Pan covers or underpans, whos using what?

Couple years ago i switched from fiberglass screen pan covers to underalls, actually dont care for underalls but have since switched to 1/2” fiberglass pipe insulation cut into 4” pieces and fold over and place under pan, have had really good results. I have heard polyfill also works good, but my pickup would look like a teddy bear mass casualty scene im aftaid. What are you using?

I am using polyfill on almost everything, just bought a cheap pillow and cut a whole in one end. Keeps the polyfill from going everywhere.

I still have an assortment of pan covers I am experimenting with. FG screen, Aluminum Screen, Hardware Cloth, even tried out sandpaper. So far nothing seems to be better or worse, but i just started playing with the aluminum screen and hardware cloth, so time will tell.

I used ot use wax paper, and frankly everything is better than that, at least in my experience.

I used coffee filters then switched to polyfill under the pan. Now, I use a trappers cap and pete moss with no cover. I have had good results. I use MB 450 and 550 traps if wondering.

The last 15 years all I use is underall and peat moss inside my traps

I'm a polyfill kinda guy and I'm not going back

I use pipe wrap insulation under the pan, have used that for years.
Jim

I disagree.

Why do you say that?
Genuinely curious your experience.

I think because up here in the north where freezing and snowy conditions are a major reality, wax paper can be the hot ticket. You want to crumple the wax paper into a ball 1st, then can flatten it out and use it. It's light weight and easy to work with too, and cheap.

Screen

Polyfill.

Polyfill

Polyfill for me.

AJE, that makes sense.
Thanks

Peat moss inside the jaws early season and just screen late season.

I also use polyfill and have for years, but I might try some coffee filters as well this season. I just keep the polyfill in a ziploc bag. Little goes a long way.

Polyfill

I use a 50/50 mixture of sifted dry peat moss and cover hulls. Springy enough to let the pan drop but it keeps dirt from clogging up the works.

Pipe wrap insulation for me also.

I use screens and polyfill. Screens when I'm in a sod/grass type area where I can do a Pipe Dream set or a bait stick type set. If I'm in sand or dirt it's polyfill.

I use sandwich bags and underalls on my Sterlings,i used poly fill for years.At work we use sandwich bags so that's what use,started sandwich bags 4 years ago.Seems to work well,but so did the poly fill,just need to keep it away from your lure/bait smells.

Tried all the pan covers over the years, this year I really didn't have anything ready when season started, so I just put a handful of peat inside the jaws and ha been working great
.

What sandwhich bags do you use and what size trap ? I thought about trying it but the ones I tried wouldn't fit a Bridger #2 Dogless.

Ive used sandwich bags but had bad luck catching alot of dirt and pull outs often, i was probably doing it wrong. Used coffee filters for years like them but absorb moisture fast. Thats what led me down the path to pipe insulation, love it....

Dick Atkins from Pennsylvania just got me started on polyfill and he said you got him started using it. I really like it and I doubt I will go back to regular pan covers.

Dick is a go-getter. We're always smiling when we talk to him.
I've been using polyfil so long, I don't remember where or when I learned about it, but I owe a steak and adult beverage to however it was.
Most use far too much poly. Far too much because they confuse it with other methodology.
I never leave home without it. Case in point, I'm up early this morning, sipping java while I listen to the rain on the metal roof here at the ranch house Donna and I are staying at. We have a coyote needs getting here and I HOPE it pours because it blends the sets so good and these pressured coyotes are no slouches on these paying jobs. Poly allows me to pack dirt firm inside the trap jaws as I bed the set and thus the set takes a lot of rain before it's exposed. There's another trapper who left sets here and is checking them once a week??? and I promise you I'll drive by his sets this morning and see them exposed. Happens a lot with what we do on these jobs. Usually these other trappers use screen.

I used poly for decades and it worked pretty well but I switched over to fiberglass pipe wrap and it has several advantages.

1.mice,squirrels and other rodents never pick at it.
2.once precut,there is no work,slide it under the pan and forget it.
3.The catch won't trear it up.Most times it stays under the pan but if not,they won't touch or shred it.I often often reuse them and have never had issues.
4.I have found some,a year after the fact and reused them.
5.I cut about 15 at a time and do 300 in an hour.

I have used them for probably 8 years and have found nothing about them I don't like.Many times I have seperated them in two and that works well also,giving 200 out of a 25' roll.

Here are 200 pads,if I don't split any.Scrunched flat,I get 50 in a qt,zip lock bag.Very light and compact

Taximan I really like the way those look. That's a great idea

Taximan,

Now that right there is a good idea. A very good idea

Nice taxi, i may steal some of your ideas if you dont mind. I used a big piece under pan the other day on my variation of zaggers bedding method, rubbed it in the dirt so it was not so yellow and covered with grass, looks great moisture may screw me if its rain but time will tell... i had no screen so improvised....

