Must be fall ... the Moles are back

[MossRoad]

Thanks. I really don't enjoy killing them. But they undermined my pool and I lost a lot of money and time repairing the damage, not just the pool liner, but the ground under it, the metal wall and the 12500 gallons of water that rushed through my garage when it burst! :laughing:

The first year I started trapping them, I got 29. The next 3-4 years I stopped counting when I got to 50 each year. Then it dropped to only 10-12 per year. Then I had none for a couple years. I just saw some activity last week and have put out my first traps of the year.

Now, this is on ONE acre of land. One stinking acre.... over 229 moles in five years. Just crazy. My neighbors started calling me Carl from Caddy Shack. :laughing:

 

[Western]

MossRoad
Great post.

X's 2

Moss, your the only guy that qualifies for a "moleskin" coat!!

if you go by the numbers caught. That would take ,lets see, about 1000:laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah, I thought about it. Seemed like a waste of an animal to toss it in the woods. However, shortly after I toss the carcasses they are gone. The circle of life, which is now probably egg shaped due to my mole trapping. :confused2:

Any of you ever feel the mole fur? It is crazy soft and very clean. You'd think it would be all dirty and such, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.

 

[niemeyjt]

Interesting photos - your moles have long tails - ours don't, just stubs.

I have caught three so far this year. I use a French tool called a détaupeur - Piége taupes et anti taupe - Détaupeur - Chasse, destruction taupes et rat taupier (it is in French, but video is self-explanatory). It can go in the mole hill, you do not need to put it in a run, and it uses the theory MossRoad mentioned that moles try to block holes that let in light.

A couple of other interesting things I was told - that moles work in four hour cycles - so in theory if you return to a mound four hours after it is made you may find mole activity beneath the hill (cue shot gun!). Also, they have a very good sense of smell, so you should wear gloves when setting traps to avoid the traps smelling of human!

Also, in older times around here they did use to skin the moles for clothing. You can still buy moleskin trousers - but now made from cotton.

J

 

[sixdogs]

Yeah, I thought about it. Seemed like a waste of an animal....... are gone. The circle of life, which is now probably egg shaped due to my mole trapping. ...
...

Great line.
I can see it now...at some genetics conference in the year 2075 with behaviorists unable to determine the cause
of a peculiar egg-shaped life cycle pattern related to mole populations in the early part of the century.
Despite millions spent, they remain stumped.


On the shotgun approach...I did --safely--fire a 12 ga slug into a small critter opening (vole?, mole?, mouse?) when
I did not know any better. It worked but this can be deadly unsafe for a number of reasons so don't do it.

 

[MossRoad]

Interesting photos - your moles have long tails - ours don't, just stubs.

I have caught three so far this year. I use a French tool called a d騁aupeur - Pi馮e taupes et anti taupe - D騁aupeur - Chasse, destruction taupes et rat taupier (it is in French, but video is self-explanatory). It can go in the mole hill, you do not need to put it in a run, and it uses the theory MossRoad mentioned that moles try to block holes that let in light.

A couple of other interesting things I was told - that moles work in four hour cycles - so in theory if you return to a mound four hours after it is made you may find mole activity beneath the hill (cue shot gun!). Also, they have a very good sense of smell, so you should wear gloves when setting traps to avoid the traps smelling of human!

Also, in older times around here they did use to skin the moles for clothing. You can still buy moleskin trousers - but now made from cotton.

J

Geez, that French thing looks like it uses some kind of nuclear powered laser beam device. What does it do, electrocute them?

 

[niemeyjt]

Geez, that French thing looks like it uses some kind of nuclear powered laser beam device. What does it do, electrocute them?

What appear to be a laser beam in the video is just showing how to align the controller.

It has three parts - the red charge which is basically an electrically detonated banger about an inch long with two wires, a plunger and the control box which is basically a switch operated by the plunger and batteries, with safety system.

The charge is fed down the hole. The controller lined up and connected to the two wires from the charge. The plunger is then put down hole and connected to controller. Lift the lid of controller and set the switch to arm (if you lift the lid when armed the switch is sprung loaded back to safety - a nice safety touch).

I had one in front lawn and was in house when it went off. It sounded like someone had fired a shotgun outside the door. A plume of smoke came out of the hole. The shockwave kills the mole - if you dig up the body it is intact - maybe with a bit of bleeding from the nose.

J

 

[MossRoad]

What appear to be a laser beam in the video is just showing how to align the controller.

It has three parts - the red charge which is basically an electrically detonated banger about an inch long with two wires, a plunger and the control box which is basically a switch operated by the plunger and batteries, with safety system.

The charge is fed down the hole. The controller lined up and connected to the two wires from the charge. The plunger is then put down hole and connected to controller. Lift the lid of controller and set the switch to arm (if you lift the lid when armed the switch is sprung loaded back to safety - a nice safety touch).

I had one in front lawn and was in house when it went off. It sounded like someone had fired a shotgun outside the door. A plume of smoke came out of the hole. The shockwave kills the mole - if you dig up the body it is intact - maybe with a bit of bleeding from the nose.

J

My guess is that something like that is most likely illegal in the U.S. :laughing: