Small Game, Predator and TrappingFrom shooting squirrels in your backyard to calling coyotes in Arizona. This forum now contains trapping information..
First of all steel traps do not catch an animal by the leg, they restrain the animal by the foot, therefore they are foothold traps.
New traps come from the factory with a coating of grease and oil, this needs to be removed for the first thing. I run mine through a dishwasher but a degreaser, brake fluid etc. can be used.
Once that process is complete it is best to let the traps take on a light rust. Then the traps should be boiled in a dye. I use a packaged trap dye but walnut hulls and other natural dyes work well also.
When the traps are completely dry it is time to wax. This process should be done outdoors. It is best to use pure trap wax and not melted on top of water. I use a coleman campstove to heat the wax and a pot just large enough to submerge the trap. Wax is extremely flamable and whatever method is used do not overheat (200-225 degrees max, use a candy themometer if uncertain) or allow open flame near the wax. Keep a lid or piece of metal nearby to cover the wax container just in case the wax catches on fire.
Slowly place trap in the wax and let set until the steel reaches the same temperature as the wax, remove and shake excess from trap and hang in a clean area. If the trap has a whiteish look then the wax was not hot enough and will not adhere to the steel. Done correctly, the trap will be sealed and will not rust.
There are trap dips available and dyeing and waxing is not needed if using that method. Do not wax conibear traps.
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I have not trapped in years. when I did trap we never used any wax at all. What we did was have a big pot over a fire and used water and bark in it. We did this every year just before trapping season and if a trap was handle incorrectly. This was done to remove all scent human scent from it. We would use birch bark or bark from an old hemlock tree. The finished product would stain the trapp as well and no wax was ever used.. Good luck to you and your trap line..
Yep, What Phil said will work. However, depending on where you are located will have a lot to do with how you prepare your traps.
In my area late fall and winter trapping when furs are at their prime, the weather conditions consist of temperatures that are above freezing during the day and below freezing at night, along with rain and/or snow which makes for wet soil conditions.
In order to keep the traps from freezing solid in the wet soil at night a anti-freeze must be used such as salt, calcium chloride and a few other highly corrosive products.
A trap will be ruined in a few days setting in those types of conditions if it has not been sealed in wax or treated with a commercially available trap dip.
__________________ I love Vegetarians, I ate two for lunch
In this area up here we also have a lot of freezing and really never had much of the problem with what has been said.. Our climate is always throwing something at us.. That is all we ever did back then..
With the price of new coyote traps costing around $12-15 bucks a piece, it pays to take care of them.
With new traps, I would be starting the grease/oil removal soon. The boiling and waxing part can be done a few weeks before the season comes in. In years past, I have run out of clean traps and reboiled and waxed during the season, then after a day or two reset those traps back out on the line with no problems with critters knowing any difference.
Here is some links to additional information, the first link is for your state trapper's association, these guys are there to help and can and will give you solid info, such as trap tagging, regulations, and any and everything to do with trapping. And feel free to ask any of us questions, we are all glad to help! http://www.atpca.org/
What can i use to get the oil and grease off the traps?
Well as mentioned, I put mine in a dishwasher. If that is not an option then a car wash, high pressure sprayer, engine cleaner or just about any kind of degreaser will work. It's really not that difficult
__________________ I love Vegetarians, I ate two for lunch
Waxing traps
