Eddy says...
David in Normandy wrote:
Waste of time setting the traps in the tunnels that
terminate in a big hill, the moles just seem to shove more
earth into the traps which sets them off but no mole
caught. Always go for the mini hills which have a
continuous tunnel underneath them - a mole motorway.

Thanks for all advice, David.

When you say dig beneath smaller hills, are you still referring to a
pile of excavated earth - or just an area of grass that appears to have
been pushed upwards?

If you are referring to the smallest hills, am I right in thinking the
first thing you do is carefully lift off, and gently brush away, the
soil . . . leaving you with just the grass beneath?

Then if that's right, do you just start gently digging in the middle of
the exposed area? What I mean is, these creatures are tiny, so their
tunnels must be narow, so the tunnel could be anywhere in the circle of
grass underneath the mole-hill. Do you just lift off the entire
"disc", so to speak?

Eddy.



By smaller hills I mean those less than a couple of inches
high. They tend to have a continuous tunnel underneath them
rather than come to a dead end like hills larger than that.
It isn't always the case though, sometimes small hills are
at the end of a tunnel. Best to look for the smallest
indication of mole activity - ground slightly raised that
is barely broken, best chance of finding a continuous
tunnel there.

Just scoop the earth to one side with a trowel. If you are
lucky you can tell exactly where the hole is because the
grass is broken at that point - i.e. bits of grass root at
the surface. If the hill is more than a day or so old it
becomes more difficult to tell as the grass starts to
yellow under the hill.

Just dig out a small square sod about 3 inches square. If
you've missed the tunnel or just exposed the side of it dig
to fully expose the tunnel. Try to only remove enough earth
as necessary to fit the trap, or the mole is more inclined
to go around it rather than through it.

I suggest you just have a go, you may need lots of attempts
before you get the mole. I certainly do. As I say I'm still
a beginner myself and still learning the best ways to set
the traps.

One tip - if you have several traps you may forget where
you set them. I fastened some ribbon to the top of each
trap which lays on the ground above. Easy to spot where
you've put the traps then as the rest is usually buried
under the soil.
--
David in Normandy.
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subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

Eddy says...
Thanks for all advice, guys. Found this online and I am convinced. I
just need now to buy a couple of Duffus traps.

"The best type of trap by far is the tunnel trap, much more effective
than the scissor mole type. Apart from two (or more) of these, all you
need is a small hand trowel, a spare roof tile and a mole stick. This is
a T-shaped stick of about half-inch diameter or a little more, which you
can either find in a hedgerow or you can use the handle of a child's
seaside spade. It should be about 18" long and four or five inches
across the end of the "T". An "L" shaped end of about 3" will do just as
well. Point the longer end of the stick, but leave it slightly blunt to
give a better "feel".. Spread the existing mole hills, either by
digging them up (the soil is useful as a basis for potting compost) or
by spreading them using a garden fork "wiped" flat against the soil.
When new hills appear, start probing the ground with the stick in a
circle, at two-inch intervals, at least 2ft away from a fresh mole hill.
Suddenly you'll hit a point where the stick suddenly "gives", then
"bottoms" firmly beneath the tunnel. Some catchers say that you can
never catch moles this close to a hill and that you have to find a deep
main run (which is far from easy). Don't believe them! Determine the
direction of the mole run with a couple more prods, then dig a round
hole about four inches across and roughly the depth to which the stick
was sunk. Probe its sides until you find the two ends of the mole
tunnel, then insert the "L" or "T" of the stick into and along these to
make a smooth, continuous run right across your hole. Try the mole trap
in place without setting it, just to check that it fits - if not, dig a
little more soil away, but not too much as it must be a tight fit. Set
the mole trap, and don't worry too much about adjusting it to a "hair
trigger" - moles are powerful diggers and will easily release a firmly
set mole trap. And don't bother to use gloves (which is almost
impossible anyway) as the latest research shows that moles actually have
quite a poor sense of smell. Cover the top of the hole with the roof
tile, mark the position with a stick (if in a large field), and leave
for at least a couple of hours - preferably all day or overnight (once I
succeeded within ten minutes, but that was very much the exception!).
If you're lucky, you'll find a mole inside. My average rate of success
is about 25%, so the more mole traps you set the better your chance of
success. Death is virtually instantaneous, so don't worry about having
to deal with an injured animal. If you're less fortunate, the mole trap
will be untouched, so leave it - for up to two or three days altogether,
after which there is a reduced chance of success. The worst thing that
can happen is that the hole you patiently dug will be crammed full of
soil, in which case you must dig out the mole trap, refill the hole and
try again elsewhere; you could try again in the same place, but this
rarely seems to work."




