Putange mole trapping

[dillydog 8,463]

That's me all but finished on the moles, roll on the wasp season and may the rats breed like only rats can.

[stormyboy 1,352]

11 hours ago, dillydog said:

That's me all but finished on the moles, roll on the wasp season and may the rats breed like only rats can.

You know those putangs are crap mate? According to ' experts' who obviously can't use them fer shit.

[Nicepix 5,650]

37 minutes ago, stormyboy said:

You know those putangs are crap mate? According to ' experts' who obviously can't use them fer shit.

Now you tell me! I've just bought another 100 of 'em   

[stormyboy 1,352]

Well we've all been told, if you don't listen on your own head be it.

[comanche 3,038]

On 05/03/2019 at 20:43, Nicepix said:

A little bit of history of the putange mole trap.

The Palace of Versailles, whose origins date back to the seventeenth century, was successively a hunting lodge, a seat of power and, from the nineteenth century, a museum. With the gardens and the Palaces of Trianon, the park of the Château de Versailles spreads over 800 hectares

The gardens of Versailles, created by André Le Nôtre on behalf of Louis XIV, become under his reign the reference of the courts of Europe and the power of the Sun King can not be tarnished by the disorder caused by the moles. The Liard family was engaged to perform the function of taupiers (mole trappers) at the castle, it will keep this position for nearly 200 years. According to the archives, thousands of moles are eliminated under Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI, but it is necessary to understand the high number of these figures because the mole trapper was paid for each mole killed.

One evening, the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte came to sleep at Versailles. He stays in Trianon and during a stroll in the King's Garden, created under Louis XIV, he was accosted by a prostitute. Stunned, the emperor investigates such a presence in the castle and discovers that the mole trapper Liard, housed in the park, organizes the evenings of "dubious cabarets". He was fired at the age of 75: he was the last taupier hired directly by the Palace of Versailles."

Interesting bit of history. I've been given some putangs as an early birthday present from my daughter . After ripping them out of the package I excitedly set one up on the dining toom table and sprung it to see how they worked. ... Ping; lesson learned,week later I found the missing trigger by chance on a bookshelf. That's when I availed myself of internet wisdom and fitted crimps and strings(actually I've used some short lengths of wire pike trace). Used them for the first time this week and having caught with them can see them having a place in the armoury. Ten of the little traps an old diver's knife ,some short markers cum pegs and the mini probe I've made will make a compact little kit to carry in the van for use when a customer says"While you are here,I don't  suppose you do moles do you."

One thing that has been bugging me is the name putang. As a gentleman of a certain age I can think of three rather rude slang meanings of the word .

Perhaps Nicepix could ,being the man on the ground could give a bit of history here. I always thought of them as arouze traps .Or was that a trade name?

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by comanche

[Nicepix 5,650]

55 minutes ago, comanche said:

Interesting bit of history. I've been given some putangs as an early birthday present from my daughter . After ripping them out of the package I excitedly set one up on the dining toom table and sprung it to see how they worked. ... Ping; a week later I found the missing trigger by chance on a bookshelf. That's when I availed myself of internet wisdom and fitted crimps and strings(actually I've used some short lengths of wire pike trace). Used them for the first time this week and having caught with them can see them having a place in the armoury. Ten of the little traps an old diver's knife ,some short markers cum pegs and the mini probe I've made will make a compact little kit to carry in the van for use when a customer says"While you are here,I don't  suppose you do moles do you."

One thing that has been bugging me is the name putang. As a gentleman of a certain age I can think of three rather rude slang meanings of the word .

Perhaps Nicepix could ,being the man on the ground could give a bit of history here. I always thought of them as arouze traps .Or was that a trade name?

 

Hi Commanche,  Arouze is as you thought, a trade name of an old, traditional manufacturer....   https://www.vintagetraps.co.uk/shop/vintage-mole-trap-french-1920/

There are many types of putange mole traps. I made the point in the other thread that there are no genuine putange mole traps so by default there cannot be any fakes. They have been used in the current form for over 300 years so there is no chance of anyone licensing or patenting the name or design.  It is a loose description of a type of trap like a car is a type of vehicle. Over the last four or five years I have bought, examined and discarded many different brands and versions of putanges. An increasing number are being made in the Far East and are usually identified by a tiger striping of the metal which is also usually slightly thinner than the conventional types used by the pro's over here. There are versions like the Arouze that are set by squeezing the diamond shaped part just below the eye -  the "putange du main" or 'putange of the hand'. These tend to be weaker in the grip than those  that are set using a lever or pliers and are also bulky and can be difficult to place in the tunnel.

