30-6 Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Recently i was asked by my farmer friend ( who i trap moles for as a hobby / excercise ) to trap some for a local smallholding who he is friendly with. I am not a profesional, only learnt by experience and reading books and asking questions but take 100 + per year. Anyway, goes to this place and the garden is riddled with mole runs, set 7 traps and caught 1 mole. When i was checking these traps, a mole was working away so i reset the 7 traps and then had another 3 moles, so that is 4 total from a relatively small area all tunnels interlinked. No more mole activity so far. The owner asked me to do the paddock next to the garden, first setting of 7 traps give 5 moles. So 9 moles total from 2 sets of runs. There is a funny story to this, in the paddock were 2 goats which uprooted my marker pegs and decided to eat the plastic red and white hazard warning tape i use on them ( like you see on scaffolding poles ), 7 markers with 4 x 9 inch strips on each = 7 yards of tape. But they looked ok and the owner wasn't worried. They were over the moon at the catch and told me to come and shoot the rats and squirrels whenever i wanted. Word got to the neighbours and another garden with 2 moles accounted for in 7 traps. So to my question, only once before have i had "multiple" moles from the same runs at the same time, about this time of year, so are these offspring which haven't moved out yet ?, as i think mating is over know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 Yep. Sometimes when the young do "leave home" (or an adult that has been disturbed/looking at increasing its territory) you'll see what are called (wrongly as it happens but why spoil a good tale!) "traces d'amour" which look like a humped shallow tunnel. If you're not already using some, this is where a Duffus comes into its own. Really hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs. Exactly what you describe about learning was me over 30 years ago. Got forced into retirement a little before I was financially ready so used this skill as a business - kept it to smallish domestics (not only by choice as I'm somewhat knadgered) - and no one ever complained about paying £40 to have a mole caught. Few big cards printed to display in garden centres and business cards as you do - leave some in estate agents, that can be a nice little earner - and with very little effort, your hobby/exercise more than pays for your ammo, fuel, etc, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 I was shown how to go on by an old mate of mine who trapped moles for a farmer and on playing fields. He reckoned that moles mostly lived alone. Their runs occassionally intersected by accident, but along hedge lines and where they went for drinking water there were common tunnels used by several moles. He would often take several moles over a few days in the same trap from those areas. I've just taken on the role of honoury mole catcher for the chateau / farm estate where we have rented a cottage. There is over 250 hectares of pasture and cereals :o There are few proper hedge lines as the fields are so large and bordered by wire, but a lot of the runs seem to merge near the edge of streams, wet areas and under trees where the soil is richer in worms. My biggest problem is that the only mole traps available in France are hopeless for the purpose. I have had to re-shape them and file away the trigger plate to make them something like. They are still poor compared to the traps used by my mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Sounds like a quick order for Amazon - they call them "tunnel" and not Duffus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Sounds like a quick order for Amazon - they call them "tunnel" and not Duffus. Thanks, but it's a bit more complex that that. Amazon.fr only do the useless ones and there is nothing on eBay.fr suitable. I sense a business opportunity once I can establish a supply. The English owner of the chateau and estate rents the farm to another English family who in turn rent the cottage to little wife and myself. I was given four French traps bought by the farmers. These are universally available all over France in garden stores. The traps, even when tweaked are next to hopeless. Alan, the patron, comes every few weeks for short holidays and I have put in an order for 3 tunnel traps, 2 scissor traps and one of those designed to spike the crafty moles that shovel earth into the traps. Hopefully he will bring them from England in the next couple of weeks. If these prove significantly better than the French ones I will know that it is the traps and not me that is at fault, and I can maybe make a few bob selling English traps or trapping oter people's moles. I have been getting a few moles in the traps, but it is hard going. A lot tunnel under the traps and fill them with earth. I reckon this is down to the shape of the gates in the trap and the soft sandy soil in some parts of the estate making it too easy for them to go round the traps. In other parts I have a different problem. The moles go down about 2 feet before levelling off. When I can find a decent run in that depth I usually get a result as the soil is more compacted. Incidentally, the last guy who tried also experienced difficulties with moles pushing up the traps, and on one occassion the whole trap had been dug out by a fox or boar and carried off. He gave up after that I peg my shallow traps down using chain and sheep fence poles but have not had any attempted thefts yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Ah, yep, I obviously looked at Amazon UK. If you do want a supplier, I've never used them - Humane Traps (now retired) were on my doorstep - try ironmongeryonline. He he, by the sound of it, you're going to need a few dozen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted May 27, 2012 Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 New traps arrived 10am yesterday morning. Mole in one of them by 8am this morning! Looking good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 Managed to clear out one corner of one field using the new traps. Caught more moles in one week than in the previous two months. Just shows the difference that the type of trap can make. Only another 299 hectares to go................