Speed dip?

[skhoser]

I dipped some Bridger #3's in speed dip and premium gas 2 weeks ago. I went by the directions on the can.
Been doing some research and there seems to be alot of guys having issues with lingering odor from gas resulting in dig ups or refusals. Looking for advise or past experiences from some of the trapping veterans out there.
I'd like to get them waxed and buried in the ground shortly so if I need to do something else I'd like some opinions.

[kingrat]

I always did them in the heat of summer and never had any issues. I think you'll be fine

[Marty S]

If you don't like the dip, I have been told you can always soak in gas to get it off??? I think it might not come off in tight places very good but maybe it all just disolves???

You could try one to see if works. Scrubbing might help.

I boil and wax my canine traps. All of the serious Western USA ADC coyote trappers do so - boil-dye-wax, so that should tell you something. Boil to dye, de-scent and then remove trap, let drip dry and dip in liquid wax until trap warms back up to wax temp and hang.

The hot weather summer dip method would be the only way I would try the gas dip, if I had to. I would be far more inclined to use FMJ dip.

Dips work well in areas with minimal trapping/ADC pressure and MAX coyote populations, in fact all methods work real good in such areas. Add a significant percentage of cagey coyotes into the equation and it is important to do it right, the first time!!!

and then there's the salt people...

[Big Grey Wolf]

You might try camp fuel/white gas. It is much cleaner naphtha with no additives and should have less odour.

[sammy1]

I have mixed gas and campstove fuel naptha in Speed Dip neither had an issue of decline. I do rub whatever bait I am using all over the trap just before placing in box though.
I have also used spraypaint in brown and green combo.

I am wondering all a person is doing is preventing the trap from rusting what are the thoughts on WD40. A bit sweeter smell.

May be the only way is to give it a try!!!! Thoughts , would it be cheaper?

[Marty S]

X

maybe its be kind to animals day?

[pikeslayer22]

i have mixed gas and campstove fuel naptha in speed dip neither had an issue of decline. I do rub whatever bait i am using all over the trap just before placing in box though.
I have also used spraypaint in brown and green combo.

I am wondering all a person is doing is preventing the trap from rusting what are the thoughts on wd40. A bit sweeter smell.

May be the only way is to give it a try!!!! Thoughts , would it be cheaper?
wow,

[KegRiver]

All I ever did was soak my traps in muskeg to darken them, then wax.

I figured that darkening made them look more natural since a lot of roots are very dark or even black. One never knows when a squirrel or weasel will knock some dirt off the trap.

And natural scents I figured were better then scents of man made items or chemicals.

Many animals can smell odors we can't. Their noses tell them something is there even when they can't see it.
And they are used to bits of steel laying around in farm country but not gas or painted items.

I figured dig outs were due to curiosity, they are smelling something they don't recognize. Or they smelled food.

Why would they dig out a piece of steel, they know it not something to eat.
If it alarmed them they avoid it.

Bait smell on a trap is almost guaranteed to result in a dig out, they think it's a food item.
It could be bait smell on gloves used to handle a trap, it could be a chip off a piece of bait that dropped in while digging the trap bed.

I always set bait off to one side and only used gloves that never touched bait when handling traps. And placed the bait after the trap was covered or before the trap bed was dug.

It's the little things a guy never thinks of that cause issues. Like a runny nose dripping onto the trap or transporting traps along with a leaking jerry can.

I had a separate box for traps, and I lined the bottom with spruce or pine branches, needles and all.

I never had any faith in commercial trap treatments or baits.

I never knew what was actually in the commercial products or how carefully they were made.
Content labels only tell you what the main ingredients are. And they say nothing about possible contaminants.

I also never had a trap dug out. I did have too many that were avoided but the many of the Coyote I targeted never stepped foot on a farm.
To many of them, steel was unfamiliar.

One last thing. I only treated traps for Coyote and Fox, all other traps were used as is. And occasionally one of my untreated traps would catch a Fox or Coyote. That tells you something about how much steel worries them.

