Hope this is in the right section first post so don't burn me too bad. Anyways im fairly new to trapping and got a few beavers I need to get rid of at my duck club they keep plugging up the drain pipes in the ditches. Because of where I live and the regs I cant use conibear or leg traps so ive been looking at the cage traps for beavers. The two im looking into at the jim Comstock and the kirk Dekalb guillotine style I think both will work for what I need them for not too much info I can find beside on youtube and a few post on here awhile back ago. Just looking on some info pros, cons, tips, ect. ones a few dollars more than the other I probably need anywhere from 4-6 maybe ill go 50\50 and try them out myself but just trying to get as much info as I can before I spend the coin. thanks for any and all info.

Can you shoot them?

Advanced trap hands down
Comstock are good traps, but the advanced is in a league of its own.

Traps using my exact designs and materials have not been available for almost 2 years. Maybe that will change. I would recommend buying at least one Koro trap no matter whose trap you buy.

Thanks Kirk De yes I have one of those traps but is sometimes hard to set up where I need it also that might be why I cant find out how to purchase those guillotine style traps might just have to look into the Comstocks for now or if anyone can point me in the direction to purchase guillotine one went to advancetraps but have heard nothing back. thanks again for the info.

Can you run snares?

You say you have one of those traps. Is it a Koro or a Handcock? The one you have.

cant run snares or foot hold and or conibear due to where I live and peoples dog that run all over the property like I said im new to this and got the live beaver trap from and old trapper and he said it was a Koro (hancock style) live beaver trap im learning as I go and what I can get from the inter web not to many trappers in or around my area. The area im trying to trap these beavers is basically a thick tule wall where they come through at the drain pipes on both sides of the levee and there just a not very wide open channel they use.

With cage traps you don't want wide channels. I guess that's also true when you're using conibears. The 12x12 trap works well in narrow channels. Drop the trap in pinch points, it sounds like your area has a lot of them. If the traps fit in the culverts, they can be deadly in there. Comstocks work well for swim through beaver trapping and Jim makes a good durable cage. Comstocks are not too heavy if you have to carry a distance and they hold up really well.

With a guillotine doored trap made and designed properly there are more set options. Length - width- height are some of the key components . The way the trap appears to the animal and materials used is another. A 12x12 has less set option than a 14x16 or taller trap. The 12x12 is better for drown sets but is limited in places to set. The taller wider trap can be used in more baited applications with less refusals or go- around's.

You can always drop two traps side by side on those older, wider channels.

Maybe a large well built colony type trap would work.

wow thanks for all the input guys. The Beav yes someone mentioned those to me yesterday and ive been looking into to thos as well I don't know why any and all of the traps mentioned wouldn't work just seems like theres not too much information on cage trapping beavers besides the couple I first mentioned. might end up buying one or 2 of each and see which one works best for me and go from there. thanks again for the input

Do the beaver have to be alive when caught with a cage or can you use an under water cage?

Monster Toms they do not have to be alive in the trap

This thread may give you a few ideas.
https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthr...r-beaver-anybody-making-them#Post5998877

Yeah you can makes a Washington State style double door pretty cheap and easy,I'll see if I can find the pictures I had saved

The thread that Wolfdog is referencing is a good one. I would describe the trigger on that trap as more of a J than a U. The short leg of the J is what the beaver hits on the way through. The long leg of the J holds the bar that holds the doors open.

The 48" length of that trap is primarily due to it being a gravity fired door without springs or locks. The longer length gives the slower doors time to drop.

Kirk is right about bigger traps having more options for other types of sets. However Kirk traps where he has to check every 24 hours regardless of it being above or below water. In WA, it's a 24 hour check if its a non drowning set. Below water it is every 3 days. Larger traps make more sense when you are live catching them. In many of the little channels we trap, a large trap would require a 24 hour check. A 12x12 can usually be submerged with a little work with a rake and a boot heel.

I am not selling or making traps right now so this should not be construed as advertising. Here is video explaining using various designed and sized traps I made. They all caught animals well. Some just work better in different types of situations. The video allows you to see that. They all work as a swim through. In water or under water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58h00TqcEro&feature=youtu.be