Mold in bait

What is the best additive for keeping mold out of bait and where can you buy it. I know sodium benzonate wont do it I was told alcohol and salt?? I question that though.

Sodium benzoate has mold inhibiting properties in it. It might not be the best mold inhibitor but it does work. Salt & Alcohol will do the same thing as well.

Common mold inhibiting / preservatives easily obtained from trapping sites would be sodium benzoate, methylparaben, and potassium sorbate to name a few. Possibly a few more if you ask. Or you could reach out to companies who specialize in them to give you more of a variety. FYI..Some will significantly alter your bait.

thanks

a quik freeze will stop it for awhile sun light will to. but imho id just add 100 proof clear alchol its a dual duty additive

How much alchohol to a gallon of bait, Tony? Thanks!

I use vodka, pour enough to cover the mold let sit until I am ready to use/ or mix up final solution

What typically causes mold...a little water getting in the lure or bait?

Temperature changes are the biggest mold producer but in the end its all from moisture. On small batchs I do as Michigan trappin does bigger batchs I go a cup of alchol to a gallon of meat. surface mold don't bother me as much as the mold that can grow in the center its what ruins your batchs IMHO

I personally wouldn't rely on alcohol as your primary source for preserving bait, killing a little mold is one thing. Any of the few preservatives offered on trapping sites would be a much better choice than alcohol alone. LOTS of preservatives out there that function in many different ways, especially if you're rolling over from season to season. To each their own.. Good luck.

Le zinc valérate.

I don't use alchol as a preservative just a mold inhibitor, and beings its so volatile it gives surrounding smells lift. Now if I was selling it all id ever use is methyl paraben

Methyl Paraben is what I use and it works well as a mold inhibitor. I use it in conjunction with Sodium Benzoate. I think Sodium Benzoate is superior to Methyl paraben as a preservative, but has no mold inhibitor qualities.

I respectfully disagree, I believe sodium benzoate helps to inhibit mold growth. But hey they call you the Boss, so I respect your response and success, agree to disagree

"Forgot"....jmo,imo

I have worked long enough with both components to have a good history of using tons of SB over the years and hundreds of pounds of Methyl paraben. Sodium Benzoate has some mold retarding properties. However, having some materials that have set for several months and years in numerous cases blended with only SB as a preservative can and will develop mold within and/or on top of the product. Also along the contact sides of a bucket or container. The amount and how fast it develops varies and is determined by storage conditions and how long it sits.

This is a fact in my experience.

Depending upon what you use the SB in and the ratio of glyercin or glycol if they are added as well all will help retard mold growth and product deterioration. Some materials are more prone to mold growth faster then others. Our egg base for example will develop mold over a period of months as many of the buckets we use are somewhat clear so you can see the mold lines that develop thru the bucket sides. Then obviously the top and sides of the product get accelerated growth over several months. You will lose some product due to having to scrape it out as best you can.

Then you have to keep an eye on it as it will continue to develop mold over time if it isn't used in a timely fashion. Mold can alter the odor and spoil some product as well as changing the color in time if it isn't stopped soon enough. Particularly in our egg material. Years ago I didn't make it a habit of putting Methyl Paraben in our big batches only S.B..

However, with time passing and having many buckets of product sit for several years at times I found these batches needed Methyl Paraben to hold the product stable and not worry about the loss that will come if a mold retardant is added to begin with.

It is best to blend all components in the beginning to address these issues before they begin as you will certainly learn this down the road. It can be costly and make more work for you later once you have recognized the problem.

If you are only making small consumer batches and don't plan to have much hold over product I wouldn't worry about it. You can leave it out. Mixing some water and a small amount M P. and spraying the top of your stored product thru a spray bottle will stop the topical mold growth in a container. This method wont do anything for helping the interior of the product but the air contact area on the product surface and container sides is where a large amount of the mold will grow most aggressively in my experience.

This is what I found as well Bob. After a year or two, some of my lures and my baits were getting a layer of mold on them. Both the bobcat and beaver meat baits did this. After learning about methyl paraben and using it in conjunction with Sodium Benzoate, that problem was solved.

I traded some bait I had made for the use of a trailer. Guy I traded with used it that season and caught fur. Called me in the spring complaining about mold. I hadn't added any MP but the original five gallon bucket still had bait in it and no mold and neither did the bait jars in my trap bag.

I suspect mold spores were transferred from the dirt someplace he made a set onto whatever he was using to get bait out of the container and into his set. From that tool into the bait. I think that MP kills spores that SB won't and probably vice versa. I suspect that's also true with bacteria. I started using both and haven't seen a difference in efficacy of the scent. No more mold problems and the smell stays real stabile after about a year of aging. There are some changes from the time its mixed till that year is up but I feel its an overall improvement.

I plan to start adding methyl paraben to the sodium benzoate packet that comes with my Bait Solution. I've heard from a few folks using my Bait Solution saying their bait also develops mold. Not everyone encounters this, but enough do that it concerns me. I will be able to afford to do this with the upcoming lure price increase. That methyl paraben is some pricey stuff.

it has to be the conditions the finished product is stored in as well as containers. A hot dry area is not a mold friendly environment. But a cool dark place is. The ideal area to develop baits and lures is a breeding ground for mold. Humidity also plays a big part! A person can create humidity in side a container. I found this out in wax dirt storage containers. And I have lost several baits due to just having sb and nothing else

Key words "might not be the best" but.....




That's all I was stating... has them. May not be the best but in regards to the posters original post in that it doesn't work. It does work to some degree.

Then one poster typed about a gallon of bait. SB should have no problem with a gallon of bait, but the poster didn't specify what he was using it in. Methylparaben has always been one of the top 5.

jmo imo imho jm2c

hayeeyyy...

Yes the MP is expensive. We need to buy some in bulk and split the cost. That should last my lifetime what is left.

How much MP, and how much SB per 2 gallons of bait?

Is there a rule of thumb...X amount of each per gallon of bait?

its close to the same yes it is both 1 oz preservative to one quart meat or one cup to one gallon

That's a good idea. Work up what we need and I'm in.

Yukonal - "How much MP, and how much SB per 2 gallons of bait?"

I make it in five gallon buckets, and only put three gallons of meat in it. I use my bait solution, which already has SB in it, so it may be different for those not using my bait solution. To three gallons of meat treated with my bait solution, I add 1 cup of SB and 1/3 cup of MP.

Tony and Paul, thank you for the good information. Writing it down...

Bob and Paul I am in.

Great post! I will have to order some mp