Mole Traps

[moxy 617]

taplons???

misspelt i belive, should have read tampons

[Probuk 93]

 

I guess it depends what traps your buying. I use scissor type traps, A Fenn, Taplon and i have a few cheap scissor type that i got off ebay witch work just fine and this is there second season. I use them in places that i know have a good chance of getting found by unwanted eyes. Id rather lose £2 rather than £6 and as iv said, there strong and do the job just fine.

 

Im a self tought mole catcher so i havnt been brain washed by money making organisation, iv never been on a course, im not a registerd mole catcher, i learned by trail and error. Infact if id listened to half the crap some people had told me i would have given it up as a bad job, no offence to people i dont know.

 

The only advise i ever took was from a farmer in the lake district. He asked me what i used a troul or a spade for.? His advise was just use a knife, iv never looked back. My favourate trap is the A Fenn a nice compact trap that needs no tweeking or cutting of anything and i catch just fine.

 

Marty

I can relate to alot of what you say, in your second paragraph.I also like the fenn scissor,and i used it exclusively for a few years.Handy wee trap.What kind of capture rate do you achieve with it?,i usually only averaged about 50%.

I do ok with them, unless like recentley iv had lambs and sheep lying on them and disterbing them one way or another and the odd stone fall in that stops them closing fully. Do you know of a trap with 100% catch rate.?

[davedavedave 69]

I get near 100% catch rate with genuine Talpex traps. The way I see it is that after the effort of finding and preparing to set a mole trap why not give yourself the best chance of catching a mole with the best trap you can get. I change per mole and once one of my traps catches a mole which is usually within the first 48 hours its already paid for itself and my quality traps with last for many years and so go on paying for themslves.

 

I take the customer around with me which inspecting my traps so a high catch rate always impresses them, makes me look professional and in turn gets me many referrals for more work. I guess if you are only catching for yourself you afford to go cheap and miss moles whereas I look for value for money and often that means buying the best to be the best.

[Le Braconnier 49]

I get near 100% catch rate with genuine Talpex traps. The way I see it is that after the effort of finding and preparing to set a mole trap why not give yourself the best chance of catching a mole with the best trap you can get. I change per mole and once one of my traps catches a mole which is usually within the first 48 hours its already paid for itself and my quality traps with last for many years and so go on paying for themslves.

 

I take the customer around with me which inspecting my traps so a high catch rate always impresses them, makes me look professional and in turn gets me many referrals for more work. I guess if you are only catching for yourself you afford to go cheap and miss moles whereas I look for value for money and often that means buying the best to be the best.

 

Same here. I agree with everything you say.

 

Since I started using Talpex every one's a coconut. Well almost, but I'm talking twice or three times in six months the trap has failed to catch and in each case it was down to heavy rain causing the soil to stick. I use them in occupied sheep pastures and cover them with plywood boards to prevent stock from disturbing the traps.

 

I also found that the Flatpack tunnel traps virtually never get filled with soil like the cheaper tunnel traps used to. Same trapper, same ground, same methods yet the more expensive traps catch when the others failed. If you are costing purely on trap purchase then you are missing £££'s in wasted time.

[3175darren 1,100]

I am currently trying the flat pack traps,after advice from lads on here,and yes they are good,I bought both the standard trap and the stainless trap,the stainless trap is outstanding it really is,I know it costs more,but it really does kill well and they still shine's even after this acidic soil up here,I am allso useing the procter pest stop traps,and if I am honest,they do a very good job I really rate them,but as time goes on, I will try and get more of the stainless traps from flat pack,as for buying cheap chinees traps in the tunnel version waste of money,and before anyone says procter pest stop are made in china they might be I dont know, but whoever gets them made,must be insisting on a good material spec,as for claw traps I dont have much experience of them outside the talpex which I use,in very soft soil with great affect,the scissor traps I can count on one hand the amount of moles I have caught with them,I have no skill with them at all,

[Le Braconnier 49]

I got some Flatpack stainless traps a few months back and they are superb. I can't see me having to ever replace them whereas the cheap Chinese made traps bought from a mole catching web site were useless after a month. And that was after having to be butchered just to make them work properly. all I've done with the Flatpacks is to bend the trigger loops slightly forward.

 

Made me laugh when I mentioned the stainless traps on another site and someone said that they were a waste of money as the springs would wear out before the trap rusted. If that is so, then how come a pro' trapper on the same site is advocating dipping non stainless traps in preservative every year? They can't both be right

[derbylad1 293]

Can anyone advise me the best place to buy genuine talpex traps. I've always used barrel traps and had some good experience with the talpex when helping a mate out.

[3175darren 1,100]

I got some Flatpack stainless traps a few months back and they are superb. I can't see me having to ever replace them whereas the cheap Chinese made traps bought from a mole catching web site were useless after a month. And that was after having to be butchered just to make them work properly. all I've done with the Flatpacks is to bend the trigger loops slightly forward.

