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Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* #6956321
08/06/20 04:37 PM
08/06/20 04:37 PM
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 2,092
NB, Canada
MySide 🦝 Offline OP
trapper
MySide 🦝  Offline OP
trapper

Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 2,092
NB, Canada
Can you guys list some ways of freeze proofing fox and coyote traps?
I need help........ please


All for the Greater Glory of God
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6956322
08/06/20 04:37 PM
08/06/20 04:37 PM
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 2,092
NB, Canada
MySide 🦝 Offline OP
trapper
MySide 🦝  Offline OP
trapper

Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 2,092
NB, Canada
The waxed dirt/sand doesn't seem to agree with me, so I am looking for alternatives for this year. Thanks.


All for the Greater Glory of God
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6956327
08/06/20 04:48 PM
08/06/20 04:48 PM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,324
Hancock Co., Indiana
Kart29 Offline
trapper
Kart29  Offline
trapper

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,324
Hancock Co., Indiana
I buy a bale of peat moss and use that to line the bottom of my trap bed. Then, when the trap is securely set in the bed and a pan cover put in place, I sift more peat moss over the top until the trap is completely covered. After that, I sift a little bit of dry dirt on top of the peat moss to blend the color in with the ground and keep the peat moss from blowing away. Finally, I keep a mix of propylene glycol anti-freeze (available at trap supply dealers) and water in a spray bottle and give the set a dampening down. Sometimes I spike the glycol/water mix with just small squirt of coyote urine.

There's a gizzillion different ways to do it. But this one has worked best for me so far. I have also used regular old table salt in place of the propylene glycol and it works good, too. But maybe your temperatures are colder than mine, I don't know.


What from Christ that soul can sever,
Bound by everlasting bands?
None shall take thee
From the Strength of Israel's hands.

Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6956330
08/06/20 04:49 PM
08/06/20 04:49 PM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,324
Hancock Co., Indiana
Kart29 Offline
trapper
Kart29  Offline
trapper

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,324
Hancock Co., Indiana
If you want to save some money, you could collect some dry grass clippings now and try that in place of the peat moss.


What from Christ that soul can sever,
Bound by everlasting bands?
None shall take thee
From the Strength of Israel's hands.

Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6956337
08/06/20 04:57 PM
08/06/20 04:57 PM
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 7,217
W NY
Turtledale Offline
trapper
Turtledale  Offline
trapper

Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 7,217
W NY
Ant Hill dirt


NYSTA, NTA, FTA, life member Erie county trappers assn.,life member Catt.county trappers
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6956338
08/06/20 04:58 PM
08/06/20 04:58 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,797
Wisconsin
T
The Beav Offline
trapper
The Beav  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,797
Wisconsin
I would go with the peat moss.


The forum Know It All according to Muskrat
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: Kart29] #6956403
08/06/20 05:49 PM
08/06/20 05:49 PM
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 5,473
West Central MN
20scout Offline
trapper
20scout  Offline
trapper

Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 5,473
West Central MN
Originally Posted by Kart29
I buy a bale of peat moss and use that to line the bottom of my trap bed. Then, when the trap is securely set in the bed and a pan cover put in place, I sift more peat moss over the top until the trap is completely covered. After that, I sift a little bit of dry dirt on top of the peat moss to blend the color in with the ground and keep the peat moss from blowing away. Finally, I keep a mix of propylene glycol anti-freeze (available at trap supply dealers) and water in a spray bottle and give the set a dampening down. Sometimes I spike the glycol/water mix with just small squirt of coyote urine.

There's a gizzillion different ways to do it. But this one has worked best for me so far. I have also used regular old table salt in place of the propylene glycol and it works good, too. But maybe your temperatures are colder than mine, I don't know.

Your country must be a lot like mine. When it freezes, it's harder than Chinese algebra to keep a trap operational. I've tried just about everything and it seems a mixture of wax dirt and peat moss is winning out for me. I bed with wax dirt, then peat moss followed by a light dusting of wax dirt. You may end up having to used four coils on your traps to help with the trap closing through the frozen ground. I have used salt or calcium chloride but that can be hard on your traps. I would try some peat moss but make sure it's powder dry first by drying it out in the sun.


