Salt will eat your traps and melt the snow making even more ice.
If you want freeze proof dirt dig up an ant hill. It's not 100 percent freeze proof but it's 100 times better then using salt.
BTW, You only need around 8 percent salt to keep moist dirt from freezing.
Your mixture is around 40 percent, that's what we spread on the highways to clear ice off the pavement.
If you can find an old ships auger, 1 1/2 inch or two inch are about right,
they work way better for making dirt hole sets in freezing ground then any other method I'm aware of.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlbertaAl
I've had some success with coyotes using footholds in freezing weather.
My exerience and thoughts include...
Regular dirt that was well dried out and sifted in the summer and later mixed with road salt. The salt is white and blends in with the snow.
Mixture is about 3 parts salt and 7 parts dirt.
I always used wax paper to cover the circumference of the trap jaws.
I've never crumpled the wax paper but that's a great idea as others suggested.
To overcome snow drifting I like to set-up on the south side of a burm, old bldg., round bale or haystack.
If you're setting up on level ground, either build a large ANT HILL of packed snow or use a manure pile with the trap located at the peak. The trap will stay clean of snow.
Digging into frozen ground is a tough job.
I use long handed ice chisels or axe head that is pounded with sledge.
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