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Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5522249
05/13/16 09:46 PM
05/13/16 09:46 PM
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 30
Erie, PA
SifordOutdoorZ Offline
trapper
SifordOutdoorZ  Offline
trapper

Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 30
Erie, PA
A job I did last week at a home I caught two star nosed. Set up a new house yesterday and caught an eastern today. Homes were less than a mile away didn't know the star nosed where that common pretty cool stuff all with the no mols. Be intrested to try the other two brands. Learning a lot about trapping the little fellers it's like blind setting for a coon almost if ya find a good trail.


Sifords Wildlife Services
Re: mole traps [Re: Page] #5524552
05/16/16 11:22 AM
05/16/16 11:22 AM
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 733
Schenectady, NY
E
EatenByLimestone Offline
trapper
EatenByLimestone  Offline
trapper
E

Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 733
Schenectady, NY
Originally Posted By: Page
I picked up some Albanos this year but am having a hard time. Think my problem is location g the right tunnel. I'm open for suggestions if you have any. On the upside, I have had luck stand8ng in the yard drinking coffee and shooting them with a 9mm laugh


When I teach somebody I use a parable with highways and neighborhoods. The highways are straight and connect the areas of spaghetti like residential feeding tunnels. There is a lot more traffic on the highways. Check along the edge of driveways, foundations, retaining walls, etc when in doubt.

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5531094
05/23/16 11:22 AM
05/23/16 11:22 AM
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 31
ne iowa
C
colt6shooter Offline
trapper
colt6shooter  Offline
trapper
C

Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 31
ne iowa
This is the first year I need to trap moles on my property. I don't know what happened, but they are all over the place.
I caught 8 of them in the last few days. Some times I set a trap and in 20 minutes I have one. But I have yet to catch
a second one in the same run. Are they that territorial, or can they smell the kill area on the trap? Seems like I set on
fresh sign I have one, and then the area goes dead. I haven't cleaned my traps after a kill, but if I move them to a fresh
area they seem to work fine.

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5531756
05/24/16 08:28 AM
05/24/16 08:28 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,514
Woodhull, Illinois 77
J
Jim Bethell Offline
trapper
Jim Bethell  Offline
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J

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,514
Woodhull, Illinois 77
IMO the smell of a dead mole does not scare others away. Moles are very territorial. The only time I catch more than one in a run is when the young have not let home yet.

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5531785
05/24/16 09:09 AM
05/24/16 09:09 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
B
Bob Jameson Offline
trapper
Bob Jameson  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
I haven't found any evidence at least in my part of the country that a mole is repelled by the smell of another mole killed in a trap. Just another wives tale as far as I am concerned.

I guess I will play the spoiler here. I have caught 18 moles in a developing dead end mole tunnel (in the same traps) that was just being advanced from a wooded area into my lawn where it became visible in just 9 days. This particular run was very close to our facility so it was an easy check being located in a convenient location. That gives you an idea of how connected that particular run was to another series of other mole tunnel networks.

I checked the one trap two or three times a day if I was working in the shop all day. Some days I caught 3 in a day. Some days no catch then when I worked service calls I checked am and pm then it was 2 a day pretty consistently. I have since pulled the trap however I have seen lately it is showing signs of activity once again.

I have learned so much about moles and their tunnel network systems. The longer they are left alone to do what they do the more significant their networks become. I use to think they were very territorial animals many years ago. But now I have found that they regularly patrol through the many intersecting and over lapping networks of other moles as well. If they didn't I wouldn't be catching the numbers I have in the same set ups. Some are very high traffic tunnels others are less frequented.

It could be due to their population increases it has caused them to adapt to a more social and tolerant behavior. Doesn't surprise me. Just another evolutionary process that may be occurring.

I have other traditional set ups at my place with two traps per location ( Albano ) that I have caught 30 plus moles in the same trap set location never moved for a few weeks. Lots of doubles.