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30-6 Posted June 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 A book titled Mole Catching - a practical guide by Jeff Nicholls (Amazon) is a wealth of information and well worth the £12 or so. I by the way use tunnel traps from Flatpack (with a bit of tweaking) mainly, together with a few talpax types and also a couple of no-mols type (google them) which are good if you have a run where you have trouble setting a normal trap eg single hole coming from under a stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 It's the tunnel traps that seem to be working best for me. I've had a 100% success rate so far with those. Shame I only have three at the moment. The claw traps are a bit hit and miss. I think they need a bit more bending and grinding to fit the runs better. I've ordered another half dozen tunnel traps. Now that the farmer has seen that they work he has actually opened his wallet again The No-Mols type of traps are widely available here. They sell at around 3.50 Euro and are basically one half of the traps I had been using with limited success. There are some really deep runs in one area of the farm near to the river. The ground has granite rocks and is really difficult to probe and dig. I had considered using one of those traps in the mole hills, but have found some sandy areas where they go for water that will be better for tunnel traps. That is my next project. Over here in France the sell a device called an Anti-Taupe (taupe is the French word for moles). It is a probe with two fine wires that you insert into the mole hill tunnel. When the mole brushes against the wires it makes an electrical contact that in turn fires a small explosive discharge, about the same as a 9mm blank. The shock from the explosion stuns and kills the mole. They retail in garden centres at 79 Euros and the charges or Petards cost around 4 Euros each. Great for small gardens and paddocks but too expensive for larger scale operations. They are a bit more lax about firearms legislation over here. Can't see B&Q doing them. There is some good information on this web site:- Walcote Farm Mole Catching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 Which make (type) of tunnel traps are you using ? I have a friend in Northern Spain who has problems with moles and despite buying local claw traps is having no success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted June 3, 2012 Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 Which make (type) of tunnel traps are you using ? I have a friend in Northern Spain who has problems with moles and despite buying local claw traps is having no success. Search eBay for these: 3 Pack STV 152 Mole Tunnel Trap Fast Quick Easy Kill Heavy Duty Steel £11.99 for three traps plus £1.99 for international postage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted June 4, 2012 Report Share Posted June 4, 2012 Thanks for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 I've just about cleared up one of the pastures where moles had been a problem, all except one crafty little sod who lives in a run in a linear depression of an underground watercourse near to the field edge. While all around him have been succumbing to the traps he has undermined the tunnel trap every day this week. The ground is still relatively soft after all the rain we've had. Each morning and evening I visit the traps and find this particular mole has shoved the trap up every time. Each time I clear the tunnel and lower it before re-setting the trap and replacing it. We are now into gravel and it hurts my hands and fingers to clear the tunnel. How he digs through it is incredible. This morning I re-tuned the trap triggers and set them as light as I dared. Once the trap had been placed in situ I released the tension on the springs and eased the triggers onto the last 1mm of travel. It was so light if a mouse had ****** in the next village the trap would have gone off. I went back about an hour since and found the trap had been sprung, but with one end lifted and fresh soil showing. The trap felt heavy. Reason being that my little opponent had been trapped - finally! The 100% record remains Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignoel Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Sounds like a quick order for Amazon - they call them "tunnel" and not Duffus. duffus are the original tunnel traps and there are loads of copys around ,and watch your fingers on the copys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Shouldn't have your fingers anywhere near the trap wires. There's no need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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