Beaver

[domus.don]

Hi Guys,
Having just passed the trapping course for NB, I am looking at buying traps for beaver. It will be my first time trapping. Any recommendations? Our season finished Jan 31st but it will give me until next year to get ready.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Red Bullets]

Odds are the course you took would have a section refering to what traps are legal to use. Then go from there.

[KegRiver]

If you can find someone who knows how to snare them, you would do well to try to learn that method as well.

I have found that trapping works best for open water season and snares work best under the ice.

As for what traps to use, like red says, you choices are limited by what is legal to use.
So far as I know leg hold traps are no longer permitted for beaver, which really leaves only 330 size body traps, and a couple of slightly smaller body traps.
The current approved traps are listed in the trapping regulations here and I expect they would be where you live as well.

In my opinion body traps are far superior to leg hold traps anyway, so from my point of view, leg hold traps are a thing of the past and are best left there.

Best of luck to you.

[tomcat]

[QUOTE=KegRiver;2324068]from my point of view, leg hold traps are a thing of the past and are best left there. [QUOTE]

WRONG! In a drowning situation they are a humane dispatch method and very effective in situations where body gripping traps are not, especially in dealing with conibear shy beaver and dam break settings where a conibear is far less effective in most cases.

[KegRiver]

[QUOTE=tomcat;2324131][QUOTE=KegRiver;2324068]from my point of view, leg hold traps are a thing of the past and are best left there.

WRONG! In a drowning situation they are a humane dispatch method and very effective in situations where body gripping traps are not, especially in dealing with conibear shy beaver and dam break settings where a conibear is far less effective in most cases.

No kidding. Then why do you suppose they are not on the approved list?

Conibear shy beaver and dam break settings?

If you are having those sort of troubles with coni's you are doing something wrong.

I find coni's far easier to set dam breaks with and no need for a drowning set. My catch dies far faster then a drowning would.

A beaver can hold it's breath for more then ten minutes. That gives them a lot of time to fight a leg hold trap.

With the coni's I've watched beaver swim into my traps and every one was stone cold dead before I could reach them. A matter of a couple of minutes in most cases. And in most cases they dove for deep water and had to be pulled out.

I find coni's way easier to set, way more versatile for set locations, and way quicker kills.

But if you want to use leg hold traps, be my guest. I'll stick with what works best for me.

[Trap Shy]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

If you can find someone who knows how to snare them, you would do well to try to learn that method as well.

I have found that trapping works best for open water season and snares work best under the ice.

As for what traps to use, like red says, you choices are limited by what is legal to use.
So far as I know leg hold traps are no longer permitted for beaver, which really leaves only 330 size body traps, and a couple of slightly smaller body traps.
The current approved traps are listed in the trapping regulations here and I expect they would be where you live as well.

In my opinion body traps are far superior to leg hold traps anyway, so from my point of view, leg hold traps are a thing of the past and are best left there.

Best of luck to you.

I thought the same thing . This fall I set 3 leg hold traps and 20 330 on the first day checking 2 of the 3 leg holds had beavers the other was set off out of the 20 coni. I had 4 so I am not so sure legholds are that bad of a set anymore .

[jawa]

Originally Posted by Trap Shy

I thought the same thing . This fall I set 3 leg hold traps and 20 330 on the first day checking 2 of the 3 leg holds had beavers the other was set off out of the 20 coni. I had 4 so I am not so sure legholds are that bad of a set anymore .

you are doing something wrong not the traps wont ever use a leg hold again

[domus.don]

We do have a list of approved traps, that's not a problem. I was just wondering what you guys used ... and found worked best.

A small bit of information, as per our course, beavers don't actually drown, they asphyxiate. Their lungs can't take on water.

The "humanness" of the kill matters to me. I realize that this is trapping but there is no need to make an animal suffer more then he has to.

[moose maniac]

Buy some duke 330's they are the cheapest 330's and they work fine for beaver

[J D]

I use dukes, belisle, LDL, and sauvageau. I like having the slight differences in size for different situations. They will all kill beaver but the LDL and sauvageau are more durable traps in my opinion.

