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Le Braconnier

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Everything posted by Le Braconnier

  1. Le Braconnier
    That shows that there has been an increase in the mole population. It doesn't evidence a shortage of mole catchers. If there was a shortage of trappers some of the guys on here would be pulled out with work and from recent threads it would seem not to be the case.
  2. Le Braconnier
    There are some videos on YouTube showing him at work. There is another guy doing good videos too. He goes by the name of Taupe Green if you look it up. I was surprised to see how much earth in the clod he takes out to set the traps, but it all goes back in again. How does they know when the buried traps are triggered? Daschunds sniff around the traps and indicate those that have caught. I have used those French pincher traps as well as the other common scissor traps you find in garden centres. They do work, but they don't work as good as a Talpex. Not in my hands anyway. I've just sto
  3. Le Braconnier
    I'm glad that I can do mole trapping in my own time with no time or economic pressures. I can see that those who have to work at the cutomer's beckoning will find it hard to cope with adverse weather. Don't get me wrong. I've worked outdoors most of my life, but heavy rain doesn't half make mole catching more difficult.
  4. Le Braconnier
    I might be maligning the guy, but I think these are Talpex 'Type' not genuine Talpex. It does say 'genuine' in the advert, but I think this is copy pasted word for word from the Ratbait site. The heading says Talpex 'type'. Looking at his eBay feedback his negative feedback doesn't look too good. If there was a problem with your order then I don't see this guy helping you. Personally, I wouldn't buy them from here. I have had tried Talpex type traps before and both lasted one week before jamming. They are now scrap metal. Incidentally, bith were bought from a UK site that claims to be
  5. Le Braconnier
    I can understand them restricting the nasty stuff, but that policy defeats the object. If they are restricting membership to certified pest controllers then they are losing trade from those who just want a few traps for home use or for a small shoot. My farmer has all the documentation to be supplied with all sorts of pesticides and chemicals, but why do we need to register just to buy a few traps that re available unrestricted from other sources? You can buy mole trps from supermarkets over here. They aren't much good, but they have no restrictions attached to their purchase. I only chos
  6. Le Braconnier
    Thanks Dr. mole. That is good to know. I'll get the farmer to order some. Saves me having to beg my money back off him. My issue with Killgerm is their registration process. Why thy need to restrict customer access to goods that re openly available elewhere is beyond me
  7. Le Braconnier
    He's ordered the Talpex from Ratbait and I'll get some Traplines from eBay on my account and he can reimburse me.
  8. Le Braconnier
    I was looking to buy some Talpex and Trapline traps from Killgerm on behalf of the farmer who owns the land I trap on. He was going to purchase them as part of his business and I would pick them up later in the month when I go back to Yorkshire for a short visit. I didn't get a reply for three days so contacted them again, then got messed about for another three days so in the end I ordered them from elsewhere. I can understand them being a bit picky if I'd wanted poisons, but all I wanted was two types of traps you can buy elsewhere without all the hassle and dealy of setting up an account wi
  9. Le Braconnier
    He's still got them on sale on ebay.uk
  10. Le Braconnier
    Thank you
  11. Le Braconnier
    FFS! I could imagine what they are like. But what I want to know is what they are actually like. You know? From someone who has actually used them.
  12. Le Braconnier
    I wasn't asking for a recommendtion of the type of trap preferred. That would have prompted pages and pages of diferent opinions. I asked whether anyone had used the Flatpack claw traps?
  13. Le Braconnier
    Yes, I'm impressed with the Talpex. Every one a coconut so far I'm coming over to the UK for a week next month and will stock up. It would save a few bob if I got my claw traps from Flatpack though. A friend of a friend who lives near the Flatpack company is dropping something off where we are staying for me to bring back here. I'm arranging for him to get me some traps and drop them off at the same time thus saving delivery charges. You can take the man out of Yorkshire, but you can't take Yorkshire out of the man.
  14. Le Braconnier
    I don't know and I'm not going to ask him. I don't need another four hour lecture
  15. Le Braconnier
    Has anyone used the Flatpack Claw Traps and how do they compare to the original Talpex?
  16. Le Braconnier
    Don't mention the 'B' word!! I rent a cottage on a working farm that historically was attached to a chateau estate. The chateau and 300 hectares is owned by a British businessman and he rents the farm to a family from Cornwall who have been farming here for around 20 years with a herd of around Limousin cattle and 1200 sheep. If I mention the 'B' word I lose half a day as the farmer lectures me about TB and the other problems they cause. I got an earhole full just because I'm interested in photography and BBC Countryfile picked an inappropriate image to front their calendar. It's a good
  17. Le Braconnier
    When I was asked to take on mole trapping here they warned me that the last one who had tried lost a trap the first week and gave up at that point. I spoke to him and he said that something had made off with his scissor trap. So, I cut down some sheep fence poles and fastened the traps by chain to the poles. Nothing tried to dig out the moles and the dead moles I left on the ground at the side of the holes were rarely taken. Then, one day I discovered that a shallow tunnel trap had been dug out and taken. It was barely under the surface in sandy soil. Fortunately my spaniel found it in the lo
  18. Le Braconnier
    What would the head count be on a farm that size - 300 to 350?
  19. Le Braconnier
    I hang them up near to the field gate to show the farmer that I am catching moles. A lot of gamekeepers of old had gibbet wires to show that they were controlling the vermin. The reason moles are hung by the nose is because their skin is so tough it is a hard job to get the barbed wire to puncture it.
  20. Le Braconnier
    Bring some with you
  21. Le Braconnier
    Similar problem here with the rain Uncle P. I've been putting paint pot lids over the Talpex traps to try and keep the soil dry, but it only partially helps. Fortunately it is only a hobby for me. I'd hate to have to rely on it with the weather of late. Hope it gets better soon.
  22. Le Braconnier
    I've no use for them so I leave them at the side of the holes. A mate of mine in the UK freezes his and when he has enough takes them to an owl sanctuary. An older mate used to skin them and post a packet of skins to a company in London who made hats from them. But that was before the 1970's. Before WW2 millions of moleskins were exported to the States to be made into clothing and over here plumbers used the skins to wipe down hot pipes after soldering. I don't think there is any trade for them now other than a few for fly tiers.
  23. Le Braconnier
    I've moved onto another field that was seeded with grass in spring and was later cut for hay. The soil is very gritty in places, much like the stuff you get in rock salt so I expected the moles to have extensive territories because of the lean pickings. I trapped two yesterday morning, back filled the holes and flattened all the tumps so the grass cutter blades wouldn't hit them. Later on I borrowed the little tractor and surveyed the rest of the field (it is about fifty hectares), found at least five more runs and set traps in them. This morning on checking the traps I'd got two more but when
  24. Le Braconnier
    Well. That's eight since Monday, one boar and seven sows, in two acres with no visible activity for two months before that. They started in one area of the field near to a wet area and have spread out towards the field edge re-populating old runs. I've had two from the same runs twice. While travelling to my fishing spot yesterday I noticed on a recently harrowed filed two lines of tumps coming from a stream area and running over 100 metres each towards the top of the hill. No side shoots, just continuous lines. I'm convinced that moles 'hibernate' together in damp areas during hot weather
  25. Le Braconnier
    I've only got six traps
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