The testing I did with F-1 was in mid Summer and as I stated before, I had no problem with animals digging at or avoiding my sets. However, I didn't test it in the Winter snow months like trappnman's testing. Trapping deep snow here in upper Michigan has always been sort of my specialty and favored season because i'm generally the only one in my area out there that time of year and fox, coyote and bobcat are concentrated in the cedar swamps where rabbits, grouse and deer are readily available. From many years experience trapping snow I can guarantee one thing, traps must be scrupulously clean or they will be smelled instantly from several yards away and be avoided or dug at, more often avoided by the canines arching way out around the sets as they don't seem to even want to get close. Even when traps are meticulously dyed and waxed the traditional way, it many times is not enough. Because most sets are made in or near cedar swamps, I use a hint of cedar oil in the trap dye solution and also add a hint of cedar oil to the trap wax. This natural odor added to the traditional dye and wax procedure just about puts an end to set avoidances or digging in the snow months, one can quickly note the differences in reaction around sets. Just because one doesn't always have an opportunity at bare ground sets to see how many set avoidances they might be having, doesn't mean it isn't happening. I not only trap a deep snow country but have the privilege of trapping a vast sand country in the non snow months. I carried the lessons I learned in the snow to Summer trapping in the bounty era by adding sweet ferns to the trap dye and to the wax as most sets were made in sweet fern country. Just like Winter, this method puts an end to set avoidances, walk-bys, set circleing, trapising back and forth in front of the set and digging at the trap. One can never be to careful with their traps and equipment if they want to harvest in maximum numbers. After my experiences with thousands of coyote, i've never even tried speed dip on a trap and cringe at the thought of it. However, I deal with trappers on a daily basis day in and day out year after year. The expert and professional trappers I know report having had poor results with petroleum based dip in that set were avoided in big numbers. This concurs with what trappnman is saying. After one season they wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. I realize that many trappers live in towns, making it difficult to set up big trap boilers and lines to hang traps on and many don't have a lot of time to fuss with traps for hours on end. So, when Newt first come out with Formula One he asked me to give it a try and I accepted by running the test I mentioned in the above posting. I know 8 traps dipped with F-1 isn't a conclusive testing but the fact that I left these trap in the ground for a considerable time and had multiple coyote and fox visits with not one negative incident does impress me enough to say that F-1 is a viable alternative to those who can't dye and wax traps the traditional way or don't have the time to do so. F-1 is also a better alternative to speed dip on land used traps. Plain waxing without dyeing is also an alternative to speed dip but if I were to do it that way I would add the subtle fragrance of something natural to my trapline area. I never tried it and don't know if they would mix but maybe one could add fragrance such as cedar, pine, spruce, or whatever is native to one's area with F-1 too. This is my honest evaluation, if one is going to dip land traps, give Newt's Formula One a try and leave speed dip on the shelf. Ace