I'll keep my open for some tunnel traps. Unfortunately I've
never seen them for sale here in France, they only tend to
sell the single or double scissor type traps or the more
expensive mole land mines (probably not legal in the UK).

Anyone know if Wilko's or B&Q sell tunnel traps? If so I'll
pick some up on my next visit to England.
--
David in Normandy.
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subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

David in Normandy wrote:
I'll keep my open for some tunnel traps. Unfortunately I've
never seen them for sale here in France, they only tend to
sell the single or double scissor type traps or the more
expensive mole land mines (probably not legal in the UK).

Anyone know if Wilko's or B&Q sell tunnel traps? If so I'll
pick some up on my next visit to England.

Haven't seen them in Wilko's, David, nor in B&Q. My local hardware
doesn't sell them. However, clearly some local hardware stores do
because they're advertising them via Ebay. I bought 2 yesterday through
Ebay for £8. Interestingly I note that they are usuall sold in lots of
20 . . . for dealing with large colonies? perhaps in fields? I'm
hoping that the moles in the fields either side of us continue to keep
mainly there and that just 2 traps will help me patrol incursions along
my east and west borders!

Eddy.

Eddy says...
I bought 2 yesterday through
Ebay for L8. Interestingly I note that they are usuall sold in lots of
20 . . . for dealing with large colonies? perhaps in fields? I'm
hoping that the moles in the fields either side of us continue to keep
mainly there and that just 2 traps will help me patrol incursions along
my east and west borders!

Eddy.


Please keep the group updated to let us know how you get on
with them.

--
David in Normandy.
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subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

David in Normandy wrote:

Eddy says...
I bought 2 yesterday through
Ebay for L8. Interestingly I note that they are usuall sold in lots of
20 . . . for dealing with large colonies? perhaps in fields? I'm
hoping that the moles in the fields either side of us continue to keep
mainly there and that just 2 traps will help me patrol incursions along
my east and west borders!

Please keep the group updated to let us know how you get on
with them.

Well, I found a tunnel, after a ridiculous amount of time prodding
around with a piece of wire. Followed all the directions to the T and
lay the half-tunnel trap. Have checked every day for four days, but no
sign of the little devil. However, there's been no further mole hills
on my side of the fence! Perhaps he's travelled as far as the trap,
thought "Oh, no, you don't!" and retreated forever?

Eddy.

Eddy says...
David in Normandy wrote:

Eddy says...
I bought 2 yesterday through
Ebay for L8. Interestingly I note that they are usuall sold in lots of
20 . . . for dealing with large colonies? perhaps in fields? I'm
hoping that the moles in the fields either side of us continue to keep
mainly there and that just 2 traps will help me patrol incursions along
my east and west borders!

Please keep the group updated to let us know how you get on
with them.

Well, I found a tunnel, after a ridiculous amount of time prodding
around with a piece of wire. Followed all the directions to the T and
lay the half-tunnel trap. Have checked every day for four days, but no
sign of the little devil. However, there's been no further mole hills
on my side of the fence! Perhaps he's travelled as far as the trap,
thought "Oh, no, you don't!" and retreated forever?

Eddy.


There is time yet! I check my traps once a week and move
them somewhere new at the same time. Sometimes there can be
several days where there appears to be no new mole activity
then several more hills appear overnight.

Cunning little devils, they just like to build your hopes
up that they have moved on, then they have an underground
party and raise hell on the lawn.
--
David in Normandy.
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subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
There is time yet! I check my traps once a week and move
them somewhere new at the same time. Sometimes there can be
several days where there appears to be no new mole activity
then several more hills appear overnight.

Cunning little devils, they just like to build your hopes
up that they have moved on, then they have an underground
party and raise hell on the lawn.
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

They seem to be most active when it's dry. I never caught any when it was
wet/raining. I believe this is because when it rains the worms head for the
surface and the moles know they won't find any falling into their tunnels.

CWatters says...

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
There is time yet! I check my traps once a week and move
them somewhere new at the same time. Sometimes there can be
several days where there appears to be no new mole activity
then several more hills appear overnight.

Cunning little devils, they just like to build your hopes
up that they have moved on, then they have an underground
party and raise hell on the lawn.
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

They seem to be most active when it's dry. I never caught any when it was
wet/raining. I believe this is because when it rains the worms head for the
surface and the moles know they won't find any falling into their tunnels.





