Trap shy moles

[earth-thrower 493]

1 minute ago, Borr said:

I'm not a seasoned trapper but what I found was if I couldn't catch them deep then I'd catch on boundry and turf runs...only ever used scissor traps but not failed to catch said mole....

Seen a guy on YouTube, recently routinely , trap place, below the molehill. Used to hear alot (starting out, decades ago) NEVER try & set below a molehill,...

[OldPhil 5,654]

Just now, earth-thrower said:

What,  you reckon you were the first to introduce the Talpex over here, Phil ? (didn't realise that,  either)

No of course not,...

When I handled  my first Talpex, I was bemused by its action, I did not comprehend how it worked, and I gave my first ones away...Luckily my pal from Wales persevered with the tool, and told me what a great mole trap this is,...

I soon learned not to dismiss things solely because they were new, and I was dumb....

[earth-thrower 493]

1 minute ago, OldPhil said:

No of course not,...

When I handled  my first Talpex, I was bemused by its action, I did not comprehend how it worked, and I gave my first ones away...Luckily my pal from Wales persevered with the tool, and told me what a great mole trap this is,...

I soon learned not to dismiss things solely because they were new, and I was dumb....

Sorry, you put "bought" ,..I thought I read "brought" (hey, its been a long day,..)

[earth-thrower 493]

Just now, earth-thrower said:

Sorry, you put "bought" ,..I thought I read "brought" (hey, its been a long day,..)

ROLFE, (previously on here) favoured them, & gave a good tutorial with pictures, etc,..if I remember

[Borr 5,704]

2 minutes ago, earth-thrower said:

Seen a guy on YouTube, recently routinely , trap place, below the molehill. Used to hear alot (starting out, decades ago) NEVER try & set below a molehill,...

I used to clear the hill and poke my fingers down eye up the next hill caught most about two feet from a mole hill, also used to take them all down and drive a ride on about next morning you'd have all the recent runs dug out...caught a couple for an old French guy who used to use moth balls, he served me the worst french brandy at 7 am I've ever had as a reward, not really an incentive..

[tank34 2,330]

13 minutes ago, earth-thrower said:

Why do you only prefer to use only Talpex, in gardens, mate ? ,..just curious ?

Just find get job done faster with talpex less chance of back fills try get job done if 3 visits over 7 day mate

[earth-thrower 493]

2 minutes ago, Borr said:

I used to clear the hill and poke my fingers down eye up the next hill caught most about two feet from a mole hill, also used to take them all down and drive a ride on about next morning you'd have all the recent runs dug out...caught a couple for an old French guy who used to use moth balls, he served me the worst french brandy at 7 am I've ever had as a reward, not really an incentive..

, ...& I used to try & find the run between two molehills with a trowel, taking out far too many earth sods, trying to achieve it, courtesy of "moles & their control" book , by Guy N Smith ! (way back) a didn't know what a 'probe' was then , unheard of by me 

[earth-thrower 493]

Just now, tank34 said:

Just find get job done faster with talpex less chance of back fills try get job done if 3 visits over 7 day mate

I get you.

[Borr 5,704]

Had guy n Smith traps and trapping a stolen library book I think, a very good read....pale blue cover, might still have it somewhere but doubt it. I had a big cheap Chinese Bowie knife purely for stabbing the turf and finding runs , worked for me , then I'd cut a square turf out cut the soil off and split it either side of the trap...that was the whole of my mole trapping technique tbh....

[comanche 2,909]

On 19/03/2022 at 08:22, Nicepix said:

I can't rationalise it. It isn't the old, wise moles or long standing residents. I have disproved that theory. It can't be trap type or placement. In December 2020 I had a rogue mole going under trap sites that had caught regularly and were still catching whilst this one went under everyting including traps in established fence line tunnels that had never, ever been blocked before. Can't be weather or soil conditions as other moles are often trapped around the rogues. There are a few moles that for whatever reason avoid traps yet happily negotiate tree roots, stones and other obstructions. Trap shy, metal shy, awkward call it what you want. But when it happens at a garden 60 miles away it isn't funny.

If you are looking for a solution check out the French Detaupeur. It is a small blank firing device that uses a starting gun cartridge to fire a shock wave into the  mole tunnel as the mole passes through. My neighbour has a home made device, basically a  cut down .410 chamber and the village handyman sells home made ones that use empty 12g cartridges, but I wouldn't reccomend going down that route. 

I've seen those I.E.Ds in use in a Sussex garden!  The owner had sneaked them back from his second home in France. 

Me: "What's that thing that looks like a mini submarine sticking out of the ground?"

Customer: "Oh sorry,  l should've warned you  . It's a mole bomb."

 

[Nicepix 5,650]

Perforated ear drums are not unknown amongst those who have used them.

When I first started up I used to get them offered to me by those who had tried and failed along with plastic Beagle traps,crappy Dufus traps and various sorts of useless scissor traps. But the biggest expenditure of the moling amateur were ultrasound devices. I was offered dozens of the useless things in my first couple of years. I think they were just trying to get rid of their embarassment.

[OldPhil 5,654]

I once went to a large garden and the owner must have purchased twenty or more 'Sonic Mole Repellers'...

He must have shopped around, because there were several different types...

They were emitting various hums and amazing whirring sounds..

His garden looked like Santa's Fairy Grotto!

The worst thing about these useless items is,...you have to be very successful in order to pay for the customer's idiocy and  expensive financial outlay,...

The client rarely admits to his costly folly, and invariably states, "Oh we are fairly pleased with them"..

 I often think,. "Really ,...then what the feck am I doing here?"

[Ken's Deputy 4,459]

20 minutes ago, OldPhil said:

I often think,. "Really ,...then what the feck am I doing here?"

[Nicepix 5,650]

The strange thing is that often they are surrounded by mole hills. I reckon that worms are attracted to the devices and moles follow. 

[earth-thrower 493]

30 minutes ago, Nicepix said:

The strange thing is that often they are surrounded by mole hills. I reckon that worms are attracted to the devices and moles follow. 

Vibration or whatever,  definitely encourages prey movement. You only have to observe the amount of mole activity , along suitable stretches, of motorway/carriageway, verge, to confirm that.