There are smaller similar types used to trap the Campagnol  or 'rat-taupier' which is a land based vole that infests fields especially, but not exclusively the mountainous regions. That trap has a half-round shape to the prongs.

Putanges are also used by some French pest controllers to trap rats, and mulots which are what the Yanks call 'deer mice' a large mouse that is found all over France..... https://jardinage.lemonde.fr/dossier-743-mulot-souris-champs.html

Tying the triggers on is something that I worked out for myself after losing quite a few of them in tunnels and in the grass while setting them. Up to the time I put the first video on youtube I had never come across anyone tying the triggers on, let alone doing it so that the trap self set when pushing it into the tunnel. Some traps came with bath plug chains attached, but these dragged and set the trap off when you placed them and were worse than useless.  That light-bulb moment made using the traps far more feasible and efficient as the trap should always end up set in its most stable state.  Now there are several different ways to tie on triggers being touted, but for me the best way is still to use braid fishing line as it is easy to tie, cheap, doesn't affect the triggering process and long lasting if used in an area where field mice don't nest in mole tunnels.

I now make a few spares to take with me so I can replace any braid that has been chewed by mice. First I tie a small loop on the end of the braid then use it to lasso the braid around the eye of the trap,  then tie the other end onto the trigger at the right length to keep the line tight when it is set. Then I can slip the knot off the trigger by slightly opening up the gap and untie the lasso. That leaves a length of twine with a loop at both ends that can quickly be changed in the field. It saves me bringing the traps in to be repaired.

Happy Birthday and I hope that you continue to get good use out of these traps.

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by Nicepix

[comanche 3,038]

Thanks for that Nicepix

It may well've been your video that put me straight.

[earth-thrower 493]

On 28/03/2019 at 19:42, stormyboy said:

You know those putangs are crap mate? According to ' experts' who obviously can't use them fer shit.

Any genuine British mole trapper has never needed to depend on them before,  as alot do now ?,.....& are you not one of the "experts"  ?,.....ya f***ing fanny !

[earth-thrower 493]

On 28/03/2019 at 22:57, stormyboy said:

Well we've all been told, if you don't listen on your own head be it.

A few of us (im sure) dont need them !.....or want to use them,.....

[stormyboy 1,352]

Found your dummy then? Thought you were fecking off .

[earth-thrower 493]

25 minutes ago, earth-thrower said:

A few of us STILL (im sure) dont need them !.....or want to use them,.....

 

[earth-thrower 493]

29 minutes ago, stormyboy said:

Found your dummy then? Thought you were fecking off .

Will take better than you, too annoy me enough, for that ! ...(English twat !)

Edited March 30, 2019 by earth-thrower

[Nicepix 5,650]

1 hour ago, stormyboy said:

Found your dummy then? Thought you were fecking off .

Its all Commanche's fault.      He just thanked me and McWhinnie can't stand that so he's broke out of the straight jacket and padded cell to lock horns again. Thing is; I've got him on 'Ignore' so won't be reading any of his posts let alone answering them.

[stormyboy 1,352]

1 hour ago, earth-thrower said:

Will take better than you, too annoy me enough, for that ! ...(English twat !)

Yeah your abusive PM's and sweary replies say you ain't annoyed.

You flounced off in a strop several times, yet here you still are. All you've got is name calling and insults, a sure sign of low intelligence and nothing to say....

Ya fanny, English twat- that the best you've got??

WHO ARE YOU??  pure gold!

Keep it up bud, fecking entertaining!!

And if you need some pointers on using the simplest trap in the world, just ask!

[stormyboy 1,352]

22 minutes ago, Nicepix said:

Its all Commanche's fault.      He just thanked me and McWhinnie can't stand that so he's broke out of the straight jacket and padded cell to lock horns again. Thing is; I've got him on 'Ignore' so won't be reading any of his posts let alone answering them.

I wouldn't miss it mate, nothing funnier than an angry man on the net! His dummy must be on elastic.

Edited March 30, 2019 by stormyboy