I also like using a foothold on a drowning set if the location calls for it. If you are trapping an area where another trapper has educated the beaver the foothold really shines.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by domus.don

The "humanness" of the kill matters to me. I realize that this is trapping but there is no need to make an animal suffer more then he has to.

Even for those who have no empathy, a quick kill is in the trappers best interest.

The longer an animal fights the more damage it can do to it's hide. It's simple economics.

For me, I find that more and more, I think about what the animal feels, and more and more it pains me to think that my target might suffer needlessly.

Perhaps I'm getting soft in my old age, perhaps I'm just being foolish.

Whatever, I have always sought the best and quickest way to dispatch the animals I harvest, be that through trapping or through hunting.


That is why, I and every trapper I know was quick to retire our leg hold traps wherever we could find a way to replace them with body traps.

I hated spending hours cutting holes in the ice and bedding leg hold traps on the bottom of beaver runs. I hated lugging heavy weights into the bush to anchor the drowning set we made during open water season.

I hated finding a paw in my traps but no animal. I hated finding the slide wire kinked beyond use and my catch struggling for breath close to shore.

I will never go back to using leg hold traps, where I can use body traps.

Yes I still use them occasionally, where legal. Even then, I am forever working at finding a way to employ body traps in those sets as well.

The one place I have not been able to successfully use body traps is in catching Wolves, Coyote and Fox. It is only for them that I still use leg hold traps, and then, only when a snare will not work.

[domus.don]

Thank you for all the info. I'll have more questions for you guys when the season approaches.

[mark-edmonton]

I also hate a foul catch, but this year for some reason I had a hard time getting lynx to enter my cubbies. Only 2 of the 7 I got were in snares! Because of all these near catches, I switched up to soft catches. Caught 4 in legholds and got my last one sitting at a bait pile! I would rather snare but wasn't working for me this year!

[john316]

Originally Posted by domus.don

Hi Guys,
Having just passed the trapping course for NB, I am looking at buying traps for beaver. It will be my first time trapping. Any recommendations? Our season finished Jan 31st but it will give me until next year to get ready.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[tomcat]

KegRiver:
Sorry to have ruffled your feathers. I also agree that the use of approved body gripping traps is the best humane method and I also prefer and use them myself, in most situations. But as trappers I do not believe we should discourage the use of any provincially approved trapping method which is the case regarding leg hold submersion sets, in most if not all, provinces. Rather we should explain why, when, where and how to use them. Leg hold submersions sets have their place, albeit limited, in effectively and efficiently catching body grip trap shy beaver as well as other situations. They are also the safer choice in many urban nuisance beaver control functions rather than body gripping traps.

[domus.don]

I'll look into them. Thanks.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by tomcat

KegRiver:
Sorry to have ruffled your feathers. I also agree that the use of approved body gripping traps is the best humane method and I also prefer and use them myself, in most situations. But as trappers I do not believe we should discourage the use of any provincially approved trapping method which is the case regarding leg hold submersion sets, in most if not all, provinces. Rather we should explain why, when, where and how to use them. Leg hold submersions sets have their place, albeit limited, in effectively and efficiently catching body grip trap shy beaver as well as other situations. They are also the safer choice in many urban nuisance beaver control functions rather than body gripping traps.

You did not ruffle my feathers, I am not a bird.
And it seems that you have incorrect information.

At present there are no leg hold traps approved for use on Beaver, anywhere in Canada.

As far as you believing in their use, that is your business. I disagree.
I don't believe they have a use here or anywhere, with regards to beaver trapping.

I've been a trapper since I was old enough to walk. I took my first beaver over 45 years ago.
For over twenty years I held a registered trap line. And for a time I was county trapper for the local MD and at present I do beaver control for the department of transportation.
I've used leg hold traps for beaver, I've also used snares and body traps on beaver.

I have yet to find a beaver I could not take with a body trap and in my opinion, leg hold traps for beaver are far to difficult to set properly, take far too much time to set properly, and there is too much potential for the set to malfunction.

For one thing, setting the trap so it will catch a back leg is difficult at best and a front leg catch seldom works well.

