I experimented last Fall with NO screen and nothing under the pan. Dig, make the trap bed as Mark suggest. Takes some practice but jaws and levers pinched into ground. 4” hole under the pan. Covered lightly with grass clippings from lawn, dried. Can even see a little of the jaw outline. No waxed dirt. Nothing else. Admittedly the first 3 weeks no heavy frost or snow. Sorry leversNOT pinched in.

OK-What's a chopper box?

Around here a chopper box is a silage wagon.

Ok what’s silage?

Chopped corn or chopped sorghum . There are no dairy farm down here anymore very few people chop corn or sorghum. Probably why you don’t know you must be young

Haha! I wish.
Figured that what it was, just didn’t see how that would make a good cover. Seems like it would attract deer. Only dairy’s I know of are the one in Baconton, outside Leesburg, and the one almost to Americus.
Picking up cut grass after they mow the roads on the places I trap seem to work just fine.

Thanks for the info guys, I'm over at Coyote U now reading. I haven't tried this set yet but I will.....

I don’t think you would want to use silage as a cover. Haylage is same concept as silage but is chopped fine hay. Good cover

I am starting to use more on site grass and a pair of shears. It blends really well since it is same grass as surrounding area. Otherwise, I have a farmer that grinds big bales of hay that I can get a bag as I need.

I use lawn clippings. Cut and bag. Dump along the border fence line. Collect in burlap bags a week later and use in the fall/ winter.

I used this set heavily last fall. Pipe dream sets rock!!

Hey teacher did you put any light dusting of dirt on the grass.

I used mowed up hay and worked decent. But now I'm using on site with a shears. I noticed too how it holds up in weather. Very maintenance free means more time for more sets. That's how I look at it anyway. But always fun for me to make different kinds.

I have done this, and it looks good, but I can't seem to even catch a cold here, so who knows!

John, describe in detail what you did. It could be the grass you used wasn’t dry enough. It could be the way the dog on the trail was faced as well as the tape trap you used or brand.If you use the metal pipe for your pipes it could be that problem. Need to use a PVC pipe.It could be the grass you used could’ve had some oil or gasoline contamination and you didn’t realize it.

Why would you not use Mark's pipe dream way of bedding the traps, no matter what type set you make? The trap bedding is the key to success IMO even more-so than the pipe. Why make a set any less weatherproof than you need to?

When it was blowing hard I did put a light dusting of dirt over the grass and feathered it out into the surrounding grass and dirt. It worked just like the other sets. Some of the pipes had teeth marks in them.

I tried using John Graham’s little honey holders prior to putting it all together as the pipe dream set. Lordy, those honey holders got robbed from the sets 50% of the time. I even got some bamboo from Wolfdog 91 and wrapped the end with felt. Same thing. Coyotes, coon and whatever were getting them out of the ground. Then I went to pipe dreams with the plastic pipe, suspended trap, plan covers, haylage or grass and bingo, it was the winning combination.

I even made a dirt hole with a grass covered screen-over suspended trap and caught a coyote.

I'm brand new to trapping, and feel like my experiences shouldn't hold up very well. If I use a pipe it is PVC. I try to set only on coyote sign, with the wind in mind. I have used the "pipe dream" bedding exclusively, and feel like when I leave a set it is spot on, but I have zero confidence that I will catch anything. I only use grass that is in the direct vicinity of my set. My comment was only directed to the fact that I've used Mark's bedding technique (and love it) but haven't reaped the rewards so to speak!

I do...I love the simplicity, maybe that's my downfall!

John, post a picture of your set maybe two of Two different sets you did.

Hopefully they show up! Dirt hole was a reset after catching a coon. Trap is bedded pipe dream style with a light coat of dirt. Pipe set is just in grass next to a deer trail. Dang thing turned my pics!

Like The Beav said silage works great as a trap covering.

I trap on some dairy farms where they chop corn and blow it into plastic Ag Bags. Walked by a bag one day while temps were in the teens and noticed the silage that had been left on the ground was soft like walking on carpet. Put some in a bucket to try and it works great. If it freezes it breaks up much easier than frozen dirt. Works on any type set and I get it free.