Not to shock any of you but as of yesterday I have caught 164 moles in my lawn since early March. It is about 3 acres in size.I catch 3-8 daily. I had pulled out for a week or so earlier this spring because I needed more traps for commercial work. Then after I closed some jobs I reset some key areas that I noticed while mowing that needed some population control. They just keep coming...

I have been considering having a professional mole control training seminar next year to be held on my property. I couldn't think of a better location for such a program. We will not be accepting any attendees within 150 mile radius of our base of operations or any known corporate representatives or affiliates.

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5531992
05/24/16 02:21 PM
05/24/16 02:21 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
TRapper Offline
trapper
TRapper  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
bob...your population is extremely different than what we have here...i have caught over 9000 moles in my career and the average of 3-5 moles per acre is the norm...rarely do i exceed that and the way it has been this year i am taking 2-3 moles out of a 1 acre lawn and no more damage comes in for a few months....

What surprises me about Pennsylvania is that the mole pop where you are is vastly different than where rick shadel is

Just night and day difference between your moles where you are and the moles i deal with here

I do one on one instruction here for guys that want to learn moles...the last 2 been from ohio and kentucky and their mole population is similar to mine....i really wonder if you have a different subspecies of the eastern mole

Last edited by TRapper; 05/24/16 02:23 PM.
Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5532043
05/24/16 03:24 PM
05/24/16 03:24 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
B
Bob Jameson Offline
trapper
Bob Jameson  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
I have seen our mole numbers spike the previous 17 yr. Cicada hatch also as I believe I mentioned on another post. I just hit 527 moles for 11 weeks as of today and I haven't checked my lawn yet today. I will probably have another 3-5 out of 11 location set ups.

Last 10 days I caught 122 from 6 residential jobs. Most of these jobs have had mole activity for many years. This you can determine by how extensive the tunnel networks are by reading the sign.

Most have neighboring properties infested as well and many with woods bordering their property on one side or 3 sides in some cases. The woods around my lawn area is a significant nursery area for moles. There are mounds and tunnels through out the woods. I am surrounded on all sides so I have no barriers for any deterrents.

Josh, if I set my place on all the primary lead runs feeding my lawn I would conservatively guess I could harvest 25 to 30 plus moles on one 24 hour check. Then probably 15 to 20 a day for a while. That would be on top of my previous catch to date. With our very rainy spring we are getting aggressive mole tunnel activity in our region as well as new tunnel network advancement.

I don't know how many locations everyone else sets as that will vary per lawn or area. However, here I set 20 > 50 set ups on an avg. per job. That is 40-100 plus traps per job. 2 traps per set up. I get several doubles daily and some cannibalism on a few moles if I go beyond a 1 day check. I check daily or I get too many dig under my catches and missed catches.

I am not catching as many shrews this year. I think they are gorging themselves on the Cicadas as well so they aren't in the mole tunnels as much.

I have gone to digging extra artificial mole tunnels off of a primary run at a 45 degree angle about 10 inches or so and set one extra trap or two on each side of the main tunnels and just set one trap facing the primary tunnel so when the mole goes in to investigate the new run its caught well off the primary tunnel and leaves the primary travel lane open to the other traps.

With the mole traffic I have here I catch 4 off the primary runs occasionally on one check. 2 traveling from each direction. That makes a fella smile when things come together like that. This usually happens the 1st or 2nd check in most cases. Typically I will run 2 day checks on jobs set up like this and I know I will get good traffic there.

Mole trapping is work here if you do it right to cover all the potential routes and new break in areas. Population reduction is much faster as well.

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5532083
05/24/16 04:19 PM
05/24/16 04:19 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,309
East Ohio
Jeff Offline
trapper
Jeff  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,309
East Ohio
Bob,i been catching a lot more moles this year also out of my yard...57 so far...best before that was 32 and all of them in main tunnels from the woods line coming in.
I did a yard a few weeks ago that was 1/2 acre and caught 35 out of it...I would have guessed 10 to 15 would have been it, doubles a lot.
So far since March-18 i'am over 400 moles,all are Eastern Hairy Tailed Moles, that what we have here.
I also set about the way you said you do between 20 to 50 sets, I like to hit them hard right off the bat. Some of the well defined highways I may put 2 sets/4 traps in the 1 run.
Seems to me in the last 3 to 5 years they have really been increasing in #'s.


