Made my 1st batch of waxed dirt today using the solar method. Hopefully it'll keep the traps working this year.

Did the wax melt eventually? It looks like it has not in that photo, Seldom's dirt has wax melted innit.

Watching, need to get some going myself.

Good idea have a couple of them put away. Thanks Seldom!

Ok, I failed! Did the water test this morning and the water got sucked up in just a few minutes. I used 22 cups of wax for 10 gals of dirt. To fix it do I just do it again?

Too much wax? The video shows him using about 1/3 of that.

I do this as well and it works. You will get better melting if you put your tarp on concrete or asphalt. I had better luck on my driveway than in the grass. I think you get a cooling effect from the dirt and grass below your tarp.

I redid the dirt this morning
I added 1 1/2 cups of wax per gallon of dirt. That made 3 1/2 cups per gallon. It's holding water now. Thanks.

Started a batch the Seldom way today. Not to hot, in the seventies, but I'm hoping it works.

Coming along good enough Seldom. I just hit "color change" with my last hoeing. One more hot hoeing then on to cool down.

I did the solar method a couple years. I tried it spread out on a tarp and couldn't get it to melt, even in the mid 90s. Then I built a 1x4 frame around it and stretched clear visqueen over it and that worked well. Same idea as the window panes, but I had visqueen and didnt have spare windows around.

Picked up some wax today at our convention and want to het started. Our soil is pretty sandy so that is what I am going to use. With sand what would be the correct recipe.

Here's mine racked out and cooled
I used one pound of flake wax to 25 pounds of All purpose sand and will do a water test today after I screen it

mr Turtledale those black tubs you used for making the waxed dirt are perfect where did you come across those
there perfect welldone

I believe those look to be mortar mixing tubs. They are sold at most box stores I would think.

I bought mine at home Depot. About $8 bucks a piece

So far so good
8 hours and holding fine

That shows why you should never have low spots on your top dressing. It will hold and puddle water that will freeze with cold temps and wind chill leaving a frozen area over your trap bed area potentially. I always try to leave a slight hump over the middle of my top dressing area.

That's a good point Bob. The problem I have had if the water runs off the waxed dirt then moves into the trap bed under the waxed dirt. So know I make sure there is plenty of waxed dirt under the trap also not just over.

Yes. Completely encased. I learned the hard way not to be too cheap with the waxed dirt. And make sure you cut your trap bed big enough. Don't follow the old adage of making the trap bed just big enough for the trap. Make sure you make it large enough that there is enough room all of the way around the jaws andthe ends of the levers so that there is enough room for waxed sand all the way around the trap with no part of it touching native dirt.