Latley here in michigan the snow has ben melting but then freezing again at night,when i check my traps they are froze solid of course. I hear people talking about antifreeze to stop this but how would i go about using it on my traps or are there any other ways to freeze proof traps, i know snares would probabley work but i am not quite sure on how to use them thanks for any help.

Buy a bag of peat moss. (Make sure it is dry). Put a layer in your trap bed, then bed your trap, and then cover and blend it in with more.

Dry covering alone will work fine, but you said it is melting in day and freezing at night. This dry dirt will now absorb moisture from melting snow, and you will be faced with the same problem you did to begin with. I have had luck with layering dry dirt and table salt. There are other ways to go about freeze proofing sets, and probably better ways. This is the only way I have done. Also if it is not melting too bad, you can find places that won't get hit by the sun as much and give you too many problems. Hope this helps.

I find that If I do not freeze proof the bed of the trap, the trap almost always freezes to the ground. I don't see how it would'nt, especially in his freeze/thaw conditions. Just my $.02

I also meant the trap bed too Yungin. Sounds like I just put dry covering on it. But I put a layer of dry dirt, then salt and bed the trap and cover the same way until I have the covering I want. Bedding a trap in bone dry dirt can test your patience also. Anyway, under freeze/thaw conditions you need to do more than just bed and cover in dry dirt.

thanks alot i moved my traps back into some heavier cover and put peat moss and salt down and it has really improved my catch thanks guys

Make sure your traps are well waxed. I bed my traps on a layer of wax paper and use the same as a pan cover. This works as well as anything I've tried in 30 years of trapping.

Yungin', I agree with all of the previous posts but here is what I found. Here in Illinois we cannot snare on land so if a trapper wants to trap coyotes in freezing weather you've got to have a system that stays effective MOST of the time. I say most, becuz a heavy rain and then a freeze will put you out of commission as well as a deep snow or high winds using this system. Ask a farmer if you can use some of his floor chaff from his hay/straw barn. Gather up a few clean 5 gallon buckets with a lid. Fill the buckets up with mostly the fine dust like particles don't fret if some of the bigger stuff gets in there. Locate where your target animals are traveling pound out a depression for your large strong trap either use a 8-10 chain with a grapple or pound in a stake of sorts. Throw down a handful or two of chaff and set and bed your trap. Make sure to have something under your trap pan to allow pan to fall free...I use folded up styrofoam pieces from packing boxes. Stabilize trap and hide chain now cover up trap and surrounding area. I like using a large dark backing like a piece of log of rock. Apply your scent and go. Make several of these sets using different scents in your areas and you'll connect. Patience will pay off don't bother sets once in place. Reset traps if set off and don't worry about foot prints in the snow brush out if possible, but keep traps working you'll connect. Hope this helps Mike

Dated for Search