one for the forward thinkers

[mole catcher 1]

i trap moles for a living, so results meen cash payments. with this in mind im always looking at what i do in miniscle detail. something what i have noticed over the many years ive been doing this is something that happens each and every year at this time of the year.

with the drop in tempriture at night i find the moles become more active at a depth best suited for trapping, this is due i believe to the moisture on the ground causing the worms and mole food stuff rising to the surface. this is great for me as this makes my job so much more straight forward. but it is this moisture in the form of condensation that i believe is to blame for a problem i have at this time of year.

when using tunnel or duffus traps i find many will be sprung, only to find a trap full of earth.

because they are steel traps a differance in tempriture between the air and the steel will cause condensation to form. is it this condensation that forms that drips into the tunnel and gives the mole warning to something being a foot?

those of us that trap moles know how sensitive they are to changes within their own world, is it this wet patch from the condensation drippng that warns the mole of my intentions?

if so is it this that causes them to back fill the trap with soil?

 

 

like i said at the start, one for the forward thinkers only.

[Guest foxyforce1]

I use scissor traps mostly but am trying to use duffuses more, ive had the same problem with the earth geting packed in and sprung, just cant seem to get the hang of them, its a good point that your making, i was thinking along the same lines but more about the temperature...obviously the colder it gets the trap being metal will get cold aswell and was wondering if the mole coming along his rum noticres the difference in the temperature of the surroundings i.e with the top of the trap being the top of the run?? just a thought.

 

cheers Billy

[trappa 518]

i think you are reading too much into it personally. The shallow runs that allow duffus change all the time, a dog , beast or man walking across the area will cave in a load of the time, and rain collapses them as well. i dont think they can tell by moisture on the traps dripping. As for the traps filled with earth its surely just the mole moving his fresh dug soil to a "blowhole" ( molehill) to push out and i think its just coincidence. I mean when you set a trap you dont set it right next to the castle/ fortress you set it out a bit , this is where they are extending their boundaries , vis a vis, moving earth.

Just my tuppence anyhow.

ps, while im talking to molecatchers, what gloves do you all use??

[Guest foxyforce1]

I dont use gloves, just rub my hands in the nearest mole hill, find gloves more of a hindrance than a help tryin ti fiddle with catches etc and also think they hold more scent than anything, just my opinion though know alot of mole trappers use them.

 

cheers

[trappa 518]

I dont use gloves, just rub my hands in the nearest mole hill, find gloves more of a hindrance than a help tryin ti fiddle with catches etc and also think they hold more scent than anything, just my opinion though know alot of mole trappers use them.

 

cheers

Cheers foxy. I didnt use them for my first season and i hated it, my hands were soooo cold it was scary. After that i used the waterproof "gardening" gloves from the poundshop. They are good at keeping hands clean but didnt do much at all for cold. Ive just got some neoprene gloves and used them yesterday for the first time. They kept my fingers warm but were too thick-it was a faff on setting the duffuses. Ive never found gloves a problem for leaving smells!?!

[moley 115]

I dont use gloves, just rub my hands in the nearest mole hill, find gloves more of a hindrance than a help tryin ti fiddle with catches etc and also think they hold more scent than anything, just my opinion though know alot of mole trappers use them.

 

cheers

Cheers foxy. I didnt use them for my first season and i hated it, my hands were soooo cold it was scary. After that i used the waterproof "gardening" gloves from the poundshop. They are good at keeping hands clean but didnt do much at all for cold. Ive just got some neoprene gloves and used them yesterday for the first time. They kept my fingers warm but were too thick-it was a faff on setting the duffuses. Ive never found gloves a problem for leaving smells!?!

 

 

i use gloves for all my trapping , they are the yellow rubber ones with a white cuff ,stink to high heaven at first of, er ,rubber , not the chequed rubber ones tho

 

agree with molecatcher and foxyforce1, temperature does make a huge difference , even the slight frosts we get can result in plugged traps, this problem used to do my head in year after year , then peg and gun and me were discussing it again a few years back and he said , its just one of those things you gotta accept, just like a knocked rabbit snare , not that i ever had one of those

[snareman 3]

I dont use gloves, just rub my hands in the nearest mole hill, find gloves more of a hindrance than a help tryin ti fiddle with catches etc and also think they hold more scent than anything, just my opinion though know alot of mole trappers use them.

 

cheers

Cheers foxy. I didnt use them for my first season and i hated it, my hands were soooo cold it was scary. After that i used the waterproof "gardening" gloves from the poundshop. They are good at keeping hands clean but didnt do much at all for cold. Ive just got some neoprene gloves and used them yesterday for the first time. They kept my fingers warm but were too thick-it was a faff on setting the duffuses. Ive never found gloves a problem for leaving smells!?!

 

 

i use gloves for all my trapping , they are the yellow rubber ones with a white cuff ,stink to high heaven at first of, er ,rubber , not the chequed rubber ones tho

 

agree with molecatcher and foxyforce1, temperature does make a huge difference , even the slight frosts we get can result in plugged traps, this problem used to do my head in year after year , then peg and gun and me were discussing it again a few years back and he said , its just one of those things you gotta accept, just like a knocked rabbit snare , not that i ever had one of those

moley, your just the man i,ve been looking for , tell me the secret how not to never get a knocked rabbit snare . snareman.

[moley 115]

I dont use gloves, just rub my hands in the nearest mole hill, find gloves more of a hindrance than a help tryin ti fiddle with catches etc and also think they hold more scent than anything, just my opinion though know alot of mole trappers use them.

 

cheers

Cheers foxy. I didnt use them for my first season and i hated it, my hands were soooo cold it was scary. After that i used the waterproof "gardening" gloves from the poundshop. They are good at keeping hands clean but didnt do much at all for cold. Ive just got some neoprene gloves and used them yesterday for the first time. They kept my fingers warm but were too thick-it was a faff on setting the duffuses. Ive never found gloves a problem for leaving smells!?!

 

 

i use gloves for all my trapping , they are the yellow rubber ones with a white cuff ,stink to high heaven at first of, er ,rubber , not the chequed rubber ones tho

 

agree with molecatcher and foxyforce1, temperature does make a huge difference , even the slight frosts we get can result in plugged traps, this problem used to do my head in year after year , then peg and gun and me were discussing it again a few years back and he said , its just one of those things you gotta accept, just like a knocked rabbit snare , not that i ever had one of those

moley, your just the man i,ve been looking for , tell me the secret how not to never get a knocked rabbit snare . snareman.

if i told you , it wouldn,t be a secret