I have to give credit to Tom Krause for that one.I like them,though.

Neat idea with the pre-cut fiberglass there Taximan, that cuts down on some setting time I bet. I use sandwich baggies myself, its all I've ever used but might take a few more seconds to get it under the jaws and over the pan than what you got there

Taxi, did you make the cutter?

No,Yukonal,that is a 2.5",Osborne,arch punch and they retail for $200.I got a "deal" at $140.l know that nobody is going to do that but their are othe ways.

If you get a piece of pipe,the correct diameter and sharpen one end,you can use that.I found that I can twist the punch,by hand,through the same size stack of fiberglass,almost as fast as with the hammer,so I think you wouldn't need anything elaborate,just the pipe.

The other method I used,before the punch,was to make two patterns out of masonite ie.,two disks,pan sized.Make the same "accordian" fold but only 6-10 layers.put one disk on top and one under.Compress the stack between the disks and cut out with a good pair of shears.This goes faster than I can describe it.I would cut these while watching TV,in the evening and it goes faster than you would think,maybe 1.5 hrs. To do a season's worth.I will try to get a picture up

Taxi, I once asked Glen Sterling Sr. What his preferred underall/pan cover was for his traps and he said it was that same pipe insulation you use. Must be pretty decent stuff.

I have been using playfully as well with no problems

I have seen a picture of James Lucero using it in a square shape and believe that would probably work as well.I wouldn,t like polyfil to extend past the edge of the pan but believe with the fiberglass,it would work.Anyone do it that way?

I couldn't operate scissors and cam at the same time but there are several layers,sandwiched between the disks.You obviously can't see the disk onthe underside.

I leave mine rectangular and double them over, right, wrong, or indifferent it works well for me.

I use wax paper. Taximan has a good idea though!

You guys use that pipe insulation or polyfill right out of the bag? Does it have an odor? This seems more efficient than wire pan covers. Will the insulation freeze solid if it gets wet and is exposed to freeze/thaw cycles?

I use black wire screen on pipe dream, flat and trail sets in the grass. For dirt holes I’ve used a lot of different things, under all’s, fiberglass, polyfill even corn husks and grape leaves. They all work well when it’s dry, they all fail when frozen in a pool of water lol.

I cut my insulation up right out of the bag and store in ziplock bag till i need it, but have no issues with scent on brand new stuff. Also I dont get tons of moisture but i have never had my insulation freeze solid or even enough to not let trap fire. Great stuff IMO.

Any issues with the pipe insulation freezing in really wet/freezing weather? I've used the poly for several years and had it freeze solid....any problems with the pipe insulation doing that? Thanks!

Here's what works for me - fold flaps(do not crease) over and slide under pan, all edges are protected. Works fox to yotes.



Fiberglass screen against sheet of paper for visibility.

Center square is pan size +1" each side. Flaps are long enough to fold over stay folded under pan, tapered to make corners easier. 8 of 10 times screen is reusable but I wash them before reusing them on canines(just in case). I have plexiglass glass templates(for large pans #3 and over, #2 and under) that I lay atop several full size squares(pan plus flaps) and then cut them shape w/SHARP carpet knife. Easy Peasy. I get all the screen I can use all but free from a window repair shop.

I use polyfill but this insulation deal looks pretty good too!! Thanks for the tip!

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frost-King-1-2-in-Fiberglass-Plumbing-Pipe-Wrap-Insulation/1081451 a skoal can is the right size for a mb550.

I use landscape fabric.

Here is what I tried thru the years and have settled on: Poly fill, fiberglass, coffee filters, foam, peat moss and underalls do take in water and freeze in the freeze/thaw soil moisture and temps we have here in middle and later winter. All of these do work great under mild and drier conditions and more power to you if they will work in your area. When its 40 degrees during the day and 21 degrees at night with moisture, you will (I did) experience any water, forming a solid chunk of ice under the trap pan. So to avoid any ice under the pan that leaves us with a pan covering layer to choose from like sandwich bags, latex, landscape fabric, window screen, wax paper or wax cupcake liners to choose from. Even if these should get soaked with water the SPACE UNDER THE PAN IS VOID OF frozen material. I will steal a technique/tip from the Indiana Vet trapper and cut a roll of wax paper in 1/2, flatten it and tear off a piece as needed at each set. Little prep time and a whole lot easier to tear and place in a wind than some of the others. Notch the cupcake liners if you are into prep time for the dog and pan shank but I guess I'm closer to my last trapline than my first so I just tear a piece when I need one and make it fit. Nothing against window screen or latex but again, the prep time is more than I want to give. Plastic bags work for a big trap but small jaw spreads are compromised with the entire trap encapsulated. Its Wax Paper on 1/2 of a roll for cost and ease of use for me....... the mike.