Speedy Catch Wildlife Service

Member OSTA-NTA-NRA

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5532195
05/24/16 06:41 PM
05/24/16 06:41 PM
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 733
Schenectady, NY
E
EatenByLimestone Offline
trapper
EatenByLimestone  Offline
trapper
E

Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 733
Schenectady, NY
Have similar numbers as trapper. Most of my lawns have between 1 and 3 moles. Then all activity stops.


We extend out the trapping service as sometimes after you get the initial crop of moles ones from neighboring properties make a beeline in.

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5532399
05/24/16 09:29 PM
05/24/16 09:29 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 71
culloden ga
B
bdrooks Offline OP
trapper
bdrooks  Offline OP
trapper
B

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 71
culloden ga
i really wish we had moles down here in the numbers you fellers have up north. the most I have got out of one yard here is 9. after that everything quit for a while.


if it walks swims or flies im after it
Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5532430
05/24/16 09:42 PM
05/24/16 09:42 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
B
Bob Jameson Offline
trapper
Bob Jameson  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
Actually having the populations that we have can present you with some challenges. Due to the high fringe and periphery mole population you will get migration filling in vacant networks that were voided at one point by your trapping program.

Trying to make a consumer understand this important fact can be problematic with some. Insinuating that you didn't do your job.

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5532546
05/24/16 11:03 PM
05/24/16 11:03 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 71
culloden ga
B
bdrooks Offline OP
trapper
bdrooks  Offline OP
trapper
B

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 71
culloden ga
I reckon it would be like the armadillos down here. you can catch whats there now and give it a month or so and more move back in. the key like you said is making the customer understand that when these are gone it just opens up there yard for more to move in. I have a few properties ( 300 to 600 acres ) that are eat up with armadillos. have them on a contract. 7 to 10 days trapping each month. we usually trap between 5 and 15 each month but this month we have caught 31 in 10 days. lots of young ones.


if it walks swims or flies im after it
Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5532684
05/25/16 07:33 AM
05/25/16 07:33 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
TRapper Offline
trapper
TRapper  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
Here it is only eastern moles....not the eastern hairy tailed mole....i knew there was a difference...i am betting largely that is why your moles are more communal

I have customers set up on a per mole basis but no set up fee...i have ALOT of repeat business with mole customers and when i go in those yards i cleaned out before...i catch one to three more then done for awhile again...most of my customers are on the edge of timbers

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5532691
05/25/16 07:41 AM
05/25/16 07:41 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
TRapper Offline
trapper
TRapper  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
For an example of damage to mole ratio


Golf course i trap....caught 2 moles here and damage stopped...both moles were caught opposite ends. I havent had new activity since there in 3 months


3 moles here in this country 1 acre yard on first check...been 2 months..no more new activity

Last edited by TRapper; 05/25/16 07:45 AM.
Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5532730
05/25/16 08:25 AM
05/25/16 08:25 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
B
Bob Jameson Offline
trapper
Bob Jameson  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
If I would charge a per mole fee I would be a wealthy man smile.

I do get the rare occasional job that I only catch one mole and the client insists there must be more. However, 2-3 checks later with no more catches and no more visible activity you know the property is clean until the next invader. Just how it goes with mole behavior.

We all know how much damage and tracking one mole can do if it is left to its own devices unrestricted to go about their business. Then add that daily behavior to a couple of years of tunneling and digging deeper runs with resulting mounding etc. and you can accumulate quite a bit of damage that the avg. consumer doesn't really comprehend very well.