I should also mention that I hardly used foot hold traps for anything other then Fox and Coyote after conibears hit the market.

About the only other things I used foot hold traps for were Weasel and Lynx.
And I preferred snares for Lynx.

I only boiled new traps and then only to remove any oil.

Trap dye does nothing to prevent rust, that's what wax is for.

[HunterDave]

I have mixed gas and campstove fuel naptha in Speed Dip neither had an issue of decline. I do rub whatever bait I am using all over the trap just before placing in box though.
I have also used spraypaint in brown and green combo.

I am wondering all a person is doing is preventing the trap from rusting what are the thoughts on WD40. A bit sweeter smell.

May be the only way is to give it a try!!!! Thoughts , would it be cheaper?

I don’t know much about trapping with footholds but isn’t the idea to make the trap scent free? Wouldn’t any scent on the trap cause the critter to avoid or dig it up?

From what i’ve Read, naphtha/camp fuel is a better choice than gas to use.

[KegRiver]

I don’t know much about trapping with footholds but isn’t the idea to make the trap scent free? Wouldn’t any scent on the trap cause the critter to avoid or dig it up?

From what i’ve Read, naphtha/camp fuel is a better choice than gas to use.

You can't make a trap scent free, even disturbed soil has a scent.

The goal is to reduce man made scents as much as possible and replace them with natural scents as much as possible.

Bees wax is a key ingredient in the wax mixture, partly because it's a natural scent. Some even add a small lump of pine pitch to the mixture.

Fresh rust not only diminishes the traps life and function, it also has a distinct odor that is not natural. Long buried steel has no fresh rust.

Naptha would be a better choice because it does not have any additives. So it should evaporate completely, additives may not.
I'm not sure about camp fuel. It used to be pure naptha but I don't know if it still is.

[kingrat]

I don’t know much about trapping with footholds but isn’t the idea to make the trap scent free? Wouldn’t any scent on the trap cause the critter to avoid or dig it up?

From what i’ve Read, naphtha/camp fuel is a better choice than gas to use.
Yes the goal is to make it as scent free as possible. Guys go to great lengths to avoid scent or lure getting on the traps.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Keg, very good overview on trap handling. Well done, lots of good advice!

[Beadrick]

I have used speed dip many times over the years and if you do not dip them in the summer and hang them in the hot sun to burn off the gas you will have an odour of gas on them.
What I would do is to put the traps in a large card board box or container and cut a slot or hole in the bottom side and use a portable hot air heat gun and heat them up for awhile and basically bake them burning off the gas vapors off the traps.
Make sure to have a little venting at the top of the box so the vapors can exit the box.
I have done this with snares as well just to get rid of any moisture in the snare wire before waxing.
Beadrick

[sammy1]

Good thread and great various ideas re Speed Dip trap dipping
I neglected to mention in my above posts the traps I am dipping is 120s and started using Naptha Campstove fuel. I am using them for Martens and Fisher which are not as tough scent wise as coyote foot holds.

[kingrat]

Yes that's night and day, marten vs canine trap handling.Makes a little more sense now lol.

[KegRiver]

Good thread and great various ideas re Speed Dip trap dipping
I neglected to mention in my above posts the traps I am dipping is 120s and started using Naptha Campstove fuel. I am using them for Martens and Fisher which are not as tough scent wise as coyote foot holds.

I never treated my Marten traps and I caught a lot of Marten.

I saw no need, Marten are not scent hunters and don't shy away from steel or human scent.

My Marten traps were never wet so were very slow to rust, and were never pitted due to rust.
They would develop a hard brown crust but that actually stops further rusting. And reduces scent.

The brown also looked more natural then the black many trap dyes produce.

I have traps that are over fifty years old that were never treated in any way and still not pitted and function as good as ever.

I know a few folks who treat every trap. If that's what a guy wants I see no reason to not do it. But for those who don't, I see no reason to dye or wax most traps.