Waxed dirt?

[wormbobskey]

Can anyone tell me what percentage of wax to dirt they use? I made a 5 gallon bucket full the other day and it took about 7 lbs. of wax to make just the one bucket full. I made the dirt so it would make a ball when compressed in my hand, but not so much wax that it stayed in a ball. Anyone got any information? Thanks, Worm.

[coyotero]

I use between 3/4 to 1 pound per gallon of dirt.The more sandy the less wax it takes.I end up using about a coffee can full of dirt per set.

[Wackyquacker]

To some extent the soil type will dictate how much wax you need.  I have a mixture of sand and clay.  3 too3.5 lbs of wax does a good job of waxing 5 gallons of this type soil.  I7 lbs per 5 gallons seems like over kill.

[wormbobskey]

Wacky, I used 7 lbs., not 17. This is my first attempt at making it so I figured I would maybe use to much. I wax all of my traps anyway so I can use calcium cloride in my sets without turning them to piles of rust, but also wanted to have other options to use. The dirt I used is pretty loamy with a touch of sand in it. I guess I will have to wait and see if it works well enough later this year. Thanks for the help, Worm.

[Wackyquacker]

Opps! the 17 was a typo  I meant 7.  You might test your dirt / wax mix by making a trap bed on a board maybe in a shallow pan...rain on it, let it soak a bit and then pop the works into the freezer to see what happens.  You could "ratio" up or down the wax : dirt and find where there is no longer any antifreeze effect. 

7 lbs to 5 gallons seems high to me but I don't know what your soil is like.  Regardless of the soil type the water must be able to drain  / absorb away from the trap bed and waxed dirt.  Otherwise, things will still freeze solid.

[coyotero]

I get 75 gallons of waxed dirt out of 55 lbs. of the wax.With my soil type.

[hm97]

I just made 100 gallons of dirt and used 55 lbs of wax. The amount of organic matter in your dirt dictates how much wax it will absorb. Sandy soil will only take about 1 1/2 lbs to 5 gallons. This is not enough when you get rain then a freeze.

[wormbobskey]

That works out to about, what, 2. something pounds a gallon? My dirt has a lot of loam. Do you think I did alright or should I add more wax? Worm

[hm97]

Some dirt will tahe 3 1/4 pounds per 5 gallon pail. Most the stuf i use has about 2 1/2 pounds in a 5 gail pail.