How to Dye a Trap
The purpose of dyeing traps is to cover their steel odor with a woodsy scent and make the traps black so they blend in with the water or trap covering. Dyeing also helps protect the traps from becoming too severely rusted. Fur-bearing animals are intelligent. They can smell steel or see a shiny trap and run away. Save your traps and better your chances of making catches by dyeing the traps.
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Things You'll Need
- Traps
- Logwood dye crystals, 1 one pound
- Stirring stick, 4 feet long
- Propane camp cooker
- Metal cooking pot, 5 to 10 gallon
- Wire
- Heavy leather gloves
Instructions
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Dyeing Traps
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1
New traps have a thin layer of grease on them to keep them from rusting. You have to remove the grease before you can dye the traps. The best way to do this is to boil the traps and then leave them outside to acquire a thin coat of rust. Set up a propane cooker outdoors; do not do this in the house or inside a building. Fill the cooking pot three-fourths full of clear cold water, set it on the ignited cooker and let the water come to a boil.
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2
Open the trap jaws and put a nail between the jaws and close them over the nail, creating a slight gap so the inside of the jaws get cleaned along with the rest of the trap. Wire several traps together by running a 3-foot length of wire through the trap chain rings and twisting it closed.
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3
Put on leather gloves and lift the first group of traps by the end of the wire and gently lower them into the boiling water. Leave the end of the wire hanging out of the pot so you can lift the traps out with it. Let the traps boil for 5 minutes and then remove them from the water. The traps will be grease-free. Hang them outdoors or lay them on the ground where they can be exposed to the weather to rust, leaving the nail between the jaws. Repeat the boiling treatment with each group of traps until all have been cleaned. Leave them outdoors until they take on a coat of rust. These steps are not necessary if your traps are already rusted.
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4
Begin the dyeing process by setting up the propane cooker. Fill the pot three-fourths full with cold water and set it on the burner to boil. Once the water is boiling pour in a pound of Logwood dye crystals, stirring with the stick to dissolve the crystals. The water will turn black. Let it continue to boil. Logwood crystals will dye the traps black and leave them with a natural wood scent. You can buy the crystals at a trapper's supply house.
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5
Bring the wired-together traps you had previously boiled and left to rust to the dye pot. If your traps are already rusted and did not have to be boiled to remove the grease, wire them now into groups and put a nail between the jaws. With gloves on, lift a group of traps by the wire and gently lower them into the black boiling dye water. Make sure they are completely submerged. Leave the end of the wire out of the pot. Let them boil for 5 minutes and then lift the traps out of the pot . Hang them in a sheltered place, such as inside a shed or under the eave of a roof. Continue until all of the traps are dyed. Keep the dyed traps away from anything with strong odors such as gasoline and other oil products.
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6
When the dyeing is finished, turn off the burner and leave the pot of boiling water on it to cool. Do not try to remove it until it is cold. Save the pot of dye water; you may need to re-dye some of the traps later or you might get more traps that will need to be dyed. Simply repeat the boiling process with the pot of dye.
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Tips & Warnings
If you do not have a propane cooker and live in an area where you can build an outside fire, do the boiling after building a camp-style fire and setting the pot on a cooking grill over the fire.
Traps come in a variety of sizes. Wire only as many together as will totally submerge in the pot. You can dye several smaller traps at once, but you may be able to put only two or three larger traps in the pot at a time.
Putting a lid on the pot will hasten the boiling time.
The cleaning and dyeing process should always be done outdoors due to the large amount of boiling water being used. The Logwood crystals also give off a strong wood smell, and the dye will dye anything it comes in contact with.
Always wear leather gloves to protect your hands from the hot liquid and fire.
Do not try to move the pot when it is full of boiling water. Leave it on the burner or dead fire to cool.
