Good morning everyone,
I'm getting back into trapping after many years away.
Decades actually.
I'm starting out small to relearn/refresh my skills. I will be setting coyote sets beside my snowmobile path mostly. Using dry peat moss for trap bedding.
I have an idea I'd like some input on.
I have health problems with my hands, so I'm trying to come up with ways to simplify the hands on stuff.
I'm in Northwestern Alberta, so there's a lot of cold weather and snow most years. Recently we've been getting chinooks throughout the winters.
I want to use melamine sponges (magic eraser sponges is a brand) soaked in glycerin under the trap pans, to keep anything else from getting underneath and freezing. I did a trial last winter, and a sponge soaked with glycerin outside stayed fully pliable no matter the weather. It seemed to shed any moisture as well.
Any thoughts about why this wouldn't work or problems I could encounter ? I'm going to try it unless there's some reason I'm not seeing that it won't work at all.
Thanks in advance for any input.
Ken

I’d look for something that is not so absorbent but still fluffy, look into waxed dirt and pan corners also.

Waxed dirt & PolyFil works great for me in SK.

Welcome to trapperman
I also use wax dirt and polyfill

In my informal test last winter, the sponge seemed to stay moist with the glycerin and not absorb any water. I even buried it directly in the snow where the daily temperatures varied greatly at times.
I'll definitely try Poly-Fil against it as a comparison. I can even try the Poly-Fil with some glycerin as well. Just to test different ways.
And if the sponges won't work, I can go straight to the Poly-Fil.

Thanks for the info so far.
Ken

P.S. - thanks for the welcome. I've been a member for some time, but I've been recovering from an extreme health emergency for a number of years , so I've been reading and learning for the majority of my time on here.

I put the entire trap into one of those super thin grocery store produce bags.

As long as your in a fairly dry environment in the winter, you should be good. If you get a lot rain, it really doesnt really matter if the sponge holds water or not. If the trap bed doesnt drain with anything under the pan, it will be a block of ice.

Thanks guys.
I like the idea of using a produce bag around the entire trap. I think I'll be trying that one. I've already got Poly-Fil coming to try as well.
Sniperb. We usually don't get much winter rain up here although it's more common in recent years. We have been getting a lot of big temp fluctuations. I'm going to try to keep my sets in spots that won't get direct sunlight, and make sure they have good drainage. This year is a test year for me. I don't know how many traps I'll physically be able to manage yet. So I decided to work more on making really good quality sets instead of quantity. Do my best at each set, instead of just hurrying to get more in. I think in the end, fewer good sets will be better then a large amount of so so sets...
Ken

On flat ground, I will take a trap stake and pound it in in the middle of the trap hole as a sump, so water can drain down. It works great unless we get a toad strangler rain.

Many have found the thin duct wrap fiberglass insulation works better than poly-fill. The kind I use has a foil backing which also helps shed moisture/freezing.

I've got the Poly-Fil and thin produce bags to try, as well as my sponges.
A question. Do you deodorize the poly-fil in any way?
I'm going to double wash the sponges, then store them in a pail with some leaves, dry grass, maybe a spruce bough. When I'm ready to use them, I'll use a smaller pail, soak them in glycerin and keep them sealed, using them as needed.
Would washing the Poly-Fil and storing it with grass, leaves and such be a good idea?
Or is it fine to us straight from the bag it comes in? How about the produce bags used to enclose the set trap?
Thanks,
Ken

Waxed dirt and polyfil worked well for me last winter, even in freeze /thaw.
Caught this cat (released) in late winter, notice the icy snow conditions. Thaw during the day them refreeze at night.
Also note coon caught in the background.
Both MB650, wax dirt, poly.

Sorry, didn’t answer your question. I didn’t do anything special to deodorize the poly, just aired it out a week or so and then kept some in a ziploc bag to avoid picking up odors. I don’t think cats and coons are supper sensitive to odors, but I did get a coyote and a red fox in the same set as the cat earlier in the winter with the poly. A sponge soaked in glycerine will have the glycerine odor, may or may not be a problem but the smell will be there. IMO.
P.S. I’m far from a trapping expert, but I’m borderline OCD when it comes to odor and deer hunting. I use some of the same thinking for trapping.

I haven't tried poly but use waxed dirt with crumpled up wax paper for a pan cover.

In use poly and have no issues in any weather conditions with the poly. My choice of dirt has caused me a few misses however. Live and learn right.