I started with wax paper and ended up using landscape fabric ( the heavy stuff ) about like a good denim shirt. I still like this method and may go back to it . If I was trapping in sand I would use the pipe insulation or Polly. I tried them here back in the late 90’s and they both ended up being a frozen chunk under the pan as our soil does not drain well. And no driving a stake to make a hole under the trap does not work when you get an inch or more of rain .

Wife I had good luck with the wax paper but went to the landscape fabric because of its durable nature, heck if I could find it I could almost always reuse it.

Mark I watched you do a demo in Kansas ( I think) years ago and I don’t know how you can claim that you use Polly, lol . Folks the man does not use enough Polly to make one end of a q-tip . What I gathered from watching that demo was , it’s more about the packing of dirt than it is about the Polly . But I would rather hear your thoughts.



Thanks,
Don

P.S. Today I use peat between the jaws and under the pan , with waxed dirt over the top . A word of warning, peat only works if it is bone dry to start with .

I've used poly fill and I won't do it again. I used to use wax paper pan covers, but last year I switched to landscaping fabric and I like it the best. I pre-cut them in 5"x5" squares and let 'em air out to get rid of any smell. Tough, cheap, and super easy to make!

Every time I try any kind of pan cover I swear I never will use them again. If in the sand, I can see it, but here it's mostly wet soil that you can't sift well, so peat or similar works good.
If freezing isn't an issue, I would just carry good dirt and pack it in tight, but freezing is almost always an issue in the east.

Over the years i have use wax paper, coffee filers.This year i went to foam i like what i am seeing. Good year to try new things.

This year I've been using steel screen on my K9 Extremes. I must say its working great. The pan on the Extreme sits real low between the jaws. The screen doesn't work as well on my #3 Bridgers. I use pipe insulation withe Bridgers. Waxed sand covrs both.

K9 Extreme Jr.s, and polyfill, completely surrounded in wax sand. Bulletproof...fires every time.

Underalls on the Sterlings,3N's sandwich bag on Bridger #3's and MB 550's with waxed sand/dirt.

Polyfill on everything the last couple years. I like the pipe insulation idea, going to give that a try.

I’ve used all of the above and more. Where I live now, anything under the pan would freeze solid if it got wet. I didn’t like the pipe insulation because I didn’t feel there was enough of a horizontal void around the pan to accept a dropping foot. At least, not as much as wax paper. The poly fill worked real well in the southeast but can freeze as hard as ice here in negative temperatures. I used canvas squares for a few years but it became tough to maintain good supplies and absorbed too much water. Coffee filters and wax paper are my go-to now. I’ve always ended up with waxed paper. There have been times where I forgot the waxed paper and set a ton of traps with balled up grass under the pan or nothing at all and it worked just fine. Screen can be good if it fits right.

I use black nylon screen. The glass man in town has waste from jobs on occasion.

I liked underall sponges until the first time it rained then froze and I could practically stand on the pan without firing. I dislike the idea of polyfill since it’s impossible to gather up at the end and will never degrade. Latex is awesome but pricey. Just using screens and peat moss these days.

I used poly for years until I saw like USMC47 noticed when it gets really cold. Now I'm filed my dogs on 550's down to 1/32 so they fire with very little down ward motion. We designed the Alpha like a trigger on a fine rifle, no creep. I remember one of my mentors years ago told me "the pan is the pan cover, adjust your traps right and none is needed" Even with waxed sand polly accumulates moisture over time. I waited for a problem coyote last year for a month , it was 10 that night. Stepped right on it, trap didn't fire. The polly was an ice cube. Lesson learned the hard way!

ive had good luck using 550s with wax sand an wax paper . i pre cut the wax paper pre season an put them in a sandwich bag with some spruce an balsam fir tips mixed in . i crumple the wax paper up into a ball befor i put it into the bag . with that combination ive never had an isue withe freezing or not firing

I only use my underpants once I'm out of coffee filters...
Cleaner side up of course.

poly fill for me since i bought mark junes dvd. have used wax paper and plastic screen as well as weed cloth and i like the polyfil the best.

I too have tried everything and caught coyotes on all of them, from wad of dry grass to screen. I had problem with screen in Texas where the sand was so fine it sifted down through the screen under the pan. I have settled on coffee filters which i have used a lot of over the years and probably won't change again.

I use toilet paper folded a few times under the pan has worked good for me