Welp, I've got all my traps, snares, cable stakes, tools and miscellaneous ready for fall. Now down to making waxed dirt and buying bait and lure, figure I'll get that at the conventions in the next while.





Awful lot of work in those totes right there, sure doesn't look like much when it's packed away nice and neat. ..I've got the sand drying now figure I'll take it slow and steady in this crazy hot weather we've been having. Plenty of time to get it done before cool weather.

It's that time of year again,we just got 2" of rain yesterday so I'll have to wait awhile to gather some dry dirt.I have about 60 gallons from last year left so I don't know how much I will do this year,maybe another 40 gallons...

I made 25 gals last week. Had one batch that would not take wax. I put it back in the sun with another 1/2 batch and tried again. It took. I don't think the dirt was dry enough the 1st time. I don't know!

Just finished up 70 gallons of waxed sand. Wow I’m glad it’s done. Now I’m down to bait and lure and packing. Good feeling.

Are you guys waxing your dirt by solar power or how you guys doing it. I have some dry dirt put away and my wax. My thought was solar but don't know for sure.

I used the solar method on the 70 gallons I just finished up, two 12x12 tarps dark side up and I scattered gravel pit sand across them and raked it about every 30 mins. the sand dried right up in the bright sun and heat we had going on. Then I started spreading wax beads across the sand, let it set for a couple hours and really get hot and started raking. Took two days to complete the batch - if my sand would have been dry would have been a one day job. I used 25 lbs of wax on 70 gallons of sand fwiw stands water quite well.. You could see the color change as the waxed melted and mixed in during raking.

Was a dadgum hot and sweaty job.. I'd quit the first day if someone hired me to do it lol.. But worked out well and I have it all bucketed up and stored in the barn now.

I don’t know your latitude compared to mine but the angle of the sun is increasing everyday and the more angle the more solar energy it takes. One year I waited too long, end of July/early Aug and the heating took forever, in fact I couldn’t finish in August, air was hot but the sun wasn’t even under glass!! compared to my normal waxed sand making time of mid-June/early July. June 21st the angle of the sun is at it’s highest and hottest!

I made a 4' x 8' box out of plywood and 2x4 and cover it with an old glass patio table top. I can dry my sand pretty quick and store it until I'm ready to add my wax. On a hot day I can make 20-30 gallons if I don't get too distracted.

Seldom, id think a man could angle his tubs to help meet the angle of the sun latter in the season to receive the rays.

Oh ya, I did that in order to keep melting but there is a nick-point break where it just takes longer until there isn’t enough heating unless I stood my tubs on end or tilted them so far that there wasn’t enough surface to take the heat to melt the wax or get the dirt hot enough. I remember my wife laughing at me struggling to get everything hot enough to melt! The old “i told you so” trick! I am speaking from experience with waxed sand and not using solar at the appropriate time of year to be efficient! I had my tubs on a cart that I could wheel around for the best direction and tilt the tubs to an efficient degree for the sun. I used glass panels from storm doors I found out along the street for trash pick-up.
https://youtu.be/_qNTGNJGQ7s?is=42dPtVH1iwMEoJgq
https://youtu.be/zXyd1BlQtPk?is=CfjpC-pimf1JktMn

I have never done this but I want to run a predator line this December when my son is home from college. I have some flake wax I bought at the FTA last year. So spread the sand out let it dry and then sprinkle the wax on and stir it up? It’s going to be hot and sunny next week I might try it. I also have a couple bags of peat moss I was going to spread out in the shop to start drying.

See my videos.

If you are using baled peat moss, only the bottom of the bale will be too wet to use IF IT’s EVEN WET! Most of the bale will be dry because water sinks through peat moss. Im used it for many years on my canine line before I started using waxed sand and caught coyotes in bad weather BUT-BUT waxed sand or dirt is inmy experienced opinion WAAAY better and if you bed your traps properly, bulletproof!

Thank you I will check them out! This is our first year doing this

You have the general idea, if you let the sand get good and hot and then add the wax and don't stir it up until the wax is melting it will work better. And using either a tub or a frame like scout describes with glass or clear visqueen over the top will really help. I couldn't get it hot enough to melt with it just laid on a tarp I had to make a frame and cover in visqueen. But I also was beginning of August when I tried that. I've did it a few years by the solar method, but far prefer a cement mixer and weed burner. You need to monitor temperature doing that so you don't scorch the wax though.