Common sense is a not a vegetable that does well in everyone's garden.
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6956901
08/07/20 07:43 AM
08/07/20 07:43 AM
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 13,971
Michigan
T
Trapper Dahlgren Offline
trapper
Trapper Dahlgren  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 13,971
Michigan
nothing really work's up north, here to much freeze an thaw an to much snow . I'm going to try plastic

bags

Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6957767
08/08/20 12:25 AM
08/08/20 12:25 AM
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 10,007
WI - Wisconsin
A
AJE Offline
trapper
AJE  Offline
trapper
A

Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 10,007
WI - Wisconsin
Plastic nanner bags help. So does crumpled up wax paper layed flat.

Last edited by AJE; 08/08/20 12:25 AM.
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6957795
08/08/20 03:10 AM
08/08/20 03:10 AM
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,482
Ne pa
J
Jerry Jr. Offline
trapper
Jerry Jr.  Offline
trapper
J

Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1,482
Ne pa
I have been using peat moss and flake anti freeze. After I dig the trap bed I pound it with a hammer. Then I put some flake anti freeze down followed by a layer of peat. I bed the trap and cover it with peat and pack that around it the best I can. A little more flake anti freeze on top and cover with a thin layer of dry dirt then blend it the best I can.


Time is more precious than gold if you know how to spend it
.... but what do I know, I'm just a dumb farmer.~My Dad
NRA LIFE MEMBER, Endowment Member
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6957845
08/08/20 07:05 AM
08/08/20 07:05 AM
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,313
Firth, Nebraska
jabNE Offline
trapper
jabNE  Offline
trapper

Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,313
Firth, Nebraska
waxed dirt is best I've found here to work, been trapping brutal freeze thaw conditions in southeastern Nebraska for 40+ years and I've literally tried everything. Waxed dirt isn't perfect but its closest thing I've tried yet.
I used to be a buckwheat hull guy, but those got expensive and one frost night later you can literally LIFT a solid cookie-like crusted layer off the top of the trap the next check. Salt, calcium chloride, etc. doesn't work at or below zero for me here. In January the ground is frozen rock solid with a frost line that goes down a couple feet. A jackhammer or pick are would make good trap beds and I do use a pick axe seriously for hacking something new out.
I started making waxed dirt in bed of my truck under the tonneau cover and that works on very hottest days of summer. I finally got a $5 old crockpot at a garage sale and it was a game changer. Makes just a gallon at a time but perfectly melts wax at right temp into hot sifted dirt. Its a cheap alternative to cover hulls.
I used to use peat moss too, you have to buy a bale from menards or at
Lowes in very early summer then start drying it out completely until fluffy dry. be patient it takes time and a good dry space to dry out peat moss. Sift out the sticks. It works for a couple days here then it too will take on air and ground moisture and start to freeze up at night too.
A trap in a plastic grocery bag is certainly waterproof but pretty noisy underfoot at coyote sets.
I'm sticking with waxed dirt...only thing I have any confidence in. Controlling moisture is the key, can't freeze if no moisture present. Most dry materials ive used like dry dirt, peat moss, cover hulls, coal shale, etc are like sponges and do take on moisture over time, some just slower than others. You have to prevent that or find yourself doing set maintenance i.e. rebedding traps very frequently. I even tried making sets only in shaded areas. Think shady side of a big round hay bale, or shaded side of weedy ditch, or treeline.. Keep the set always in shade and cold and dry where ground is always frozen vs. Letting sun or warmer areas thaw out during day then refreeze at night. That is a trick that does work a little better but even that will only last maybe an extra day or so more than other more "open" area sets subject to sunlight.
I still stand by waxed dirt and put in a little more wax than you think you need. Make it waterproof.
Buy the wax at hobby lobby and use the free online 40% off coupon. Makes a 10 pound block of unscented pure paraffin about $20 on sale and it will make a lot of gallons of dry sifted waxed dirt. you can buy flake wax in 10 pound bags from trapping supply house but you will also pay shipping on 10 lbs of material and that adds up. Use a block plane and hobby lobby 10 pound block and a plastic tote start shaving your own flakes.
I get dry pulverized dirt from local landscaping business...$10 for a whole loader bucket ull, or about a pickup load for me. Sift out the clods and its a huge supply of dry pulverized dirt. Store it in black plastic cheap garbage cans with lids in a dry place like a garage until ready to wax it.
When waxed store it in sealed smaller containers like clean dry milk jugs or five gallon buckets, like this...you can see them in back of my truck in this pic...

