I have a question that I am sure someone can answer, please. I have several locations that I will be trapping for beaver this fall/winter where I will only be there a short time - week or so. To my knowledge these beaver have never been harassed or trapped. Is there such a thing as "gang" setting a location for beaver? If so how do you determine how many sets to put in. Is there an "average" number of beaver in a family unit? I know they will run the young ones off after a certain time.
1) How many sets?
2) How far apart? Several are close to culverts? Would putting 4 at the culvert be too many, 2 on each side-1 on each side of the water?

I have leg holds, body grips and snares that I can use based on what I find at the locations.

I've always just went with what I've felt right at each location if I set 1 trap and see another nice place to make a set I set another.
In Pennsylvania we can only set 10 traps total 2 of which can be body grips

A beaver colony can hold quite a few beaver if the feed is good and the colony hasnt been trapped in a few years.
A new colony will be a pair of beaver,and after a couple years that colony could hold up to a dozen beaver.
I normally set 4 or 5 traps at a beaver colony if I want to clean them out quickly.
Scouting the pond will let you identify some good blind set locations,like channels,den entrances dam crossovers,haul out trails in the fall where they are cutting etc.
My first sets will consist of a couple lured sets and a couple good blind sets.

If I am trapping for fur and dont want to clean out all the beaver I will set 2 or 3 traps and check them once or twice then pull.

Boco is right...beaver can fool you. At times the area looks like there is 10 beaver there, when actually there is only a pair. If you are hitting the spot for a week or so ...set heavy and then pull.

Boco is spot on. Fur trapping I'll set the blinds with 330s and one lured set with paw holds . Control the number gets doubled.

All my beaver trapping is ADC....even when done in the winter fur season. So, Im not trying to intentionally leave any. But, on streams and larger swamps its a myth here in the South that you can catch them all. No one can...especially in a few days. They can be thinned, but first high water event and you'll have beavers there again. Access in these swamps and along southern blackwater streams is just too difficult. You'll only have traps set at a few locations in their home range.

I set the best locations I can find (or get to) that have the freshest sign. Each location is different. A few beavers can leave a lot of sign. Many southern beaver trapping locations may only be reachable by boat or chest waders. Other locations are easy to access, such as man-made pond dams/roads and such. Other locations are not easy....toting beaver gear in......and back out...while walking, wading, etc.

Got to be careful wading off into some of these beaver ponds with chest waders on. That's where they'll find your drowned body.

Georgia has a 24 check law, so one or two checks and pulling after working hard to get to and set a location is ridiculous. I leave beaver sets in place for 10 days or so. Sometimes you catch em in first night or two...other times it takes a few days.

Good luck.

I really appreciate the replies. Some of these locations are on public land about 3 hrs from home so it would be a longer stay. Around home I can leave them longer.

You are right about those beaver ponds and even ditches here in the south, if the water isn’t deep enough that bottomless mud always is.

If I am trapping problem beaver in the early spring I set on as much sign as I can. I want to be out of there as soon as I can.