Trapping Info
This page was last updated: April 5, 2009
For Education ~ Not For Profit
Trap Preparation
Dyeing and Waxing By: Wayne Stottlar
Step #1 Cleaning
The first thing that needs to be done to all your traps is for them to be cleaned . Whether the traps are new or used they need to be cleaned properly before dyeing and waxing. Cleaning is accomplished by boiling the traps in water with baking soda. Or for those real nasty traps, a Lye solution can be used. Lye is found in most drain openers such as Draino, Liquid Plumber and many others.
Be very careful when using any lye product as it can be harmful to your skin and eyes and should not be breathed in. You can use almost any metal pot for the cleaning task. Ask your parents if they have any old pots they don't use or look at garage or yard sales. You will need  BIG pots, usually something that will hold 5 gallons or more of water. I have been able to find some very nice stainless pots at buisnesses that specialize in
Photo of  the typical cleaning and dying set up before use with propane as the heat source
Photo of baking soda being used to aide in the cleaning process(Lye can also be used the same way) After cleaning is done clean the pot out and refill with water and add the dye in the same manner.
used restaurant equipment. Bring your cleaning solution to a boil and place traps slowly in the boiling water.
Be careful not to get splashed as the water will burn you.
Before cleaning, dyeing and waxing your traps place a small finishing nail between the trap jaws to keep the trap partially opened so that the cleaning, dyeing and waxing can get to the jaws of the traps also.
Nail placed between the jaws to keep them open for cleaning
I usually treat 6 traps at a time. To do this I wire the chains
together with a little 14 gauge wire.
Trap chains wired together in bundles of 6 for easy dipping
Leave enough wire to hang outside the boiling pot for easy trap removal. This is handy for removing the traps when they are done and will come in handy later for dyeing & waxing .
Example of the wire being long enough to hang over the pot by making a hook out of the wire this enures it will not fall in the pot
Leave the traps in the cleaning solution for 30 to 60 minutes. When done, lift the traps out of the boiling water, and hang outdoors to air dry. I usually hang them from a branch in a tree or from a nail in the trapshed. The purpose of cleaning the traps is to remove any scents, blood  and debris  from used traps  and the oil they coat the new traps with. The traps should take on a light coat of rust almost immediately, this is good since the light rust will aid in the adhesion of the dye. 
Avoid having your traps come in contact with anything that may contaminate them from this point on such as odors. You just cleaned the traps to remove all the odors so keep them scent free. Always wear rubber gloves when handling your traps after boiling.
Step #2 Dyeing
Now that your traps are clean and free of odors, grease and oil, you are ready to apply a coat of dye to them. Dyeing accomplishes two very important functions. It prevents the rust from form will help makeing while the traps are set, and it colors the traps either a deep dark black/ blue color or brown color. This will help make the traps blend in with the soil or bottom cover of the area you are trapping.
After cleaning and scrubbing your pot from the cleaning process, add about 4 or 5 gallons of fresh water to the pot along with 1 pound of logwood crystals or powder. These crystals and logwood powders are available from some of our sponsors found on the sponsors page of this website. I prefer logwood crystals as my dyeing method over speed dips, but the choice is up to you. Bring the water to a boil again and add the crystals or powder, mix well till all the trap dye is disolved. Again be careful not to get splashed by the water as it will burn you.
Also be sure to wear you rubber gloves during this process or you will wear the dye on your hands for weeks. And don't forget to leave that extra pice of wire hanging over the out side of the pot for easy removal. And also leave the nail in betwen the jaws of the trap.
I usually check the traps after 45 mins to an hour in the solution to see if they are the color I want.  If they are not dark enough for you, place them back in the pot . After the color is achieved, again hang the traps out doors free of odors to dry completely.
Traps dyes commonly come in black or brown in one poundbags
Photo of the dyed traps hanging to dry before waxing, take note of the nail still placed between the trap jaws.
Step #3 Waxing
For this procedure you should use a different clean pot. Save your other pot for boiling and dyeing, but obtain a seperate pot for the waxing process. We wax traps for two reasons. The first is that the wax will protect and seal the trap while it is being used. The wax seals in any odor that may take place while a trap is oxidizing while set. Secodly, the was also speeds up the closing of the jaws of the trap resulting in, a faster trap and fewer misses. First you will need to obtain your trap wax.
I again recommend one of our sponsors which can be found on our Sponsors page of this website.
They all sell well proven products. Melt enough wax so that when you dip your traps they will be completely covered, so the whole trap gets protected during the process. Be extremely careful of wax splashing like above as it is hot and can severely burn you. SO BE CAREFUL!!!! 
If your wax starts to smoke, it is TOO HOT, remove from heat and lower the temperature before continuing. Wax is explosiveand may burst in to flames if it gets too hot.
Waxing should be done only with parental supervision or another veteran trapper. You may also want to make sure the traps you intend to wax are totally dry as any water that is on the traps can also cause an explosion if it comes into contact with the hot wax.
Again leave the nail between the jaws as you want to protect the inside of the jaws as well as the rest of the trap.
After your wax is melted, start dipping the traps in the wax using the wire thatwe attatched to the chains at the beginning of the cleaning process, and again, wear rubber gloves.  You only want a thin layer of the wax on your traps so usually a minute or two in the wax is all that is needed. Pull the traps out slowly so that the excess wax has a chance to drip off, then shake the traps to remove more excess wax.
Waxing is best done outdoors for this reason as well as others mentioned above.
Now hang the traps outdoors away from odors. I usually hang the traps in the fur shed till the season starts or if need be you can let them dry on cardboard if you have
no spot to hang them from while they dry.
Now let them hang till season opens or pack them in plastic storage bins, and seal with duct tape to keep them from getting contaminated. Remember when you go to remove the traps the next season to start trapping, WEAR YOUR RUBBER GLOVES!!! You do not want to contaminate them after all the hard work you have put in to get them ready.
Photo of the waxing setup. Same as the dyeing and cleaning but a different pot. One with a lid will be handy to smother any accidental fires of the wax.
Photo of the traps going threw the waxing process. Notice the wire hanging out of the pot for easy removal.
Photo of the traps hanging to dry from the waxing process.
Photo of the traps being set to dry from the waxing process on cardboard. Make sure to wear rubber gloves when removing.
Photo of the traps being set to dry from the waxing process on cardboard. Make sure to wear rubber gloves when removing.
I hope this information helps you all and I hope you have a great trapping season with all your stretchers full.

Wayne Stottlar
YoungTrappers.com
12266 Puffer Rd
Fife Lake, Mi 49633
231-879-3820