Just had the FedEx man come in the office with a big box of shiney new traps! I am all kinds of excited, but have to get the traps ready before setting them. I'm quite the greenhorn here, so ya'll be patient with me.
Cleaning facory oils off
First thing to do is remove all the factory oils and smells. Found several different methods to do this. The easiest was to run them through the dishwasher a couple of times, first time with soap, second time without. There were other methods that involved lye or baking soda while boiling the traps, but since these are new and have never been waxed, that does not seem necessary.
After removing the oils, hang out to dry for a couple of days to let them start rusting. Some said to spray them with vinegar to make them rust more, but others said just hang them out for a couple of days.
Dyeing
Quite a few methods for this, using different materials. One of the easiest to me, was using black walnuts husks. Being natural, and also having an endless supply of black walnuts, this made sense to me... I don't think I am too interested in speed dips after reading the negatives. Intentionally letting brand new traps rust sounds rediculous, but the rust helps the dye adhere to the trap, and if you choose not to dye the traps, it will give them a more brown, natural look.
Waxing
I guess some people find this to be optional. From reading, it seems to protect the trap and make it a little faster, both of which I would prefer. This is a few days down the road, maybe a weekend project, so I have more time to look for the method on that. Some people dye and wax at the same time, some do it seperate.
For those that have done this before, do you have any tips or suggestions?
Cleaning facory oils off
First thing to do is remove all the factory oils and smells. Found several different methods to do this. The easiest was to run them through the dishwasher a couple of times, first time with soap, second time without. There were other methods that involved lye or baking soda while boiling the traps, but since these are new and have never been waxed, that does not seem necessary.
After removing the oils, hang out to dry for a couple of days to let them start rusting. Some said to spray them with vinegar to make them rust more, but others said just hang them out for a couple of days.
Dyeing
Quite a few methods for this, using different materials. One of the easiest to me, was using black walnuts husks. Being natural, and also having an endless supply of black walnuts, this made sense to me... I don't think I am too interested in speed dips after reading the negatives. Intentionally letting brand new traps rust sounds rediculous, but the rust helps the dye adhere to the trap, and if you choose not to dye the traps, it will give them a more brown, natural look.
Waxing
I guess some people find this to be optional. From reading, it seems to protect the trap and make it a little faster, both of which I would prefer. This is a few days down the road, maybe a weekend project, so I have more time to look for the method on that. Some people dye and wax at the same time, some do it seperate.
For those that have done this before, do you have any tips or suggestions?