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Post by coonhunter3 on Nov 21, 2010 9:50:03 GMT -6
A trapper here sent me a PM about peat moss the other day. I was putting my traps in just dirt. and not with hamburger paper on top. I sent him a PM but he hasn't replied yet. do I just cover the trap with the moss.
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Post by gameboy on Nov 21, 2010 17:56:43 GMT -6
You can... just use the peat if it's just cold out, but you'd be safer in more adverse conditions with the "hamburger" paper.
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Post by kspanky on Nov 21, 2010 19:09:55 GMT -6
I got me some peat from the garden shop but our dirt is bone dry here should i be using it anyway what i read in the old posts said it was for freezing weather anyway it hasnt been cold here yet,kspanky
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Post by coonhunter3 on Nov 21, 2010 19:30:40 GMT -6
My friends dad helped my wax the traps and showed me how to make a dirthole. There are some tools i will, i was using a little flower trowel. So i wil get one that has a long handle.
Somene here was kind enough to pm me and mentioned wobble. are there any videos that show how to make the no wobble set. My friends dad Mr. mackiel said that dried dirt can cause problems becasue we get lots of rain and mud. He is going to get me some stakes made also. I am using ones with a triangle on then and couldnt get them out.
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Post by calvin on Nov 21, 2010 20:58:25 GMT -6
You can overdue peat, IMO. Its great stuff when its wet out but too much can lead to digging. Just inside the jaws and maybe alittle by the levers and cover with native soil. Great stuff in moderation, though.
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Post by trappnman on Nov 22, 2010 7:58:23 GMT -6
oddly calvin, I disagree 100%- to me, the more the better-
when using pure peat, I throw it all around the set far beyond the pattern. I want him smelling it, walking on it, etc long before he comes to thep attern. i use almost zero dirt over the top- just a handful or two broadcast to keep the peat from blowing
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Post by garman on Nov 22, 2010 8:35:43 GMT -6
I have never broadcast it over the set, not that it would not work and work better, just never tried it. I use alot of peat at the set! Alot under, and I completely cover the trap then cover with dry dirt or wax dirt. Never a problem, I am guessing the problem you are experiencing is the softness or slightly tippy trap. But that is just what I found.
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Post by garman on Nov 22, 2010 8:36:40 GMT -6
BTW I do have one location that I have had digging, but had a coyote pull out less than a 1/2-3/4 mile away so I am guessing a smart yote.
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Post by calvin on Nov 22, 2010 10:31:15 GMT -6
I/ve never broadcasted it, either. I could see where that would work, however.
I Used more volume of peat this year and had a lot of uncovered traps. Always possible it was another scent issue but I got the feeling they were playing in the peat. I did cut down on the volume and cover the trap more and started picking them up...likely the same animals that were uncovering the trap.
But yes, If you had a big enough swath in peat, they would probably be used to it by the time they got to the trap.
Second season using peat so no expert here. Still trying to figure out the do's and don'ts I guess. Worked flawless last season in the daily rain. Even after we got flooded out here this year, the traps were set off with ease. Just got some tinkering to do, I guess.
So the learning curve continues.
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Post by garman on Nov 22, 2010 10:51:01 GMT -6
could be your yotes to calvin, I would never argue that
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Post by coonhunter3 on Nov 22, 2010 14:21:06 GMT -6
Now I see about this beeding, someone here sent me a link to a youtube video where theys talk about bedding the trap for wobble. I will need to get a better trowel also. I was doing things wrong. I'll get a few more this winter I just hope no more skunks. Thanks
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Post by kspanky on Nov 22, 2010 15:02:19 GMT -6
So should i be useing peat instaed of the dry dirt? a little wondering here i really want to catch a coyote this year and i think im doing it al wrong,kspanky
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Post by mocatmancb on Nov 22, 2010 18:30:27 GMT -6
go ahead and get in the habit of using the peat, as the weather will soon force you to use it anyway. use the wax paper pan covers. i like to work up the dirt in the bottom of the bed and mix peat in with it. your trap will bed more solid in this than in just peat. cover well with peat, smooth out and leave the pan as the lowest spot in the dirt pattern. do like trappnman says and spread it out some and sift a little site dirt over trap bed. you can make a dirthole with a rebar stake or sharp stick until you get a trowel.
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Post by musher on Nov 22, 2010 18:33:06 GMT -6
I use alot of peat at the set! Alot under, and I completely cover the trap then cover with dry dirt or wax dirt. . Why use peat and waxed dirt? Doesn't the water go through the waxed dirt, get into the peat and then freeze?
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Post by coonhunter3 on Nov 22, 2010 18:41:06 GMT -6
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Post by mocatmancb on Nov 22, 2010 18:47:52 GMT -6
the water will not go through the peat. only the top will be wet. it will be only a thin crust. i rake it off with trowel and recover with dry. everything under that crust will be dry. i blend ice melter with the peat and it does not freeze.
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Post by 220Swift on Nov 23, 2010 5:26:17 GMT -6
Never had a problem using peat moss.If you have the proper low spot over the pan that coyotes first step into the pattern should be his last.I never could understand putting dirt over the peat as it draws and holds moisture.Never worried about the crust as it happens at times.Only time I lay down more peat than needed to cover a trap is at post sets and flat sets.Just the way I do it.
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Post by seldom on Nov 23, 2010 5:29:46 GMT -6
I just answered some peat related questions yesterday from a good friend.
I've used it for some years now and I use it from day one and well into frozen ground and deep, lasting snow.
Regardless of the type of set I'm putting in, the cup where the trap sits gets a handful or two, enough so that no trap part rests on dirt. Once the trap is set into the cup and the trap bedded as well as possible, I fill everything up with peat so that the surface over the trap still resembles a shallow cup. I do this "cupping" of the peat with a brush and I make sure get peat worked under the pan as I never us a pan cover.
Once I get snow, I do the same except I no longer use a dirt cover, just peat and I like to see snow cover the set.
Possible one reason why Steve and others like to spread the peat out around their sets could be due to the fact that they are getting rid of sharp, contrasting edges. I do this as well once we get steady freezing and snow. My observations with coyotes have shown me they don't like those types of edges. At least not the animals in my territory.
I would suggest if you're getting scratching at the pattern edge when using peat it's that the trap either isn't bedded well enough and they've stepped on it or it's that "odd-looking edge", at least those have been my observations.
Give'em something down the hole they want bad enough that there won't be any dicking around your pattern and make your set such so that the 1st step into the pattern is their last!!! Don't worry about that "foot-shuffle" philosophy and you won't be worrying so much about poorly bedded traps!!!
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Post by garman on Nov 23, 2010 8:40:45 GMT -6
I use alot of peat at the set! Alot under, and I completely cover the trap then cover with dry dirt or wax dirt. . Why use peat and waxed dirt? Doesn't the water go through the waxed dirt, get into the peat and then freeze? Waxed dirt is used as the covering for the trap so the peat does not blow away and also blends in. The other part of it is, the peat does not soak water up, it can be under 2 foot of water and still dry as a bone.
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Post by calvin on Nov 23, 2010 8:50:28 GMT -6
Seldom..I think you summed it up pretty well, from my point of view. As stated by 220 swift not needing a covering... I could see not needing a covering with Steve's method but when you have clay ground and an abrupt 6 " spot of peat all of a sudden (even covered to some point), they scratch it up as I saw this year. So I have come to the conclusion thus far either to broadcast it abit or keep the peat inside the jaws and cover (when in hard soil). In between caused me issues. Not a fear type thing but more of an attraction/ play digging. Some will say that's only coon but tracks told coyotes and once the set modified, they held coyotes.
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