Damn! We've not had any mole activity for a few days and I
was starting to feel optimistic until your post. We've also
had rain for the last few days :-(

I checked the traps today. Not caught any moles this week,
but the little blighters had set off most of the traps.
They are pushing their luck - it is only a matter of time,
they can only play Russian roulette with the traps so many
times. Either that or they have learned to carry a little
stick with them and prod the traps from a safe distance
first.
--
David in Normandy.
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subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

David in Normandy wrote:
I checked the traps today. Not caught any moles this week,
but the little blighters had set off most of the traps.
They are pushing their luck - it is only a matter of time,
they can only play Russian roulette with the traps so many
times. Either that or they have learned to carry a little
stick with them and prod the traps from a safe distance
first.

Still no mole in my trap and the trap remains sprung (is that the
correct term, or should it be "unsprung"?!). Anyway, either no mole has
passed along the same tunnel in the last two weeks or they have come
close, sensed danger, and fled!

A kind lady neighbour, whose husband loves all creatures and disapproves
of killing even the most troublesome, has given me their ancient
scissor-trap. It's all rusty but works fine. I think I might give it a
go, replacing a half-tunnel with it. To be frank, although DEFRA say
the half-tunnel is the more efficient of the two kinds of trap, I am
sick to death of having to remove roof-tile and flap of earth to inspect
the trap beneath every day! The scissor-trap is so much easier to keep
an eye on.

Eddy.

Eddy says...
Still no mole in my trap and the trap remains sprung (is that the
correct term, or should it be "unsprung"?!). Anyway, either no mole has
passed along the same tunnel in the last two weeks or they have come
close, sensed danger, and fled!

A kind lady neighbour, whose husband loves all creatures and disapproves
of killing even the most troublesome, has given me their ancient
scissor-trap. It's all rusty but works fine. I think I might give it a
go, replacing a half-tunnel with it. To be frank, although DEFRA say
the half-tunnel is the more efficient of the two kinds of trap, I am
sick to death of having to remove roof-tile and flap of earth to inspect
the trap beneath every day! The scissor-trap is so much easier to keep
an eye on.


I've been experimenting using a couple of (single) scissor-
traps too. Still not caught a mole with them but they keep
setting the traps off and leaving them buried in a pile of
earth.

I think it is correct that moles DON'T have a good sense of
smell. As as experiment, after buying the new scissor-traps
I purposely didn't wear gloves, so they had plenty of human
scent on them. I also scooped out the earth that had fallen
into the tunnel with bare hands. The mole didn't care a
hoot, the following morning both traps had gone off, lots
of earth around them, but no mole.

As another experiment I've tried not covering a hole
either, previously I've covered with earth or a roof slate.
Again the mole has set the trap off, more earth all around
it, but no mole. It is a lot easier to see if a trap has
been set off if it isn't covered in earth. The moles don't
seem to mind either way.

I just wish they actually get caught. It seems strange that
they keep setting off the various traps but don't get
caught.

My French neighbour gave me an obvious tip the other day I
hadn't thought about - fasten a bit of wire or string
between the trap and the little bit of metal trigger so it
doesn't get lost in the ground.

--
David in Normandy.
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subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

Are moles intelligent? I'm beginning to wonder if they have
a certain amount of either intelligence or instinctive
behaviour when they find objects in the ground. i.e. if
they find an unexpected object in a run - shove some earth
at it until an audible SNAP is heard then carry on about
their business. But that would be silly wouldn't it? Or
would it?

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

David in Normandy wrote:
Are moles intelligent? I'm beginning to wonder if they have
a certain amount of either intelligence or instinctive
behaviour when they find objects in the ground. i.e. if
they find an unexpected object in a run - shove some earth
at it until an audible SNAP is heard then carry on about
their business. But that would be silly wouldn't it? Or
would it?

Still no mole caught here. However, a neighbour proclaims great success
with scissor-traps. Next time I bump into him I will ask him for a
demonstration of his technique . . . and I'll share what I glean with
you!

Eddy.

Hi. Thanks to everybody for an interesting thread. I've just bought a place in Brittany with about half an acre of lawns and pastureland on both sides. Needless to say, I am under slow but increasing attack from our little velvet suited friends. I have found a miniature shotgun device left by the previous owner complete with graphic illustration of a surfacing mole being blasted to death but I have no intention of using this or any other lethal method - unless things become really desperate.

In fact, I have to say that most of the methods suggested here seem like a lot of hard work (or an obsessive hobby, maybe). What I would like to know is if there is a reasonable way of coexisting with these little invaders. It rarely stops raining here, so perhaps this will cut down their activity. What will happen if I just clear away the molehills gently and reseed any bare patches? Let me know the worst that can happen. I can take it.