# Trap prep after the season



## squirrelsniper (Apr 14, 2013)

Just curious what other people do with their traps after the trapping season, mainly because i am wondering how to get dye to stick better. I thought traps were supposed to hold the dye better with age, but my traps still hold it about the same as when i first got them. I usually soak my traps in a vinegar water mix at the end of the season to remove the rust and then rinse them and let them rust a little. I then dye them right away so they are ready for the next season. is this an okay process or is there something i should be doing differently.


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## Ruger (Jan 22, 2011)

You need the rust for the dye to stick. I usually simmer my traps in dawn dish soap to clean them and then thoroughly rinse them. I then leave them hanging outside for a few days to get a light coat of rust and then dye them. There are things you can do to speed up the rusting process, but letting nature take it's course on the steel works fine for me.


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## squirrelsniper (Apr 14, 2013)

So at the end of the season do you just boil your traps to remove the scent/dirt? And then let them rust some more and dye them over again? I always thought you should remove the old dye at the end of the season and clean them back up to just steel and rust/dye them before the next season.


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## Ruger (Jan 22, 2011)

You can do that if you like.
I just always done my trap prep before the season. It works better for my busy schedule.


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## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Squirrelsniper the way my father did it was before trapping season. If he bought new traps they went in a burlap bag, wired closed, then he would take them to the nearest swap and put them on the bottom in the cattails with a big rock on top to hold it down. I can't remember exactly how many days he left them, but it doesn't take long and the new traps will have a nice rusty coat, perfect for dying. He was a mink trapper so he always dyed waxed his traps before trapping season. I knew trapping season was near when I could smell burning wood and logwood dye on the walk home from school. He would dye his Fox traps first, they got special treatment, then the new traps and finally all the previously used traps. Just clean the dirt and any heavy rust off with a wire brush, you could power wash them I guess before you dye them. It depends on what your trapping. If you are trapping fox always have gloves on when dyeing, waxing, and handling them. You don't want any human scent to get on your fox traps. The mink , muskrat and raccoon traps were last to get waxed. Don't wax coni-bears. So what are you using for dye? What are you trapping?


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