For another, the set must be made in shallow water but anchored in water deep enough to reliably drown the biggest beaver. That means 4 to 5 feet of water, in case of a rear leg catch.

The trap itself is not heavy enough to hold a beaver under water which means that a weight sufficient for the job must be carried to the trap site, or improvised on site.
A slide wire must be used, and this slide wire must function as intended and it must be anchored on shore and in deep water.
That is seldom a simple matter to set up.

Over all, because they are at present, illegal to use, and because they are so inefficient, and because they are so difficult to set properly.
I think it is irresponsible to advise a new trapper to spend time learning to use them, especially where there is a very good and I think superior trap system available.

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

At present there are no leg hold traps approved for use on Beaver, anywhere in Canada.

Leghold submerging traps are allowed for beaver, muskrat, mink and otter in BC and most other provinces.

Your own Alberta regulations on page 10 states The AIHTS: “ Will allow for the use of jaw-type leg/foothold restraining traps
in submersion sets for semi-aquatic fur-bearers.”

And on pg 13:
“ Slide‑wire sets must be equipped with a lock. The slide‑wires
and weight must be properly anchored, and set in water that is
deep enough to ensure that the largest animal that may be
captured will be totally submerged.”

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by tomcat

Leghold submerging traps are allowed for beaver, muskrat, mink and otter in BC and most other provinces.

Your own Alberta regulations on page 10 states The AIHTS: “ Will allow for the use of jaw-type leg/foothold restraining traps
in submersion sets for semi-aquatic fur-bearers.”

And on pg 13:
“ Slide‑wire sets must be equipped with a lock. The slide‑wires
and weight must be properly anchored, and set in water that is
deep enough to ensure that the largest animal that may be
captured will be totally submerged.”

I know what the regulations say. I was told that the word Will was used because at present no leg hold traps are approved for use in submerged sets but that some are being tested for that purpose and it is expected that they will be approved in the near future.

If you have another look at those regulations you will find that all other statements in that section begin with; "Allows" only for submersible sets does it say "Will Allow"

You might also find that there are no leg hold traps listed as approved for use on beaver in the approved traps list.

I have not looked at the BC regulations but I do know that the AIHTS agreement is supposed to apply for all of Canada.

[jim summit]

Tom, your right, foot holds are good to use and legal as well under the alberta regs and trapping standards.

Keg, as far as using only listed traps, what do you suggest for wolverine? Nothing listed, so no trapping wolverines?? Wrong.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by jim summit

Tom, your right, foot holds are good to use and legal as well under the alberta regs and trapping standards.

Keg, as far as using only listed traps, what do you suggest for wolverine? Nothing listed, so no trapping wolverines?? Wrong.

You may have a point Jim. I had not noticed that and I do know that F&W members do not have a clear understanding of the present rules in many cases.

I still wouldn't use leg hold traps for beaver. I have used them and found them to be inefficient and troublesome compared to body traps.

[KegRiver]

I did a bit more research. It appears that Wolverine are not on the approved trap list because they are not covered by the AIHTS agreement.

More interesting to this discussion, your assertion that leg hold traps are legal for use in drowning set appears to be correct.

I'm not real good at understanding legal jabber so have a look for yourself.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...61535280,d.cGU

This document is published by Saskatchiwin but it is my understanding the the AIHTS agreement is applicable across Canada.

[winmag]

loved the 4 1/2 Newhouse for the go too beaver set years back, most of the available long springs i think where too flimsy and they are not that much better yet , i would preset at truck using two re-bar stakes jammed under the truck tire or a log to compress the springs[ i was not heavy enough to compress springs] and a block under the pan for transport , 15 feet of 1/8 cable,loops at each end , a lap link at the shore side for 24 inch stake and a feed bag full of rocks or mud and sand for an anchor found at or way in to location ,a small bitch link attached trap to slide already on cable.I was always mindful of the trap and where i set. if it was not an ideal set it did not happen . The only drawback it could be too big to bed properly at some spots and that is the key with leg holds , the MB 750 was a better trap at most sets because of compact size but that 9 inch jaw size and holding power of the newhouse was great i have caught a large beaver by the belly once , can not figure how that happened but he was at the drown bag..... cheers