Freeze proof dirt for trapping

[Water Rat]

Just spent the last couple of days making freeze proof dirt , in the hope I can do a little land trapping this winter. There's a few different ways to make it and since I haven't made it in years , I decided to modify it a little bit. The weather has been perfect for it and it's pretty easy to do. Here's how I did it :

Start with a few clean buckets of plain dirt. Try to avoid sandy or loamy soil , as this soaks up too much of the flake wax. Just good ole' dirt works best.

Then run it thru a sifter to remove any large sticks , rocks etc...

I did mine over a clear Tupperware tote container. Use rubber gloves if you need to handle the material.

[Water Rat]

It'll look like this when your done sifting it.

[Water Rat]

Then spread it out on a piece of black plastic and let the sun dry the dirt out completely.

[Water Rat]

Then simply add 3 cups of flake wax to 1 gallon of sifted dry dirt and mix it well.

[Water Rat]

Next step is to fill containers about 2" deep and cover with the lid. Let the sun bake it for a couple of hours. You'll see the wax starting to melt into the dirt.

[Water Rat]

All you have to do is stir it around occasionally with a clean plastic toy shovel. After the sun bakes it , just store it in a cool dry place. I forgot to mention not to let any human sweat fall into your dirt while making it. It'll be contaminated . Good luck trappers !

[stoneam2006]

I tried wax dirt and peat moss for first time last year...will never do wax dirt again it's way to inconvienent. Peat moss weights next to nothing and is 100 percent freeze proof. Peat moss for me it is...

Awesome on the wax dirt looks like it came out sweet. Some guys use a cement mixer and torch to heat it while mixing works good too.

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[sodfather]

Interesting thanks for the explanation..

[Water Rat]

13 hours ago, stoneam2006 said:

I tried wax dirt and peat moss for first time last year...will never do wax dirt again it's way to inconvienent. Peat moss weights next to nothing and is 100 percent freeze proof. Peat moss for me it is...

Awesome on the wax dirt looks like it came out sweet. Some guys use a cement mixer and torch to heat it while mixing works good too.

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I'm surprised your not a fan of dirt wax. I had used some peat moss a couple of years ago with a cage trap I bought from Mercer Lawing. I put the peat moss on the floor of the trap and it froze to the ground like cement. It could have been caused by the wire mesh floor , but I believe once it gets wet and the temperature drops below 32 , it will freeze. As you can see in the photo , the critters shied away from the cage. Nothing beats a foothold.

[stoneam2006]

I'm surprised your not a fan of dirt wax. I had used some peat moss a couple of years ago with a cage trap I bought from Mercer Lawing. I put the peat moss on the floor of the trap and it froze to the ground like cement. It could have been caused by the wire mesh floor , but I believe once it gets wet and the temperature drops below 32 , it will freeze. As you can see in the photo , the critters shied away from the cage. Nothing beats a foothold.

Yea peat moss will freeze if gets wet but it wicks moisture pretty well. I just couldn't get over the amt of weight the dirt was to carry with me. Now I carry peat moss and a gallon jug of rock salt which helps too. Another thing I was doing with the trap beds last year was digging a "ditch" under pan so water could escape and not freeze from bottom up. I had 1 peat set freeze last year and that was only because the whole field was under water lol.

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[Culvercreek hunt club]

21 minutes ago, stoneam2006 said:

Yea peat moss will freeze if gets wet but it wicks moisture pretty well. I just couldn't get over the amt of weight the dirt was to carry with me. Now I carry peat moss and a gallon jug of rock salt which helps too. Another thing I was doing with the trap beds last year was digging a "ditch" under pan so water could escape and not freeze from bottom up. I had 1 peat set freeze last year and that was only because the whole field was under water lol.

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I knew a guy that use to use Thompson's water seal on peat moss. I asked him about the smell and he said he does it a year out and lets it all off gas. He swore it never soaked up any water. 

[stoneam2006]

Intetesting

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[Water Rat]

Another trick is to use wax paper or ziplock baggies when making your sets.