[Linked Image]

Feel free to PM me.
Jim

Last edited by jabNE; 08/08/20 07:26 AM.

Money cannot buy you happiness, but it can buy you a trapping license and that's pretty close.
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6957889
08/08/20 08:30 AM
08/08/20 08:30 AM
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 17,458
Wheaton Ks
L
lee steinmeyer Offline
trapper
lee steinmeyer  Offline
trapper
L

Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 17,458
Wheaton Ks
I've preached this for years, don't cut glycol or glycerine with water, just use it straight. If you get rain or melting, it dilutes it further, rendering the set useless, more times than not. Just squirt it on the dirt at the set, it will integrate into the surrounding dirt, and the amount you need, you figure out pretty fast!


YOU CAN IGNORE REALITY, BUT YOU CANNOT IGNORE THE CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORING REALITY.

http://www.lptraplinesupply.com
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6957907
08/08/20 08:51 AM
08/08/20 08:51 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,797
Wisconsin
T
The Beav Offline
trapper
The Beav  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,797
Wisconsin
Yes that works pretty good . But after awhile you end up with a wet spot that just looks unnatural.
Calcium chloride works to some extent but It's tough on traps.


The forum Know It All according to Muskrat
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6957933
08/08/20 09:07 AM
08/08/20 09:07 AM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,915
Nevada
YamaCat Offline
trapper
YamaCat  Offline
trapper

Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,915
Nevada
Coal shale and 50-50 coyote pee and glycerin. That’s what I used 30 years ago when getting after the coyotes. Courtesy of O’Gorman.

Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: lee steinmeyer] #6957960
08/08/20 09:30 AM
08/08/20 09:30 AM
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 4,483
PA
P
PAskinner Offline
trapper
PAskinner  Offline
trapper
P

Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 4,483
PA
Originally Posted by lee steinmeyer
I've preached this for years, don't cut glycol or glycerine with water, just use it straight. If you get rain or melting, it dilutes it further, rendering the set useless, more times than not. Just squirt it on the dirt at the set, it will integrate into the surrounding dirt, and the amount you need, you figure out pretty fast!

I did this some last year. I use peat moss and then glycerine is kind of squirted on top, only it doesn't really squirt, so I have it in a flip top, not a spray bottle. The main problem with peat is that little bit on top crusting over. Of course, if you get a hard rain and the whole trap bed fills up with water it will freeze, but generally it only freezes on top. Thing is, everything works as long as it stays cold and dry, its the freeze thaw and the rain then freeze that messes stuff up.
I used the grass clippings one year when we had terrible rain because I literally could not make a dirt hole without it filling with water and I was surprised how good it works. So I use grass clippings quit a bit now, if the location is in sod. These only freeze if the bed is full of water. I tried waxed dirt, but it was woods dirt and it absorbed a tremendous amount of wax and still froze, so I don't know.

One other thing, I have caught animals in the woods with only leaves over the trap. Buckwheat hulls also work pretty good in the woods, they really kind of blend in better and if you are in a spruce area, try spruce needles as a covering.


Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.
Re: Freeze PROOF *PLEASE HELP* [Re: MySide 🦝] #6957978
08/08/20 09:48 AM
08/08/20 09:48 AM
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 5,851
perry co.Pa
wetdog Offline
trapper
wetdog  Offline
trapper

Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 5,851
perry co.Pa
I have switched to salt. Yes salt. I pay $8 for a 80# bag.
And if you are good to your traps and clean them when you pull them there is no bad affects on your traps
After the first catch and the wax is off the trap is when the salt starts to etch the trap.
And a quart of salt last for 2 dozen sets or so.
Glycerin works good to. But when it gets down in the single digets, it gets hard to squeeze it out of the bottle

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