Mole Traps

[GAM]

I have just purchased a box of 12 mole traps, is there any theories on commissioning them before use?

or is there a lot of tedious stories and myths?

 

[milkloss]

I have just purchased a box of 12 mole traps, is there any theories on commissioning them before use?

or is there a lot of tedious stories and myths?

All rubbish, crack on and get them in use. There's loads on here about it, the only thing is if tunnel traps then the trip will want straightening a bit to make it lighter.

 

[Farfrae]

http://www.walcotefarm.co.uk/molecatching/mole_catching.htm

 

[moletrappa]

Give them a rub over with soil GAM as you set them, that will suffice. And some traps are better for tweaking the trigger for a superior catch rate

 

[SilliamWhale]

This time last year it was a black art to me. But once you get going it gets quite easy to do as you get a good feel for the tunnels and freshest areas. I've found the least hassle way of getting success is to make sure you have plenty of traps to start. I started off with just three traps and its much better for your time to put a load more down all over because you are more likely to succeed and get a better feel for it - less of a chore when it works!

I've had best success with good quality tunnel traps - one thing I didn't do enough of early on was firming round the tunnel enough

 

[Paul E]

firming round the tunnel

Aha! a double entendre already!!!

 

[Bobthebuilder]

Aha! a double entendre already!!!

ah never managed 2 in 1 trap yet

 

[Old Boar]

I found the trick was making sure there was no light going down into the run after setting the trap. It takes a bit of careful tinkering but you soon get the idea - the least disturbance the better so go slow and careful. Oh, and if you are setting a number of traps, I found it necessary to draw a rough sketch of how many and where if I was doing more than one field at a time, otherwise you tend to run out of traps quite quickly...

 

[JD6920s]

I have just purchased a box of 12 mole traps, is there any theories on commissioning them before use?

or is there a lot of tedious stories and myths?

Use a stick or marker by each one, as it can be difficult to find them sometimes if you have several in one place, as said above a sketch/map is very useful, be sure to check them twice a day as if left too long with a mole in the badgers will dig them up and run off with your traps.

 

[milkloss]

Use a stick or marker by each one, as it can be difficult to find them sometimes if you have several in one place, as said above a sketch/map is very useful, be sure to check them twice a day as if left too long with a mole in the badgers will dig them up and run off with your traps.

I use a leccy fence post but be careful it doesn't catch the wind and deter the mole!

 

[Farmer996]

I'm not an expert but this is what I do: Flatten the hills so you can see where the new ones come up. Lay trap in tunnel between freshest hills (stick your finger down so you get an idea of direction). Tweak trigger to make it more sensitive. Push a stick across the top of the trap to stop any new soil lifting them out of the tunnel. Put a piece of wood over to block out light/hold stick down. Place sod of earth you dug out on top as a marker (if grass is short). Check daily or every other day and keep knocking tops off. Move traps to fresher areas if needs be. To make sure they are gone, stamp around to collapse tunnels so they get busy repairing them. Seems to work.

 

[GAM]

Great read, I remove the hills totally with a horse poo picker.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Use a stick or marker by each one, as it can be difficult to find them sometimes if you have several in one place, as said above a sketch/map is very useful, be sure to check them twice a day as if left too long with a mole in the badgers will dig them up and run off with your traps.

that happened to me, then checking the sheep while lambing, I found the trap sitting in the field!

 

[Exfarmer]

Be aware that setting them close to anywhere public can access , may mean losses of traps. Not sure. It f it is to animal rights people or just ones too tight to buy there own