 

Made me laugh when I mentioned the stainless traps on another site and someone said that they were a waste of money as the springs would wear out before the trap rusted. If that is so, then how come a pro' trapper on the same site is advocating dipping non stainless traps in preservative every year? They can't both be right

That's all I did with my flat pack traps, adjust the trigger wire's a little they are spot on.I supose if you were buying hundreds it would be very expensive,but them stainless are worth the investment,I will keep getting them and building my stock,in the long run it has to make sense just in trap life longevity,these havnt even discoloured with the acidic soil,

[Le Braconnier 49]

Can anyone advise me the best place to buy genuine talpex traps. I've always used barrel traps and had some good experience with the talpex when helping a mate out.

 

http://www.ratbait.co.uk/talpex-mole-trap-490-p.asp

[J Darcy 5,871]

I've just got a few stainless from Flatpack, and i have to say that the wire is so strong that they seem very hard to tune. I always thought that wire on the 'standard' flatpack was a bit on the stiff side, but still workable, but those stainless ones are very hard to tune IMO.

[davedavedave 69]

 

Can anyone advise me the best place to buy genuine talpex traps. I've always used barrel traps and had some good experience with the talpex when helping a mate out.

 

http://www.ratbait.co.uk/talpex-mole-trap-490-p.asp

Le Braconnier is spot on with that link - good company to deal with too as often I have had next day delivery.

[Probuk 93]

I agree with what you lads are saying about the more expencive traps compleatly, all im trying to get across is i have a few cheapos that are doing just fine at the moment. As for the A Fenn scissor trap's if you set them in tight there excellent. I use a knife to cut into the turf and dig into the run, keeping it about about 2" square, then tap it open with a T handle off an old spade then shove the trap in and set it off a few times to make tracks in the base of the run. If i can get them in as so..its a dead mole..end of. When iv finnished catching moles out in the fields i leave traps in the runs between the fence posts at the side of the fields, i might get 3 or 4 moles a week in the same trap as i have this week using TALPEX traps. Thanks for pointing out the mistake.

[Le Braconnier 49]

I've just got a few stainless from Flatpack, and i have to say that the wire is so strong that they seem very hard to tune. I always thought that wire on the 'standard' flatpack was a bit on the stiff side, but still workable, but those stainless ones are very hard to tune IMO.

 

All I did is bend the trigger loop forward. Once the trap is planted I ease the trigger so it is just on the edge. So far they are trapping really well. I've had five doubles in the last three weeks and I even lent two traps to a friend who had no experience of mole trapping. I planted the traps and he re-set them after they had caught. He got more than me and he didn't know about the trick of easing the trigger

[Matt 160]

I got some Flatpack stainless traps a few months back and they are superb. I can't see me having to ever replace them whereas the cheap Chinese made traps bought from a mole catching web site were useless after a month. And that was after having to be butchered just to make them work properly. all I've done with the Flatpacks is to bend the trigger loops slightly forward.

 

Made me laugh when I mentioned the stainless traps on another site and someone said that they were a waste of money as the springs would wear out before the trap rusted. If that is so, then how come a pro' trapper on the same site is advocating dipping non stainless traps in preservative every year? They can't both be right

 

I don't just dip the traps to protect them from corrosion.

 

Speed dip is a wax product that helps the traps fire smoother and slightly quicker. I don't see the sense in buying stainless steel traps because as has been pointed out, the springs will wear out long before the trap rusts through. The cost of dipping is negligible, and it certainly seems to help the traps work a little better.

 

It also gives my traps a 'different' look. I did have a customer ask me recently where to buy the 'black' traps like I use

 

Each to his or her own. If you are happy with stainless steel traps then good on ya. For me, I prefer a good quality british trap, tuned up properly, and given a coat of trap wax.

[Le Braconnier 49]

 

I got some Flatpack stainless traps a few months back and they are superb. I can't see me having to ever replace them whereas the cheap Chinese made traps bought from a mole catching web site were useless after a month. And that was after having to be butchered just to make them work properly. all I've done with the Flatpacks is to bend the trigger loops slightly forward.

 

Made me laugh when I mentioned the stainless traps on another site and someone said that they were a waste of money as the springs would wear out before the trap rusted. If that is so, then how come a pro' trapper on the same site is advocating dipping non stainless traps in preservative every year? They can't both be right

 

I don't just dip the traps to protect them from corrosion.

 

Speed dip is a wax product that helps the traps fire smoother and slightly quicker. I don't see the sense in buying stainless steel traps because as has been pointed out, the springs will wear out long before the trap rusts through. The cost of dipping is negligible, and it certainly seems to help the traps work a little better.

 

It also gives my traps a 'different' look. I did have a customer ask me recently where to buy the 'black' traps like I use

 

Each to his or her own. If you are happy with stainless steel traps then good on ya. For me, I prefer a good quality british trap, tuned up properly, and given a coat of trap wax.

 

The stainless traps don't to need anything on the triggers to make them work. Some of them have been in the ground 24/7 for a very, very wet month and there is absolutely no signs of verdigris or rust anywhere on them. I don't bother taking the wire wool out these days. There's no need to rub the trigger latch down on these traps. When you cost out the price of the preservative and the time spent treating your traps I reckon the stainless traps are very good value for money..

 

They are of course British made, have the ability to be tuned and of an extremely good quality so there is no need to prat about with preservatives.