Josh you can move up here seasonally and sell your per mole fee on your jobs, get rich and move back home to clean up what you have there later in the season. You would have to sell your O/S traps and convert to Albano traps because you wouldn't have enough room in your truck to carry all the traps you would need to set up your jobs. grin I can carry a few hundred Albano traps in 2 - 5 gallon buckets with very little space and weight. Plenty to do 3 - 4 jobs a day.

If you were taught my system you would sell all your O/S traps and it would open your eyes.

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5542217
06/04/16 09:33 AM
06/04/16 09:33 AM
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 10
England. UK
R
roe Offline
trapper
roe  Offline
trapper
R

Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 10
England. UK
You guys want to get yourselfs a few Talpex exported over I reckon....


What doesn't kill us makes us stranger...
Re: mole traps [Re: Bob Jameson] #5543007
06/04/16 11:53 PM
06/04/16 11:53 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
TRapper Offline
trapper
TRapper  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
Originally Posted By: Bob Jameson


Josh you can move up here seasonally and sell your per mole fee on your jobs, get rich and move back home to clean up what you have there later in the season. You would have to sell your O/S traps and convert to Albano traps because you wouldn't have enough room in your truck to carry all the traps you would need to set up your jobs. grin I can carry a few hundred Albano traps in 2 - 5 gallon buckets with very little space and weight. Plenty to do 3 - 4 jobs a day.

If you were taught my system you would sell all your O/S traps and it would open your eyes.


Bob...will agree to disagree with that...i have successfully caught alot of moles in the nomol, albano, spear, and oos. I am Extremely accurate with the oos and if u had the size of mole we do here i could teach you my system and u would get rid of your albanos and go strictly to oos.

Having talked to and trained a fella (that is on here regularly) about mole set up, locations, etc...given that he has the same species of mole you do...the hairy tailed which is smaller in size...i can understand why the albano is a better trap as it really is built for your size of mole. Since he has been back to ohio he has told me that moles are still tunneling through oos with no trap closure...which tells me he has a smaller mole. I am catchin alot of juvanile moles right now no problem with oos

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5543011
06/04/16 11:59 PM
06/04/16 11:59 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
TRapper Offline
trapper
TRapper  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
Here is our moles...size larger with the small tails...


Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5543206
06/05/16 09:24 AM
06/05/16 09:24 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
B
Bob Jameson Offline
trapper
Bob Jameson  Offline
trapper
B

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,590
SW Pa
I catch all sizes of moles. However in the last couple of weeks I have been catching the younger moles that are advancing further from their birthing chamber sites and limited territory that they occupy when they are immature.

Our moles are what I consider a big mole on avg.. We have some hairy tailed moles but mostly Eastern moles and very few star nosed at least in my service area.

However that being said the standard size Albano traps work the best. The larger size is too large for our tunnel diameter networks.

Our moles seem to look the same as yours by the photos but side by side are a better way to compare.

The O/S traps tend to on average have a less sensitive triggering systems which can present some misses and promote dig unders due to the pressure required to fire them at times. I have seen that many times over the years even with modifications to help reduce the friction on the dog engagement area.

I can still be productive with them but I miss too many other moles as you only can catch one animal at a time. I get so many doubles and have very few misses now. I cant see a better way of trapping then with the Albanos at this time until another trap is developed.

Combine the weight and size of the O/S compared to the efficiency of the Albano traps I just had to retire the O/S traps. I respect your experience and opinion but once I got some time to work with Steves traps for many years I cant see any other path for this work.

Re: mole traps [Re: bdrooks] #5543288
06/05/16 10:22 AM
06/05/16 10:22 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
TRapper Offline
trapper
TRapper  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,476
Central IA
I respect yours as well...99% of the time a mole goes thru one of my oos i have that mole...rarely do i have a miss. I modify my traps so they are on a hair trigger and literally takes me 2 seconds to do when i pull the trap out of the box

Nice thing about this debate is we have 2 guys that can smack the crap out of moles using 2 diff types of traps

Last edited by TRapper; 06/05/16 10:23 AM. Reason: spelling
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