What are some advantages to a steel screen or wax paper? Seems like wax is the go to during cold weather, but I haven't used steel screens.

Steel screen means, no dirt covering the trap, which means no frozen crust on top of the trap. JM2Cs

Unless I’m making snow sets, I gave up wax paper for pipe insulation under the pan. Just because it’s easier to carry a roll of insulation than a bunch of paper. Screens never made sense to me. A stiff screen rocks on the pan and a softer screen can be molded around a pan like wax paper, but way more expensive or time consuming...

I use both, depends on weather for me.

Can you cover wax paper with a little bit of grass covering and catch critters? If so I’m switching over to wax paper!
I use screen so my sets are still operational after 2-3” of rain we get every time a front rolls through. My dirt hole sets or any set covered in dirt seems to become a small pond and critters won’t step in it.

Lol, trapping season where I trap has freezing nights and days from the get go. I can only set on high and dry or I’ll have ice cubes for a month with that much rain, even with wax dirt. Just goes to show, there are different conditions everywhere. Do you set like the pipe dream sets with space underneath to get away with that much rain?

Yes sir. Always have a deep hole underneath. I’ve went to pull traps and pop the screen off and have 3” or more under the pan. It just works better for me down here when we have this much rain. We don’t have freezing like the northern states.

Wax paper here.

So the steel screen doesnt shift around like paper of fiberglass? Could use leaves like a grass covering too couldnt you?

Yes, that's the simple beauty of screen.
And if you form it to fit perfect inside the trap, there is no movement of the screen. Except down.

When pulling, lift the movable jaw and it lifts out. I just put them in a plastic ziplock bag and reuse. No fuss, no mess. If it wasn’t for Zaggers way of bedding and screen use my season would be a bust this year. 75% of my catches have been on the PDS. And I’m putting in a 50/50 of dirt covering vs screen. Some of my scent post and flat sets have screen as well. All depends on the location.
I will also throw in that we are having a seriously wet year. When dirt holes get flooded out that PDS or sets with screen coverings are still functioning.

When heavy rain covers the trap bed with water and washes/floats your lure onto the trap bed how is this affecting the screens reuse....getting lure odor all over them and the trap?

This is a common occurrence when any set is flooded, especially dirtholes. All that bait/lure odor is now settled on the trap bed and trap. I use polyfil and change that out but trap is smelly many times too.

I've had in-line springs on all my dirt traps due to live market trapping over the years. I am in the process of removing them as scented dirt/mud jams in the springs and causes digging at remakes.....same principle.

I use to use bakery tissue wax paper sheets. It is softer/ quieter and easier to use than regular rolls of wax paper

https://www.amazon.com/bakery-tissue-sheets/s?k=bakery+tissue+sheets

My screen use is limited to the Pipe Dream set and scent post sets. The pipe generally doesn’t get covered in water and scent post it’s generally up high. Dirt holes are the ones that end up flooding out, but I’m working on that. Here lately I’ve created a “drain” trench and started putting my dirt holes not at ground level. Guess it would be more of a trench set with the hole up off the deck about 3” or so and more horizontal than vertical. Those have been the only “dirt hole” sets that have produced vs the standard dirt hole. This year has been an experimental learning experience. And they are forecasting another 2.5-5” today, lol.

I have used used Screen, Wax paper, and polyfil. This year I experimented with the landscape fabric. It is by far in my humble opinion the best stuff I have ever used. It lays as flat as a pancake, it lets rain through, and I can use one over and over again. I can't see myself ever using anything else.

Straight screen user here spring summer fall and winter. And dogless trap.
With say mb550 or duke 550 type trap you are better off using other types of pan coverings, a coffee filter will work also just to add to stuff used lol.

Why do you think screen would be a bad choice for dogged 550’s? It has seemed to work fine for me, but I might be missing something.

Tried most every way imaginable and have to agree with swamp.

So the landscape fabric is still enough to lay over the jaws and allow just a grass or leaf covering even with a good rain?
Or is it good for dirt only?

Do you use the Zaggers way for all your sets, or just pipe dreams?