Talpex

[shropshire mole 190]

Phil,

 

Thank you for your help?

 

Can I check - after placing a compressed piece of soil unfer the trigger plate, do you then back fill the entire trap with loose soil and firm slightly by pressing or simply leave alone or do what JD has done fill trap with small balls of compressed soil.

 

You are very right " the best trap is the one that catches the mole"

 

Atb

[mole trapper 1,693]

 

In the mole hill! Really???

I have set them as I would a say a Fenn scissor, then trickled in fine soil under the pan and to either side of the pan to replicate a tunnel collapse, my logic being it will push the soil forwards to clear the obstruction. Pin set so fine it's scary, still mole either fills or goes round?.

Think I ought to stick to my duffus, traplines and Fenn, at least I know what I'm doing with those.

 

Are these Talpa or genuine Talpex?

Probably copies, I bought them off the bay, brilliant quality, but........

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

Phil,

 

Thank you for your help?

 

Can I check - after placing a compressed piece of soil unfer the trigger plate, do you then back fill the entire trap with loose soil and firm slightly by pressing or simply leave alone or do what JD has done fill trap with small balls of compressed soil.

 

You are very right " the best trap is the one that catches the mole"

 

Atb

Hi,...well I can only tell you how I use the Talpex Trap...

 

Once the trap is in situ,..I filter a good bit of loose soil either side of the trap..

I like to make sure that the tunnel is blocked, either side of the trigger plate,...this causes the mole to push the soil ahead (this leaves him in a vulnerable position).....I then put some soil over the top of the plate....

 

I don't like using this method with soaking wet, claggy mud..

The Talpex style of trap, does not work as well, if lumps of soggy soil are utilised...

The advantage of the genuine Dutch Talpex is its great power....

The spring generaly forces the striking bars through most obsticals,...but a pebble or stone can flick the claws off target,..so as with any type of vermin trap,.it pays to take your time to make the set, as good as you can

 

As a footnote,...I notice that The Magnum Trap Company Ltd are now stocking the Dutch Talpex....

[J Darcy 5,871]

 

 

In the mole hill! Really???

I have set them as I would a say a Fenn scissor, then trickled in fine soil under the pan and to either side of the pan to replicate a tunnel collapse, my logic being it will push the soil forwards to clear the obstruction. Pin set so fine it's scary, still mole either fills or goes round?.

Think I ought to stick to my duffus, traplines and Fenn, at least I know what I'm doing with those.

Are these Talpa or genuine Talpex?

Probably copies, I bought them off the bay, brilliant quality, but........

 

There in lies your problem. A cheapo copy set's very differently from the original. IMO.

[bryn27 89]

pay the money and get the right tool, springs are too weak on the copies and will snag. I'll take some pics of the new job tomorrow and as the wife is coming along with her new camera, I'll try to show my method of installing the Talpex.

[Nicepix 5,650]

I found five Talpex triggered this morning and all five had killed. The others that hadn't gone off had other types of traps nearby with casualties. As my mate used to say: "You can't shoot 'em twice!" Must be having a lucky run.

 

The way I have been setting them is similar to how Phil Lloyd describes. I've been scraping a ridge with my fingers and thumb that sits under the trigger and then carefully filling the trap with sifted dry soil. I believe the mixed results I've been getting is down to the in-fill soil absorbing wet from the surrounding soil and becoming claggy so it doesn't drop in when the mole tunnels through. I've also reverted the trigger plates to the original straight profile. Turning them down hasn't helped.

[bryn27 89]

Always angle the plate towards where I think he is coming from, seems to work but may just be the luck of the draw.

plates are straight and unmodified as was suggested on here a while back.

Edited April 29, 2015 by bryn27

[mole trapper 1,693]

Well I must be an old fart set in his ways, just seems way to much faffing about, bend this build a hummock, roll up soil into balls etc etc.

Dig hole, stick in duffus come back three days later take out dead mole/s get paid.

[Nicepix 5,650]

Well I must be an old fart set in his ways, just seems way to much faffing about, bend this build a hummock, roll up soil into balls etc etc.

Dig hole, stick in duffus come back three days later take out dead mole/s get paid.

......... then put in some Putanges, check them two or three times a month and get paid every month

[bryn27 89]

I'm not sure regards this rolling balls technique sounds like extra time to me.

Open the hill probe a tad and cut a tight hole for the Talpex,find the route place trap level with the run and back fill with the spoil.

takes on average around 5 mins then move on to the next. Setting and catching is no probs, keeping track of where they are is my biggest problem but printing the maps off has helped no ends.

[bryn27 89]

Not sure what benefit rolled up balls of soil would be regards fitting a Talpex?

[bryn27 89]

 

Well I must be an old fart set in his ways, just seems way to much faffing about, bend this build a hummock, roll up soil into balls etc etc.

Dig hole, stick in duffus come back three days later take out dead mole/s get paid.

......... then put in some Putanges, check them two or three times a month and get paid every month

 

We cant get hold of them, the nomole alternative is crap in my book. Either that or I'm crap at setting them.

[comanche 3,038]

Not being too mechanical I always had a natural apathy to the Duffus types of trap . Maybe what gets to me is the time spent bending and snipping wire and cutting and re-profiling the the sides of the barrels with every new batch I purchase before I have that all important "good feeling" .

Then I bought a couple of Talpex. Couldn't really get on with them at first; until having cocked -up a hole meant for a Duffus I bunged -in a Talpex and rebuilt the run around it with a hope and a prayer . Success!.

Since then they've been my first choice; less fiddly bits to adjust or snag than a Duffus and more forgiving of errors I suspect-which for me is a real bonus:).

Being on mainly clay in these parts, its easy to rebuild the tunnel with slices of soil before trickling any loose stuff on top.

I'll often trip them before covering them just to double check there is room for the pin to flick properly and this also cuts a nice path for the jaws to slide in. In loose soil ,inevitably, bits fall into the tunnel but this possibly spurs the mole into getting caught when cleaning out the run. This, I think, is where the genuine Talpex scores.

Looky-likey traps seem to have springs made of cheese straws and only seem to work in ideal conditions whereas the genuine article will cut through the mud and still have enough power to clamp the mole..

In shallow "torpedo runs" I simply cut a slot the length of the trap , peel back the turf and fold it back around the trap.

Another advantage is that Talpexes(Talpii ?)seem to last forever. Unlike the Duffus items, which as we all know from A N Expert must be replaced after twenty uses. Ahem:)

[J Darcy 5,871]

And if you're really lucky....... :icon_eek:

 

 

 

[smithie 2,443]

i was shown to use a ball of soil rather than back fill the whole trap with loose soil. i was told whe mole is in the correct place to be caught when he start working on the ball of soil