Disappear for what? Not agreeing with something based off of a different experience? Or not following the leader or yessing the top dawgs to death? Thought we were all entitled to an opinion? No profanity or name calling etc.. going on here.

Couple years ago I traded some bait for some caster. Took his out of the same five gallon bucket I was using. His got mold and mine did not. Not the five gallon bucket or the glass pint canning jars in my trap bag. Any chance his bait knife got spores on it that mine did not? We were trapping miles apart. Anyway went back to adding mp and no more mold.

It probably boils down to the PH of the bait. If the PH isn't compatible with mold growth, then adding sodium benzoate would seem to be doing a good job on mold retardation.

Different meats or products can give varying results with mold development over time. Natural organic materials that are naturally prone to tissue breakdown are very prone to mold. If you are using manmade prepared materials like food grade products many of those already have preservatives and mold inhibitors already in them. Conditions like temperature / humidity, PH, type of bacteria in each batch that can or will culture and the type or volume of the container being used plays a role in mold development as well.

I learned the hard way about mold developing years back thinking it wasn't necessary to use a mold retardant until I found out differently. I began finding the fuzzy hair, dark green mold build up and the dark streaks found in some baits. Particularly an egg product that had bands of black throughout it after some months in storage. The buckets with the stored material were somewhat transparent so it was quite noticeable as I worked around them daily in the many stacks of stored materials around our shop.

Some products you won't find the mold, hot spots or layers of bacterial break down until you get into the product for ingredient use or for bottling then it could be too late. Worse case is you will lose some material due to the need to remove the cancer from the batch. Then you have to remix it to stop any further breakdown from occurring in the future. Some mold will just grow on the upper sides of the container above the product or on top of the exposed product. A little spray from a water MP solution will prevent this for the most part on the exposed part of a lure or bait batch once the material has been cleaned off.

It is best to just add a mold inhibitor to a batch when it is made then you can rest easy. I don't have time to redo batches after a problem has been found if it can be avoided. That can be very costly and time consuming. These are things that are learned along the way for those that want to avoid problems and know it is just a good practice to follow in your work.

Commercial production the volume is much greater, more investment and the work involved is more as well. Financial loss from a bad made batch will affect the consumer and the commercial business only difference is the loss can be much more $$ for a larger operation. With the cost of materials ever increasing yearly it is just good insurance to use the knowledge that is available. Many will learn these things over time the hard way which is sometimes the best teacher.

I have used bait without preservative and still do at times. I keep it frozen and thaw some as needed. its warm weather when mold occurs. if you don't hold any over year to year, or store it in a freezer spring summer fall, you will be fine. I make large batchs and store in my fur shed. gets warm out there.

What if a person just uses 1 of the professional bait solutions on the market? I assumed that will prevent mold. Maybe I'm wrong.

Not necessarily. I've been thinking about putting methylparaben in with the packet of sodium benzoate attached to the pint bottle of bait solution. As of now, if you want a mold retardant, you have to add it yourself. I've also been thinking about adding an 8 ounce bottle of glycerine for antifreeze. The addition of these would call for a price increase on the option to have these two added ingredients.

Thanks for the info Paul.

Methylparaben is something I may buy from you this Sept in Marshfield if you'll be selling it.

I could see that being a good addition you could sell it as a kit

it depends on the maker.
You MUST ask them if it has SB or any preservative at all.
For instance:
Pauls has SB in it and he even adds a lil bag to each bottle.

BUT, Blackies "Spike It" has ZERO preservative, so it must be added...and Scott still makes Blackies "Stop It" to use the original combo.