Will a single door live trap work for a beaver?

I have a new colony of beaver living close to where I live on a large lake. They make dens in the side of bank in an inlet to the lake. I have a live trap with one open door… and floor trigger in the other end. It’s about 12” x 12” x 24”… all heavy wire. Your article suggests a two door trap to let them see through trap. Before I order your scents, I wanted to ask you if a one-door trap might work?

I have located their den opening in the side of the bank. They are pushing out their winter nesting trash right now. If I can use a one door trap, what about setting it right in the door opening? Should I board-in the opening into trap? Do they likely have another entry/exit which they can use to escape if I do this?
Thanks for responses.

First, I think you might need to find out for sure if the animal you have is indeed a beaver. Muskrat commonly nest in these locations where beaver build dens as described in our beaver control article. You can learn more about muskrat in our muskrat control article and since they are commonly seen in the 15-20 inch size, I'm thinking that's what you might have if you think a 24" trap will be big enough for your target animal. These are much smaller animals thought they do swim like beaver and like to stay in the water so the two can be confused for one another.

Second, the single door trap can catch beaver. However, beaver are quite large and you'll need to use one of the beaver sized traps we have in our beaver live trap section. These are much bigger than 24 inches and the bigger the trap used, the better the chance you have of success.

Third, using the trap as you describe would work easily on a muskrat but not so easily on a beaver as they are more wary of such setups. Again, confirm that you do indeed have a beaver and at that time we'll further assist getting you set up with the right lure, trap and setup. Call us at 1.800.877.7290 for further assistance.