Hey yall, tried searching this beforehand but wasn’t really finding the answer I was looking for. So lately on the east coast we’ve been getting hammered with rain and some light snow storms. Nothing crazy, around 3 inches has been our max and it only lasts a day before it melts. I switched from peat moss and antifreeze flakes to wax dirt about two weeks ago and man it’s been a game changer. But my questions are, we are supposedly getting 6+ inches of snow this week which is unheard of for here. Was wondering how wax dirt holds up in the snow? The temperatures are gonna be 34 as an average high and around 15 degrees at night for an average over the couple days after the snow. So the snow will be here a minute. Also do you guys just pull the snow back off the set? Was thinking of maybe taking a rake or something around my dirtholes and roughing it up and trying to create some good eye appeal but get the snow off the trap mainly. Also have some flat and post sets, that was wondering do I just leave them be or can I do something that helps them as well. All these sets are for k-9s and the occasional bobcat. Thanks!

I use a broom. You can make it look kicked back from a dirt hole or sweep the snow away from your post sets so they work.

Pretty much what you are going to have to do. You won't have enough snow or it good enough to set in the snow. If your waxed dirt is properly waxed it will work just fine under snow, but with warm temps in the day and 15 at night it won't matter, because the snow will freeze too hard over trap for it to matter that the trap isn't froze in. I don't like to clean traps off, I get a lot of avoidance of those cleared off spots, but in your situation that is about all you are going to be able to do to have your sets working. I would clear off a large area, not just a little spot over the trap. Try to do your best to make it look semi natural. Post sets or flat sets with gland lure you can try to make it look like a kickback. Otherwise clear off a large area and if it is melting during the day it will hopefully melt the edges of what you cleared and make it look at least less manmade.

If your there early enough where the snow is still fluffy, you can use a leaf blower to clear off a larger area around your sets. Otherwise like others suggest, you'll have to use a broom.

As long as your wax dirt is working properly it won’t freeze. It’s the crust from the freeze thaw that’ll render them useless. I use a wide shop broom and clear out a 10’ area around the trap. Still have animals that never step inside the circle though. You can also try setting where the sun doesn’t shine much to try and keep it from thawing and under trees or ledges to keep the snow off altogether

With your weather down there and how it cycles, I wouldn’t touch a thing as long as you’ve got a good waxed sand/dirt bed & cover. If you’ve blended your sets with duff and/or a thin layer of unwaxed soil, you’ll need to remove that because that will freeze a shell over the trap. Also, make sure there is no low spot over your pan because with your frequency of thaw & freeze cycles the low spot will hold water and freeze like an icy pancake!

I only trap in snow in interior Alaska. Alot depends on trap size and how much they can jump thru the snow, however I just use a small snow shovel and lean off my snow machine to clear snow, when necessary, if its powdery and deep enough its necessary to clear I'll often use a whisk broom. Unlike your situation I never see dirt during trapping season, so my traps never are cleaned down to bare dirt. Ice yes but not dirt so I'm not sure how your wax dirt would perform. On mountain ridges I put P gravel over traps for when its windblown but I'm using large traps like Alaska 9s, and they will jump through gravel and deeper snow.

Thanks everyone for the advice, had some great movement last two days before the front came in today. Suppose to snow until about 7 in the morning. We got right under 4” right now, not expecting much to move tonight. Maybe I’m wrong we’ll see. Looks like the snow is gonna stay on the ground for a couple days. Excited to follow tracks over the next couple days, new property I’m on is for a hunt club about 1200 acres. Sorta weird, during deer season the place was loaded with coyotes. Now there’s barely any sign that we’ve found, caught two in the past week, couple foxes and a bobcat. I’m thinking the lack of sign maybe is due to breeding season and maybe they aren’t coming through there as much. A lot of club roads around cut overs and small pines. So I’m hoping the snow will teach me some things about the place. Thanks again guys

Can you snare? Trail sets with snares/cable restraints can alleviate the problems with trying to keep footholds working.