where to start.

made wax dirt two years ago. used it in 2023 caught coyotes fox bobcats little everything i stored the unused dirt in 5 gallon buckets with lids. in a dark coolest area i had in my garage.

2024 i did not get to trap. health issues.

2025 i have sets out and haven't caught a thing. granted we don't have a large population that said i do see tracks in snow they are coming close but not committing. I'm using same baits, lures. everything as before.

my question is can the wax dirt go bad. i thought i had read that as long as stored in cool places air tight that it be fine. am i wrong. I'm a greenhorn at trapping and I'm thinking this could be the issue ilf it is im going to have throw away 20 gallons of wax dirt

I've got some waxed dirt that was stored the same as yours. I opened the lid on a bucket yesterday and noticed there was some "mold" or something on top of the dirt. I can only guess that during the course of being stored, the buckets drew condensation, and that is what caused the stuff to appear on top of the dirt. There is a distinct odor now to the dirt as well, so I won't be using any of it at all.

So…to answer your question, "Can the wax dirt go bad?" I'd say yes.

There wasn’t any mold I’ve looked through other buckets. No visible sign or any odors. I just don’t know.

I place a couple of those blue heavy duty paper towels in each container of dry and waxed dirt/peat after it has cooled and stored for a period of time. You "cannot" put a tight lid on your containers as they will sweat and eventually start to develop mold due to the moisture content held inside.

The containers must breathe.

That material can develop a different odor on the layers of dirt that have been mold exposed which will be foreign to set/field condition soil.

Well I did place lids on tight. I am guessing this is my issue. The wax dirt is giving off something of an odor that I can’t smell. They can.

You need to make sure your dirt is bone dry when you start. Let it cool to room temp before storing. Then you should have no issues. You can have refusals for many reasons. Most likely it is not your dirt.

Yea I may be looking for excuses. Lol.