ok so been looking at different options for trap dye. I used the old timer method of walnut hulls and water. I been toying with the idea of adding a water based acrylic to that and see if I can get better results. Taking a look at Dakota Line trap dye, to me it just looks like an acrylic type pigment that is water based. What do you guys think. Oh yeh forgot to add .. I am cheap.. money is hard to come by when you live in the backwoods. Ive also heard that using maple leaves can make a good dye

Maple leaves do make a passable trap dye. I've put leaves in my boiling pot and leave them sit for a week or so. Bring to a boil and add traps. I've also used water based paint, watered down and dipped snares in it. Worked very well.

Oak leaves, brown and dry; Walnut hulls, Sumac berries, nd my favorite: Spalted Red Oak heart wood, dry rotted so it crumples in your hand.

I have a good mix with walnut hulls and old oak wood, its pretty dark and works good. The acids in it helps prevent hard rusting too.
So I did experiment with the acrylic idea. I got two bottles of black at Walmart for about 3.88 a bottle mixed it with half gallon of water and I got a nice dark coating on the traps. After drying they have no smell at all and what I like best is its a dark solid color that goes on in one dip. Next will be to see how it holds up during wax dip.

There are several methods of treating traps with things that nature provides. They all seem to work as well as anything sold commercially with regards to boiling treatments. I used many materials over the years and all have worked. Hard wood byproducts, nut hulls, leaves, wood chips/bark sumac etc. all have tannin which creates pigment and has rust inhibiting properties for traps. I still use walnut hull dye. I do try to separate the hulls from the dye when I make it to keep my traps clean for waxing.

Great info everyone, thanks. I think I just might give that acrylic a try

I'm thinking of trying the Dakota Line water based dip that you mention

I strip sumac bark in winter. Peels off easy. Grows uncontrollably here. Makes nice black trap dye

I will post up some pics later today. Its given a nice dark color, we haven't waxed anything yet but I am sure it will hold nicely once waxed.

Where's the pictures, Hemming.

Times tewe. This thread stinks without pictures. Lol.

I've heard the walnuts work good. I'll second the sumac, and if you have any juniper in your area those berries work good too.

Walnuts worked so well on my traps last year I’m using them again this year. A little more labor intensive than the dips but I like it and with a good layer of melted wax floating on top I kill two birds with one stone

I just dipped some snares in brown Dakotaline dip so I wouldn’t boil the oil out of them. They look really good and it would probably work fine for traps. Not sure how it would hold up when waxing.