Moles

[neilo]

Must find the rest of my traps, somone forgot about them last year. Found them with the pasture topper tho

I’ve always found they work better if you set them below ground.

 

[MRT]

I’ve always found they work better if you set them below ground.

You need to set your topper lower to get the best quality regrowth

 

[ARW]

I've caught 6 in tunnel traps over the last 3 weeks. Check every other day. I agree that once they fill with soil...the problem continues. I find the runs with a tent peg. I spotted one yesterday coming up into one of his mounds....wish I had a gun then.
What do people do with the old dried up mole hills??? All I have is a rake so the nephew is gonna be busy!

I lift the field gate off it’s hinges and drag it round the field with the pickup to level the hills then I set traps a day or so later

 

[Lili]

From what I've read the moles virtually always start off tunneling from a hedge or fence line and work in four hour shifts. Anybody know if they always go back to hedge at the end of each four hours?

Theres something rumbling round in my memory about shooting moles and tide times? Are they supposed to be most active at high tide? (old wives tale?)

 

[Pistonbroke]

I've trained the kids to kick em flat every time we walk through the fields.
Must find the rest of my traps, somone forgot about them last year. Found them with the pasture topper tho

Brother laid a load of traps and put electric fence posts to mark them. Kids went round the sheep next day and thought the posts were left by mistake and it was a good idea to bring them home

 

[hendrebc]

Forgive me if I’m telling Grandma how to suck eggs, but Talpex traps are designed to work in the soil, so you fill it with loose soil yourself, then Mr Moley pushes/digs through it thinking it’s a collapsed run, triggering the trap.

I got on really well with them when I first tried them, but find duffus traps more reliable now. I save the Talpex & Puttange traps for those that have learnt to fill the duffus traps.

I have to confess that I’ve had a mole man in as well for the last 2 years, trying to get on top of where I’ve not been anywhere near active enough. He had 250 last year, and another 189 this winter! That’s on top of the 60 or so I tidied up behind him too.
He’s cleared the bulk of the bad areas now, so I just need to keep on top of them properly again.

Thanks for the tip about filling the talpex traps with loose soil.
I've got 2 and have had them set the last couple of days and caught 3 moles in them. Caught a lot of soil and one mole in my half barrel traps and remembered why scissor traps are a waste of time
Puts me at 10 for the year so far with what I've shot. Might go and buy some more talpex traps tomorrow.

 

[No wot]

My old collie dog would stalk mole hills on fields around the farmyard and catch moles then bring them back and drop them on the house drive , initially we couldn't understand where they were coming from , until my wife spotted the old dog out of the kitchen window , unfortunately not with us anymore (the dog)

 

[milkloss]

Theres something rumbling round in my memory about shooting moles and tide times? Are they supposed to be most active at high tide? (old wives tale?)

Interesting, if I get the chance I'll look into that.

 

[little_p]

Interesting, if I get the chance I'll look into that.

An old fella that I used to know used to say something similar (although I'm sure he used to say that it used to adjust by 4 minutes each day). I'd be interested to hear if you managed to find anything out.

 

[andybk]

Just been trying out the french Putange traps ,after digging them out from under the seat of my truck i bought a few years back lol , brilliant , had one straight away , a bit of care getting the trigger string the right length ,and a 8" nail to hold them in place , easy to use as mole hardly needs to enter the trap ,can even stick them down the mole hills , some good videos on youtube were very helpful

 

[farmerm]

Got fed up of moles filling up traps so have been gassing ours with the lawnmower...

Lawnmower looks to have done a good job, certainly far fewer heaving at the moment.

 

[Hilly]

Just caught 30 this week, this place is unbelievable for moles , I’ve caught thousands over the years I had 2 mole catchers both say they catch more moles on my farm than any other farm the trap on, they honest mole men as well always leave moles with the farmer,

 

[Bill dog]

You must have nice soil @Hilly to entertain so many moles!
With the amount of stones on this place, their claws are razor blade sharp! Digging for their runs is a pita, never mind the miles they dig !

 

[Hilly]

You must have nice soil @Hilly to entertain so many moles!
With the amount of stones on this place, their claws are razor blade sharp! Digging for their runs is a pita, never mind the miles they dig !

My neighbour who has resided up here twice as long as me was saying my place has always been a mole magnet I don’t know how they get here ! We always trapping them .

 

[Breakthru]

Try putting propane gas down the hole. Secret is lighting it without getting burnt or covered in earth. There are professional versions. You get a mixture of gassing the beggar or blowing his #ss off. Bonus is the runs collapse so they have to start again. I am lucky and like the old dog have a cat that waits for them to surface and catches them. You can always tell as the top of the hill is levelled. Don't know what he does with the bodies, eats them ???

 

[Forkdriver]

Try putting propane gas down the hole. Secret is lighting it without getting burnt or covered in earth. There are professional versions. You get a mixture of gassing the beggar or blowing his #ss off. Bonus is the runs collapse so they have to start again. I am lucky and like the old dog have a cat that waits for them to surface and catches them. You can always tell as the top of the hill is levelled. Don't know what he does with the bodies, eats them ???

I believe the rodinator, was illegal now. What a about phostoxin? Is this still available for use?

 

[AftonShepherd]

Try putting propane gas down the hole. Secret is lighting it without getting burnt or covered in earth. There are professional versions. You get a mixture of gassing the beggar or blowing his #ss off. Bonus is the runs collapse so they have to start again. I am lucky and like the old dog have a cat that waits for them to surface and catches them. You can always tell as the top of the hill is levelled. Don't know what he does with the bodies, eats them ???

I had a cat used to catch an odd one and we'd see him carrying them about. I mentioned once at a night out that he ate them (I assumed) and two old herds both said they'd known cats that would catch moles but were adamant they wouldn't eat them. Not sure if it's true - don't think current moggy has ever caught any.

 

[Breakthru]

I had a cat used to catch an odd one and we'd see him carrying them about. I mentioned once at a night out that he ate them (I assumed) and two old herds both said they'd known cats that would catch moles but were adamant they wouldn't eat them. Not sure if it's true - don't think current moggy has ever caught any.

I thought the same but never find a body.

 

[neilo]

I believe the rodinator, was illegal now. What a about phostoxin? Is this still available for use?

It was always illegal if you didn’t empty the runs first...

Iirc Phostoxin is still available, but need a training certificate to be able to buy it, and crazy expensive now.

 

[Breakthru]

I believe the rodinator, was illegal now. What a about phostoxin? Is this still available for use?

That's the one. Best version was the one with the remote ignition. You just need to set up an ignition system or be brave. The art is the amount of gas. Don't do the same as the boys blowing the ATM's up where they blew the front off the shop and one snuffed it. As was stated in the cowboy film, you were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off.