How to keep foot traps from freezing?

NewYorkHunter13642

NewYorkHunter13642

New member
I've been doing some research on how to keep my foot traps working this winter as I have already had problems. Some people say peat moss works but I had it freeze on me last year. We are trying wheat hulls this year, any other things people have had work?
 
I have used buckwheat hulls and waxed dirt. You can buy both from trapping supply companies. I have made my own waxed dirt. It isn't very hard, but it can be messy.
 
I used to use propylene glycol mixed with water and dry dirt. Probably find it at your local mill where farmers get their supplies. Worked good left dirt looking wet. Here is what i found for a mix rate when i googled it, can buy from trapping suppliers also.


Propylene Glycol
When using as an anti-freeze at canine sets, mix 1 part glycol with 3 parts water and spray in several layers while making the set.
 
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Do you have any native vegetation there that you can use? We have an abundance of a type of moss we use on certain sets. It stays (fluffy) for lack of a better term and has worked well even when frozen.
 
Thanks for the responses, Im trying the wheat hulls I hope they work. If not ill try the wax dirt next. And sometimes There is some as you say "fluffy" stuff that i throw in when it is availabe also lol.
 
I use peat moss with a little bit of dry dirt sifted over top. You can get the peat moss for a few bucks in 40 pound bags at most any store with a landscaping department and I get the dry dirt a bucket at a time under bridges during season, or dig it up and save it during the summer.
 
I tried the peat moss myself and had nothing but problems keeping my traps working. Montana trapping is tough. We get 50 degree weather on one day then -5 the next. Makes wet peat freeze like a cow pie with a trap in it.
I changed to a layer of waxed dirt with calcium chloride from f&t. Then I am bedding the trap with coal shale and calcium chloride. Then I top it off with a light coat of waxed dirt.
Not perfect but like everything we keep experimenting.
 
I use MB650 inside a cheap sandwich bag bedded with a mix of dry dirt and calcium chloride ( same stuff for treatment of swimming pool water).
 
I think the salt is the simplest, waxed dirt the best method and peat moss somewhere in between. If you use the salt or calcium chloride you obviously want to make sure your traps are well treated, preferably waxed.
 
i also sprinkle rock salt(ice melt) around the set. pros: easy,cheap,fast....cons: will cause ur traps to rust quickly if they are not properly dyed and waxed, plus if there is alot of cattle in the area they seem to find the salt and want to lick on it. since i set alot around cattle i will sometimes buy a couple salt blocks and break them into pieces and set a 4" piece 25yrds. away from each side of the trap...its a hassle but sometimes u just gotta go that extra mile.
One advantage to having the rock salt/ice melt on hand is, I have gotten stuck in the snow and ice before and had to use the salt/melt to melt away the snow and ice to help get me unstuck...It sure beats shoveling that snow and ice from out underneath the truck...I sprinkle it on and sit in the truck and wait 15mins with the heater on..then work on getting unstuck.
 
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i used to use calcium cloride, but trap bed always looked wet. I use coal shale now, last winter at least 2 traps were bedded 4 weeks and one for 5 before they caught the coyote. I make the bed at least an inch bigger than the trap, use an inch or more under the trap. Dry dirt or peat-dirt mix works for a week or more, then moisture creeps in and freezes, usually. The shale is a lil bit water resistant
 
where do u get ur coal shale from? i know some of the roads are laid with it here in the county im in, in oklahoma, but not sure if its available for purchase.
 
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The wheat hulls are actually working good keeping the trap from freezing here in NY. But it has been the pine needles and moss on top that have been freezing. So I am trying to only put a few pine needles on top of the trap and a leaf to help camoflauge it. I missed a coyote before I tried the wheat hulls, and now that I am using them we actually had a mink set the trap off and all he left was his foot that he chewed off!
 
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