Just ordered some of these traps to use around the house had mole problems last year and already seeing some signs this year. My question is do I need to do anything with these traps like tuning them up or coating/painting them or are they good to go out of the box.
I'd also like to say thanks to Steve you have a pretty informative website and it seems like your traps should work well just wanted to know if I needed to do anything with them before I plant them.

All I do is attach a cable lanyard to them just to stake them down. But they are pretty awesome right out of the box

Are you seriously staking down your traps ?
Are we talking about OOS TRAPS ?

Staking them down with flags. Really just so I know where they are more than to to hold them in place

So what's the secret to stoping the lawn guy from removing your flags

3/8" Rebar stakes

MikeD

I work it out with the home owner to were I pull my traps/flags the night before the lawn guys come.

LT,they are talking about the trap line traps. You really should stake them down or eventually a skin or leg caught mole or gopher will drag your trap off.

I trap a lot of moles and I have been using Trapline products traps since Steve first made them for moles. Never staked a single one of em and never had a mole drag one away.

Thanks for the responses so no one paints or coats these traps just set them as is?

I wouldn't paint them or coat them, as they are stainless steel, so they won't rust and thus don't need any coating. Also the paint might gum up the trigger contact points and make the trigger action less smooth.

The tethers are more important for gophers than for moles, Nic is right that moles almost never drag the traps off, but gophers definitely can. The tether also helps to find the trap faster when you dig it up.

There is no reason to paint or coat a stainless trap.

As for tethers, I would be less concerned about the prey than the predator. I've had several dragged off by dogs, cats, and foxes that would have otherwise disappeared if the tethered traps hadn't acted like a drag and tangled in nearby weeds. Occasionally, I'll catch a mole by his foot or heinie, and he'll be above ground, but anchored.

After losing at least a dozen one day to myopic groundskeepers, I took the advice of several members here and use paint at certain high-risk sites. Problem solved. The rebar suggestion is only valid if you hate repeat business.

Trapline traps ? That's a brand name, right ?
Or do you mean a longspring ?

Try this link- http://www.traplineproducts.com/

My bad

Got the traps in the mail yesterday afternoon set them out and this was waiting for me this morning.

Two out of six ain't too bad for a no account coon trapper. How many can I expect to catch out of my yard? They're somewhat territorial aren't they? Do they hang out in family groups? There seems to be three groups in the yard now hopefully I'll pinch a few more before my luck runs dry
Thanks

Are those Hairy-tailed Moles (Parascalops breweri)? I haven’t seen any moles like that down here.

Yes They are hairy-tailed moles the eastern and starnose are usually found in the eastern part of the state (WV)

Thanks for the reply. We don't have Star-nosed moles either. It is interesting to see the various critters we deal with.