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Q - My traps get rusty very quickly. How
do I stop them rusting?
Q - When I received my new trap I set it and pushed the pan all the way
down and the trap didn't go off.
Q - Foxes keep digging up my traps and not setting them off, how do I stop
this?
Q- Do rubber
jaw traps still hold the animal well?
Q - My traps get rusty very quickly. How
do I stop them rusting?
A - All traps should be treated to prevent
them from rusting.
Its called dying and waxing. This also help to take
the odour out of your traps.
- Trap
Dying Method 1 - Local timber or Logwood Dye and boiling water.
- 1. When
you get your new traps, clean them in soapy water to get rid of oils
etc. left on the trap from manufacturing or storage.
- 2.
Leave them wet and put them outside in the dirt until they get a light
coating of rust (a week or so).
- 3. Find
a branch from a common local timber that is high in tannins. Put
the branch into a large container of water and boil it for an hour
(see paragraph below if you don't want to boil).
Boiling the branch and leaves will bring the tannins out of the timber
and into your water preparing a good brew for you to then boil your
traps in. Remove your branch. Your water should be
black/brown in colour. This is your dye. If you don't have
any local timbers high in tannins or you want to do it in half the
time, buy Logwood Dye and
skip this step.
- 4. Put
your traps into the dye and boil them for an hour (rubber padding can
become brittle if done often - see next paragraph). The tannins in the water bond with the rusty
steel and make your traps black/brown in appearance. This wont
work if your traps have not been rusted first. Rusting action in
dyed traps will be greatly reduced extending the life of your traps and
your springs. Another great benefit is that your traps now just
smell like branches and animals wont detect strange smells that could
put them off. You will need to repeat these steps when you
notice your traps getting rusty again.
If you have time and don't like boiling
then you can just leave your traps in the dye solution overnight or for a couple
of days and this will have the same result. No need to boil the
leaves for an hour previous either if you are doing it like this, just
leave the branches and leaves in with the traps.
- Waxing - Extra Rust
Protection
- After dying you can then wax your
traps. Waxing provides 3 benefits for your traps. Extra
protection against rust, less odour, and faster action. Some
professionals consider it even more important than dying traps.
- 1. Boil water and add a block of
Odourless Black
Trap Wax. You can also use paraffin wax, just make sure it
is not scented. The Black Trap Wax we stock has a higher boiling
point than the paraffin, which can be important in temperatures over
40 degrees C. It also has less odour.
- 2. Once wax is melted set water to
low boil and dip traps in. Leave traps in solution for a couple
of minutes so the steel in the traps heats up to the water
temperature. (If traps don't heat up to water temp, then once
removed the wax will dry more quickly on the trap leaving them with a
thick coating of wax, which is undesirable.)
- 3. Remove traps, and hang to dry.
They should have a nice light coat of wax on them.
- 4. Store your traps in a covered box
with small branches of your local timber. This helps keep trap
odours natural.
- 5. Once you catch an animal the trap
will need to be cleaned again and waxed before taking to another
location.
-
Q - When I received my new trap I set it and pushed the pan all the way
down and the trap didn't go off.
- A- Most traps do not come ready to
go out of the box. They need to be modified by the buyer for
their situation and preference. All Victor, Bridger, Duke and BMI
traps need to be modified after purchase. It is very simple to
modify the traps. One usually only needs a screwdriver, metal
file, and a pair of pliers. Have a look at the following link
which is a set of instructions provided by Oneida Victor.
-
Q - Foxes keep digging up my traps and not setting them off, how
do I stop this?
-
- A- Foxes, dingoes, and wild dogs
will dig up traps if they can smell them. This usually means
that your traps are not clean and the animal can smell them under
the ground (which is not hard for canines with their incredible
sense of smell). You need to boil up your traps and get them
clean again. Look at the question above 'My
traps get rusty quickly, how do I stop them from rusting?",
you need to follow these same steps to make your traps odour free.
-
- Also I would advise against
using newspaper as a pan cover. Newspaper smells enough for
a canine to detect it, and is sometimes the reason why you can be
dug out. Use something like a heavy plastic instead, and
store it in a box with branches of your local timber.
-
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Q- Do rubber
jaw traps still hold the animal well?
A- There is no difference in the holding
ability between rubber jawed traps and traps without rubber. The
holding ability relies more upon spring strength.
Contact Us
Western
Trapping Supplies
Phone: (07)46351828
or
mobile 0428 574 000
email:
damian@trapping.com.au
PO
Box 7537
Toowoomba Mail Centre Qld 4352
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