For those of you that bed w/ peat moss, do you use nails to help bed your traps? If so, what size nails? Also, when using peat moss, do you use a pan cover such as wax paper, coffee filter, or Poly-fil or only peat?

Good questions! I will be watching this post!

I try to make the bed about the same size or just a little smaller than the trap and put peat under it and if I don't like how it is bedded I will use a nail to hold it. I use 40d nails and don't treat or scent proof them. No pan cover with peat. I have a scoop I made that I use to blend the set with snow but you being south the peat will want to blow away so put a light layer of dirt over it to hold it there or your trap will be showing when you go to check. Don't ask me how I know that.

instead of nails, I have found this will work in some situations when bedding is a problem.the clothespin acts as a footer so to speak.

Coykill pretty much summed it up. Only thing I'm starting to do differently is dishing out the bed a little more so the trap center is not touching ground.

Don't need nails if you keep your trap beds tight. Just dig a hole big enough for the jaws to fit into and then notch out dirt where levers sit. Make sure the where the levers sit is just big enough for levers and everything will stay tight without nails.

Get yourself a copy of Jim Cundiff's book "Power Bedding". He explains solid bedding very good, and throws in some other wisdom too. It's a cheap book and worth every penny.

If you put enough peat down you won’t need nails

I use the long wooden golf tees. I still try and make the bed just a little larger than the trap and dish it out some. I use the wood tees in case I can't find one on occasion I think it's better than leaving a nail, at least it's better on tires. Most of the time they are still in the trap bed though.

I bed all my trap with peat moss and nails. I fill bed with peat and pin trap to ground with a nail on each side of the frame by the pan post and one or two nails pinning the front tab of the frame. Sometimes I place one in for the loose jaw to rest on. The levers rest solid on the ground of a good layer of peat under them. Trap beds solid with no movement and fires clean. We get a lot of rain, freeze, thaw, rain, freeze, thaw conditions and this keeps traps bedded and working through out the season.

I'd be worried about the nail ending up in a tire.

Nails are almost always in the bed right where you pinned them. Carry a small magnet with you if you are worried about it.

I bed my traps just like coykill, but sometimes, on a remake I will need the nails if the bed has been blown out. I use 16d and 8d nails. The 8d seem to work better in frozen ground or clay.

Ttt