another mole bites the dust !

[richie 1]

i had a phone call from a bloke on the phone saying he was having major problems with moles, the garden that im working is approx 2 acres that is surrounded by 12 acres of paddocks / rough land. i was taught to trap a while back but never had any reason to put it into practice, this was the perfect opportunity.

 

i arranged a visit to see for myself, i must of counted over 120 mole hills in the gardens & the paddocks. he explained that he had been using a local company to visit regulary & they had been gassing them & said he saw no real difference in the damage been caused.

 

i was put onto him by a friend of his & a customer of mine that i do regular rabbit control for. we agreed that i would start trapping the moles.

 

that afternoon i spent my time collapsing the mole hills with a rake so i knew on my next visit what areas were active.

 

i went back again & noitced that there were 7 new hills on the lawn so thought i would start here as this was the owners main concern.

 

so since my first visit ive accounted for 2 which were caught in tunnels 4 metres away from each other.

 

theres nothing like the feeling when you see a triggered trap.. i think im going to have my work cut out.

 

[stephen58 1]

Hi Richie well done I,ve got a simular job on the go moment and its turning into a nightmare and don,t laugh !!! it,s in the MOLE VALLEY in Surrey !!! between Dorking and Riegate in Surrey

[richie 1]

Hi Richie well done I,ve got a simular job on the go moment and its turning into a nightmare and don,t laugh !!! it,s in the MOLE VALLEY in Surrey !!! between Dorking and Riegate in Surrey

 

 

i take it you have your work cut out aswell ?

 

whats the situation ?

[trappa 518]

Well done mate, theres plenty of work out there.

[stephen58 1]

Hi Richie &Trappa ,got my work cut out , is taking the micky !!!! 290 acre stud farm for horse,s and I don,t mean donkey,s 50 k the cheapest nag! the problem is that the ground is a sandy/black loam & i,m having trouble in locating the tunnels, these runs are deep, no shallow runs on average 12 inches min: the land is slightly underduelating so only duffus traps can be used nearly threw the probe/ dibber in the hedge I;m starting to take this personally any help would be appriecate ( MOLEY aka Wayne ,how is the new job going ) the land is strictlty pasture never been under the plough so far I,ve only caught 2 moles any help/input would be greatly appriecated thanking you STEVE

[proper job 1]

Hi Richie &Trappa ,got my work cut out , is taking the micky !!!! 290 acre stud farm for horse,s and I don,t mean donkey,s 50 k the cheapest nag! the problem is that the ground is a sandy/black loam & i,m having trouble in locating the tunnels, these runs are deep, no shallow runs on average 12 inches min: the land is slightly underduelating so only duffus traps can be used nearly threw the probe/ dibber in the hedge I;m starting to take this personally any help would be appriecate ( MOLEY aka Wayne ,how is the new job going ) the land is strictlty pasture never been under the plough so far I,ve only caught 2 moles any help/input would be greatly appriecated thanking you STEVE

Try working closer to the heaps, unlikely for a mole to be pushing soil up a 12" vertical shaft, locate the runs as they come up near the heaps.

[stephen58 1]

Hi PJ,good shout managed to trap one as you said,but the tunnels/runs seem to go down at an angle a bleeding art of work to set the trap I,m am really getting annoyed with this job big time!! . The stud manager is having to move the horse,s out of the paddocks or stable them whislt I,m trapping each paddock, talk about rotate your traps we are rotating the horse,s ( good job the stud manager is a good pal ) thanks PJ best regards Steve

[Tyke 0]

Hi PJ,good shout managed to trap one as you said,but the tunnels/runs seem to go down at an angle a bleeding art of work to set the trap I,m am really getting annoyed with this job big time!! . The stud manager is having to move the horse,s out of the paddocks or stable them whislt I,m trapping each paddock, talk about rotate your traps we are rotating the horse,s ( good job the stud manager is a good pal ) thanks PJ best regards Steve

 

Is they post and rail fencing round the paddocks?

[moley 115]

Hi Richie &Trappa ,got my work cut out , is taking the micky !!!! 290 acre stud farm for horse,s and I don,t mean donkey,s 50 k the cheapest nag! the problem is that the ground is a sandy/black loam & i,m having trouble in locating the tunnels, these runs are deep, no shallow runs on average 12 inches min: the land is slightly underduelating so only duffus traps can be used nearly threw the probe/ dibber in the hedge I;m starting to take this personally any help would be appriecate ( MOLEY aka Wayne ,how is the new job going ) the land is strictlty pasture never been under the plough so far I,ve only caught 2 moles any help/input would be greatly appriecated thanking you STEVE

 

 

hi steve , new jobs on hold till 1st march cos of one thing or another, which is a bit of a bugger , but not long now

 

if the tunnels are so deep , then thats where you gotta set your traps , i hardly ever used to dig more that about 5 inches ,exept on cornland , dunno why the tunnels are so deep, follow a hill down til you find the level run and the tunnel going either way and set there , not the first choice because of all the extra work involved, but you will still catch ,if your having to rotate your trapping fields , get plenty of traps in and hit them hard, these things are so difficult to explain but easy to show

[stephen58 1]

Hi Tyke & Moley, hi Tyke there is only one area where the mole is active around the post/rails & he was nailed today! I know what you mean, nice & wet with the rain dripping off the rails, but most of the connecting runs are coming off the hedge rows. Hi Moley, thanks for your input , I,m going to try your idea/theory tomorrow ,hope the move/new job goes well. running total so far is 7!! but I think that there is another 12/15 to go yet!!! STEVE

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Well done mate, theres plenty of (mole) work out there.

 

 

Alright for you to say that!

[stephen58 1]

Hi Moley, tried your theory today seems you were correct,but my God did it take sometime to find the runs, have taken another 6 moles off today making a bakers dozen!! lets see what tomorrow ,s results are? best regards Steve

[moley 115]

Hi Moley, tried your theory today seems you were correct,but my God did it take sometime to find the runs, have taken another 6 moles off today making a bakers dozen!! lets see what tomorrow ,s results are? best regards Steve

 

 

[stephen58 1]

2+5 (running total so far =7) plus 6 today = 13 a bakers dozen ! sorry Moley could not resist that one ! you were right got out beyond the feed area,s and started probing around the runs were down to 6 inches ,this has been a pig of a job, still you have got to take the rough with the smooth, hope the move to your new home/job goes well best regards STEVE

[trappa 518]

Sometimes you get some really awkward jobs mate, and sometimes jobs go swimmingly. Other times you will have bad days and good days as opposed to jobs.

Just before that frost last week i set 140 traps over a couple of fields at one of my farms and caught a personal worst of 14 moles from them!! Then again, a bit back i set 25 traps at a local sports training field and caught 19 moles in one night- a great ratio!

Swings and roundabouts, al