[Adam]

I've been using peat moss and buckwheat hulls to bed in and with the ground being so wet my sets are a mess and I'm not even catching anything in them. I'm wondering if part of the reason is because I end up with peat moss and buckwheat hulls exposed or floating around in the beds in any form of a stepdown set.

I'm wondering if waxed dirt wouldn't be a better solution. Peat and buckwheat also don't lend themselves to solid bedding material.

Just wondering about the pros / cons of waxed dirt besides the expense. I don't run a huge line, less than 20 sets, so I'm not going to spend a fortune on it.

 

[Moss]

I'm no expert but wouldn't you rather use hay sets instead of dirthole sets? Don't need dirt for them.

 

[always hunting]

As far as I've experienced, nothing beats it's effectiveness for winter trapping. That being said, it takes time and money to make, and heavy to carry. The only time I have seen it not work: not enough wax mixed well enough with the dirt, and crusted over snow that would support the weight of a coyote. I had a trap in the ground from nov. 1st left the bedding untouched and caught a coyote in that set approx. Jan. 15th during single digit temperatures (I did relure it every couple weeks). I also had a trap bedded for a few weeks last year, untouched until the 2nd day of deer season last year (caught a coyote). In our area, we got a least an inch of rain that monday, day before I connected.
Personally, I'd like to get better bedding with buck wheat hulls due to the fact that its: faster, cheaper and lighter. I had issues with peat moss absorbing water and freezing. I know some people just say, flip the top frozen layer off but once I put a set in, I like to leave it alone.

 

[Adam]

Moss, I do use haysets but I'd like more than 1 set per location (farm) and I don't want them all to be hay sets.

a-h, my problem is that in mud, it seems that it's impossible to bed solidly in buckwheat hulls since you can't really pack them. Thanks for your info!

 

[matthewbow]

i use buckwheat hull's to bed and cover my traps i do not blend the set in just leave the buckwheat hull's exposed i do not have a problem with fox shying away from set's also leave peatmoss exposed with no problems

 

[Bob Jamison]

I use waxed dirt and LOVE it. I had a dozen or so sets out for fisher season; you know what the weather's been like up here for the past week. Every set when pulled yesterday was sitting in dry dirt when pulled.

 

[Moss]

On another note I have a friend in Ohio that uses waxed dirt and he swears by it, in fact he made about 90 gallons of the stuff.

 

[Jayden41]

I use waxed dirt from day one of the season and not just winter.I don't have to remake sets after heavy rains when using it.the stuff is awesome and wouldn't trap without it.If you were close, I'd give you some to try out

 

[Renny28]

Waxed dirt is the cats meow.....

 

[Denny Emery]

I have used it. It is slick....

 

[walkercoonhunter]

waxed dirt is ok for someone thats not running very many traps...but for someone that has a big line set out waxed dirt is too expensive for someone to operate with...this is why most of the higher trap numbers rely on peat..

we had 2 inches of rain the other night and when we went to check traps our peat was still dry and everything was still operational...

 

[Kip Feroce]

Waxed dirt is the best method I have found. Made 35 gallon in 2 hours the night before this years vacation line. With 3 old microwaves going at once, it goes pretty quickly. Did not really need it this time and reclaimed all waxed dirt from sets that did not connect.

 

[Adam]

I'm really thinking about trying it out but am still bedding in buckwheat hulls for now.

I got a coyote last night in a set in an absolute mudhole. A mother to set there, but that's where I felt the trap had to be (see my other post for details). Punched in a new set about 30 feet away and got it settled in hulls ok.

 

[Kip Feroce]

When made in bulk, waxed dirt can be as little as .60 cents per set and remake. Using up to 3 lb per set. Using peat under the trap can reduce this amount substancially. Like to have 100 gallons prepared for the cold part of the season. Use it and you most likely won't go back.

The trick of using less waxed dirt is to make the trap bed just a wee bit larger than the trap. Ground expands when it freezes and making bed too small can hinder trap from firing correctly.

 

[Adam]

Picked up a bag of waxed dirt today. Will give it a try this coming week.