

They really shine in the spring rat run in a big marsh, 30 traps would produce 100 rats a day, with few bite marks with the submarines

Had 2 triples in 5x5s yesterday. I use a lot of 6x8x24s, they seem to fill the bill most of the time. I have funnel traps but they aren’t as productive in ditches as they are in the marsh.

Rats float under water
If you like bite guards use them
I have tested them and don't think it makes a difference
You need good populations to catch lots of rats
You need different size traps for different conditions
Rats will push into small subs till they are full
I will stick a round colony in first then go smaller depending on water depth
Culverts are the best locations
Use what works best for you


A few pictures of what I use and some catches

In the second and third pictures, what is the location? Looks like you made your own location by just scooping out the bottom.

Bigger is better.I will even stack them in the bigger runs.

I use them my self and make my own. When Iowa first came out with them I got the patterns from NAFA years ago.I also remember being in WI at Cabelas and game wardens from IA and WI was there and I was asking about IA to the Iowa game wardens and the WI game wardens was jump on me for it and the IA game wardens told them off and that they where behind the times.

Good thread. Great info and pics

You get a hotspot culvert between 2 ponds stacking the culvert is a sweet deal for a quick catch.

Natural den entrances.

Chris

Of course you did. Same as the occasional incidental rat I caught in a 330 set for beaver late in the beaver season that got turned in.

I make mine so they nest together to take up less room in the truck...

Colony traps aren't just for rats either. I have caught mink in them too. Once I had a rat with two mink, male and female in the trap. I guessed the mink were after the rat since the rat was the first one in the trap.