Anybody use a Molecat?

[Pilot]

Saw this gadget, a "Molecat" at a home & garden show yesterday: MoleCat Headquarters

It is kind of like a set gun designed specifically for killing moles, but it uses blanks instead of bullets. They claim the concussion kills the moles.

Set guns are generally illegal, but since this doesn't fire a bullet I'm guessing it's OK.

Looks like a neat idea, but I'm not sure I want to shell out $70 without finding out if it really works.

 

[MossRoad]

I hope you are not going to spend $70.00 on a mile killer!

I haven't set any traps this year, last year I only killed 12, the 4-5 years before that I killed over 50 each year... on my one acre parcel... with the Victor Out O Sight mole trap.

They are about ten bucks!

Victor Out O' Sight® Mole Trap - 0631 at The Home Depot

Read this guy's web page regarding mole problems.

Mole control

 

[Pilot]

Thanks for the reference. I have used that trap with very little success and dug up the lawn worse than the moles when setting the traps. Will see if those instructions help.

The thing I liked about the Molecat idea is you only open up the hole enough to set the device, which is about the same diameter as the tunnel. So no digging up the lawn to get the trap down into the tunnel, you just open up the hole and set the gun just below the surface. When the mole pushes the dirt out again, "bang!" you got'em--IF it works as advertised.

 

[MossRoad]

I think the main mistakes people make when trapping moles (and I'm not saying you do this) are:

1. Trapping mole hills.
2. Trapping feeding runs.

Mole hills are at the end of the tunnel. The mole pushes the dirt up and out. That sets the trap off without the mole going through the trap.

Feeder runs are shallow tunnels that are very hard to trap as you never know when the mole will use it again. You can identify feeder runs as they look like wrinkled carpet.

The best place to trap moles is in their main runs. These are usually deeper, well established tunnels. These main runs connect mole living quarters with mole feeding areas. Stomp your heal down across a tunnel to close it. Check it morning and evening. If it gets popped back up, place a trap there. When I had the huge numbers of moles, I would trap the center of my property and work my way out along the main tunnels. I could usually manage to get to a point where I only had to trap the perimeter where the moles entered my property from neighboring properties. At the peak I was running 5 Out O' Sight traps and would frequently get two moles in the same tunnel within a couple hours of each other.

Just follow that second link I gave you to The Mole Man's sight and read the entire thing. It is a real education about these fascinating, yet sometimes destructive little creatures.

Moleman

 

[MossRoad]

Here is a link to a thread I started over on CountryByNet.com a few years ago. In it you will find step by step pictures of how to set the Victor Out O' Sight trap. Hope this helps.

Mole trap setting.

 

[turbo36]

I hope you are not going to spend $70.00 on a mile killer!

I haven't set any traps this year, last year I only killed 12, the 4-5 years before that I killed over 50 each year... on my one acre parcel... with the Victor Out O Sight mole trap.

They are about ten bucks!

Victor Out O' Sightｮ Mole Trap - 0631 at The Home Depot

Read this guy's web page regarding mole problems.

Mole control

These things really do work well once you learn how to set them. I'm surrounded by heavy woods so it is hard for me to find the mains but once I do I follow them back and mark them with the little flags used for marking irrigation systems. After awhile a "use" pattern will emerge and make the trap placement easier.
My wife laughs when I get home and tell her "honey, I have to go run the trap lines".

 

[MossRoad]

When I first see signs of activity in the spring I run out and set the traps. As I am doing this, the neighbors are usually out on their back porch watching me. I always pump my fist in the air and exclaim "OPENING DAY! WHO WHO WHO!!!"

 

[Sodo]

Good lord, 2008!
But the title is good.

Anybody using the Molecat?
Success?

 

[MossRoad]

Not me, but my trap line of 6 Victor Out O Sight traps are ready and waiting for the first signs of activity.

 

[Sodo]

hmmmm.... title is not as good as one might think.