What do you guys think is the best summer time lure/attractor for trapping beavers in the summer.

Woodchipper and Beaver Plus

A floating green log with 4 snares hung . The green log will drive them nuts and they will just have to have it .

Down here patience is your ally. Beaver don't move in the heat so blind sets on location, as tight to the beaver as you dare, and the patience of Job. Avoid the castor and use food lures if you must. Woodchipper is my go to.

Thinking I'll order some Woodchipper. I current love dobbins Backbreaker just want to add to the arsenal

I just released a new food/curiosity beaver lure that is a good one also for summer and mild weather work.Some mild sweet castor content lures are effective also, however when a problem is suspected I always add a couple of sets with a non castor based product when it is obvious that a particular beaver may be avoiding a specific odor.If not, as stated blind,dive or elevated scent beaver sets work very well when placed close to the bank.

x2 on what Vinke said

From what I read on here and other places castor mounds don't work well in the summer but honestly, I have caught hundreds and hundreds of beaver using the false slide and castor mound set and it works ( for me anyhow) just as good in summer as it does in winter using snares. Of course every now and then you will run up against a beaver that refuses that set and then you have to get creative but all in all that set has been my bread and butter set no matter what time of year it is.

Bob

Castor mounds work year around for me as well .

Each area of the country is different. Beaver are defintiely a species that "evolved" in northern temperate climates along the edges of the last glaciation. That is reflected in it's current range ending here in the south. The GA/AL/FL border is the effective range limit, the panhandle and north FL do have a few but not many. Our heat is a definite factor in the movement of beaver and for many other species as well. I also believe this coupled with carrying capacity, which is almost always less along the edges of a species range, also effects the effectiveness of a territorial response like castor.
Castor mounds, in my experience, do not get the 100% enraged reation as I hear reported from other sections of the country. They do work but not so well that I would call them my go to set. To me the mound set is just another tool in the box that has it's place. They work better for me the cooler the weather is, as it heats up the less castor I use. By the middle of summer my castor use is limited to just a drop and no more. My summer castor set is not a mound but a fake slide with just one drop placed at the top of the slide.

The best I have found as far as luring, is to litterally squeeze the fluids out of the beaver you just caught where you want it. You can also cut out the castor sacs and fill withwater. Drain them into a squirt bottle. In summer you have to refrigerate, and make fresh every 3 days.

It is really good for the next catch at the same location.

Kirk DeKalb

I just did that for the first time yesterday. Spent nine hours putting up a beaver line. I used all my best lures. Then it rained heavy for seven hours non-stop. Oh well, that's beaver trapping...

The best non castor lure I have used with great success was recommended by Don LaFountain - Poplar Bud Oil. I also recently picked up a bottle of "Beaver Call" from The Snare Shop. I've been using it for three days and it calls them in every time.

In my area there are some occassions when castor lure works. I have noticed that at this time of year it only catches the males.

willow oil, rose bud oil and birch oil are others that will work in the summer

Sat traps on Saturday and with all the rain were recieving I still caught one large beaver. I was using Backbreaker. Also killed two cotton mouths.

I have used Woodchipper and it works great,also i used poplar oil it has been working great too.the only setback i have had ,is when i caught a beev in a state office pond,( I have to live trap them because of the 8 state buildings that border the pond are full of animal right activists) and when beev# 1 was caught,he raised so much cane that night it attracted the attention of beev#2,who will not go near any traps,whether it is the suitcase variety or any other set.i also tried the suitcase without lure and disguised it as an overhanging vegetation set,and put weeping willow twigs that were skinned on shore using staves to guide the beev in with no results.any ideas how to live trap this smart beev?????i do not think i will get away with using snares either...

Go to a trap that doesn,t have the smells the others have on them. Pull one out that has been sitting out with no lure or smells that would give him an indication it is the same villian.

Set the suitcase trap so he swims over it firing it. If it is a handcock or koro set in a channel(paralell to the channel about 3' wide 8 to 12" deep) and place a cut off branch up in a position best for him to fire. Use fresh castor from the beaver you just caught for lure.You want him to stop at the branch-rise and set off trap. It could just be a cut in the bank. The key is the ability of the beaver to swim over the top of the trap.

Foot hold would be best.

In my state I am only allowed to use live traps so I am very careful on how I set my hancocks if there are castor mounds I will not set a trap at the mound but up wind of it and I will not be shy with straight beaver castor. I have just as amazing succes shaving some aspen tree branches and wiring them high on the trap that sticks out of the water and I have found that they can not resist those partially shaved branches I hope it helps.

When trapping South of Macon and south of Montgomery in the summer, I have found due to various factors relating to heat and humidity, water temperature, and availability of food the beaver respond differently than other parts of the country. They may come the first time to the castor, but they are more easily spooked or cautious overall with "any" new smell. They may investigate it and get caught the first time, the others seem to treat the catches as time to hold and not move. Due to that nature here in the summer I believe any first night trap set up should be planned with that factor in mind.

Using scent of some kind seems to always inhance the catch the first night. It is the second night or down the road catch that I have found to be a bummer in the deep south.

I have been guilty over the years of taking the easy road the first night's set in the summer and not planning for the next successive nights well enough.

Thanks.I caught beev#1 in a comstock type trap,and the advanced trap I ordered just came in( well built Kirk!good job!) But i' m not sure if beev #2 will enter it,i` m still looking at that option.I have been procrastinating on buying a Koro\ Bailey trap because they are so expensive,but i'm afraid that is what it will take to nab this beev#2.there are no castor mounds present( I have not seen too many here in north florida) and I could acquire a permit from FWC to use foothold but these state workers would freak out, they use the path around the pond to jog ect...even on weekends.I also had several tripped sets that were possibly caused by some of them that don` t want the beaver caught( they would rather see all the holly bushes and trees destroyed) some really weird people.....so I have searched the forums for a used trap that I can buy a little cheaper.thanks for the input,I will keep up with this thread,( I am so ready to use a snare! )

I sure didn,t have a clue that trap was going to a person posting on this forum when I put it in the box.
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If you have a koro or hancock, I would suggest you place mine with lure in the back on a tuff of grass as is on my videos on my you-tube channel(several showing this trap). Place the koro or two, if you have them, to the side of my trap. Set the traps in 8" of water if possible. Use no scent in the koros, but use pealed sticks you make along with some debree above the koros or handcocks pan.Make sure the set is made to where it would be difficult for the beaver to get close to the back of the traps set.

The investigating beaver would have about an equal chance geting caught in one or the other. In the winter I would put my money on the scented trap working first drawing the second beaver to the koro. Since you have already caught one, I believe it is about 50-50 now, if you make this set.

If you have the right situation (water depth and materials) you could place the koros to the side "almost" leaning them against my beaver-bobcat trap with no lure in the koros. Had you been able to do that the first night I believe you would have had at least two.

There still may be more smaller beaver and if the set is made close, but not too close to the den, you may catch one of them if you catch the larger beaver.

If you don,t have a koro, set my trap so that the back is in 3-4" of water and the water depth in the back or behind My trap is 1-2". Place the comstock perpendicular to my trap blocking the sides with debre so that the beaver would only be able to get close to the lure by entering comstocks, or mine from the front. Set comstocks with the doors on top not on bottom. Pile debre on top of the comstock so that to get closest to the scent he would have to enter either trap.If your water level is more than 2" in the comstock I don,t think there is enough clearence and you may get a refusal. One problem you may have, is catching a coon depending on what lure used.

You may want to bend the trigger wires up in my trap so that an investigating turtle will not set off the trap. Also place the lured grass up high so the approaching beaver would be more apt to rise hitting the trigger more solid.

If you can import a favorite bait from another area that the beavers love and don't have around that particular area and put that on your hancocks don't be afraid to use a bundle around 5 to 7 Inches thick and shave them a little but leave some stringy bark hanging off a few branches in the bundle. That set works well for me for catching beaver number 2 and 3. Hope it works for your!

I'm telling you that floating log thing drives them nuts

I will be making the set tommorrow,I will let y`all know how it went,we have had alot of rain from Debby,and I beleive all that mess is gone.

Wow!I took your advice Kirk,set up the advanced trap with the comstock perpendicular,and just added a fake slide for effect,two days later beev#2 was sitting in the advanced trap!! Thanks for the tip! I appreciate all the tips,they were pretty good ones,and i` ll use them down the road.

Oh-ya! , I did not mention the Woodchipper I put on a stave behind and to the right of the setup.it was the only lure I used,and I used willow limbs that were shaved( bark still clinging to)the thumb sized pieces. I also had a 3-4 foot long branch with an 1-1/4" limb I stuck into the ground,to appear to be a new/ different tree growing there( also shaved lower stalk) .took in alot of advice,although the floating green log was very interesting,will try that one on my next farm- job.

And not one single picture or video . Sure there was a beaver problem looks like pretend job

Just set a job yesterday ...straight Woodchipper ....I was still there and heard the familar Wack of a Koro..Beaver 1 down at high noon ...today had 3 more ...gonna see what tomorrow brings ........Thanks Don !!

Yup a Big Brown beaver! I already removed most the set,but you can see the comstock sitting perpendicular to the left

Not sure why pic did not load the 3 times I tried. 1 pic is beev# 1,(comstock) beev# 2 is in advanced trap

Finally......above is beev#2

Beev# 1

This shows how you can make another set with that trap.
Opened plugged pipe and set trap in front. Used sticks to hold trap level. Water was about 11"deep in trap. Took this one out this morning.This is old model not powdercoated and no powered door.

Placed clipped branches at outside edge of back of trap.Stuck them upright where water was going through(outside edge of pipe) to help get beaver to enter trap.