Moles

[Lotobear]

I've lived in the same house for 23 years now without moles but in the last 2 years the little blighters have well and truly established themselves and are causing considerable damage in the garden.

One of my terriers occasionally catches one but she's getting on a bit now and the hills continue to mutliply.

I'm in the sticks and the stock farming answer is poison or trapping. However I have a soft spot for moles and could not bring myself to kill any.

So, what is the best solution?

[minky monkey]

No help at all, but it does remind me of this....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fePU5CIHpas

lol

[pikeyboy]

Similar problem at my house. My terrier has them and I also use a tunnel trap very effectively! Quick and humane way to sort them out.

[Ed/L152]

Wheelbarrow and shovel to pick up the dirt promptly. The actual hole in the lawn is quite small, its the pile of dirt that causes most of the damage by smothering the grass. Don't tread-down the mole hill!

Trapping is humane and quite effective, except don't be surprised when another mole moves in quite soon. For the amount of effort it is for me to successfully trap, the speed with which another will move in afterwards, and the fact that they don't really cause a major problem if the mole hill is removed promptly means I just live with them now.

Amazing creatures to see but I did feel like a dick for killing it. Unlike the rats which you definitely can't live with!

Edited by Ed/L152 on Thursday 20th December 09:09

[robj4]

We moved into a house will a large garden and many mole hills a few years ago. One Mole can create an amazing amount of hills, I found two Moles could cause enough 'damage' to an acre of grass to make me give up on trying to remove the hill each time.

Over the next couple of years I managed to remove the problem and now typically just get one or two a year returning. As we are bordered with a large ditch and farmland on three sides it's inevitable.

https://easysetmoletrap.co.uk/mole-traps/

After the first few times I can now pretty much be assured of catching the Mole first time, just by knowing what a good set of the trap looks like. They last for years if you leave them in a bucket of water after use and come with instructions for the do's and don'ts of catching them. The key is a clear run through the trap and that NO light can enter around the trap.

You don't need the toolkit, I use an old 3" paint scraper to cut the ground to the exact size of the trap, a small hand fork to remove the sod and a long screwdriver to detect the run.

I don't like killing them either, but they are a bloody nuisance.

[Japveesix]

Ed/L152 said:

Trapping is humane and quite effective, except don't be surprised when another mole moves in quite soon.

Edited by Ed/L152 on Thursday 20th December 09:09

All the evidence suggests trapping isn't humane for a number of reasons. Mole traps very rarely kill instantly, unlikely mouse traps etc that snap the neck/back. Mole traps crush to kill and it can be incredibly slow and even catch moles alive by paws or snouts etc. There's a pretty big push from some people/organisations to have them banned or at minimum make it law for traps to be checked every 24hours.

Having said that they are an utter pain and when heavily active can cause tremendous damage. Clearing away the hills is fine for superficial tidiness but if you want a flat, level lawn then you'll soon notice the bumpiness from all the collapsed tunnels.

Live traps, if you try them, need to be checked very regularly or else you'll kill them through starvation anyway. And then you have the issue of where to release, which pretty much isn't fair on anyone who owns the land you dump them on.

[robj4]

The traps I use break the back of the Mole, the dozen or so I have killed have all been dead on unearthing.

You should check traps every morning, if they haven't caught one overnight they will not catch one in my experience, so best to lift it and fill in and try elsewhere.

My experience is restricted to the Beagle type trap though, other traps require different maintenance of course.

[Japveesix]

robj4 said:

The traps I use break the back of the Mole, the dozen or so I have killed have all been dead on unearthing.

From experience moles can often be caught within minutes of a trap bring set, so checking the next morning still gives them 12-24 hours to squirm and slowly die without you having any idea how quick the death was.

The EasySet looks good but I struggle to see how a trap that pulls up on the underside (chest or belly) of the animal would kill it instantly. And this is the inherent problem with almost all mole traps. It's just very hard to guarantee a clean and quick kill. Which is grim.

I've killed many more than a dozen moles so I'm not some mad animal rights activist, I'm just aware that mole traps are not terribly pleasant things for the animals. However needs must and as a non threatened species with strong populations across the country I don't feel too much guilt about it and they do need to be killed sometimes (and they always seem to recolonise without any problems!).

[Japveesix]

For anyone who fancies a good read about mole catching and the issues surrounding it then have a read of this, it's quite interesting with testimonies from various people who know their stuff:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/mole...

[robj4]

Japveesix said:

robj4 said:

The traps I use break the back of the Mole, the dozen or so I have killed have all been dead on unearthing.

The EasySet looks good but I struggle to see...

But you haven't actually tried one, have you?

I give up, FFS all I did was try and point out for the OP one way to rid of Moles in his garden.

Why don't you go round and sort them out for him / her?

Of course I don't know how long they take to die, but then again I drive a car everyday (killing hundreds of insects) eat meat, fish, use soap and drugs tested on animals. The list goes on.

You are right, I am wrong. All traps have an element of causing immense suffering.

Edit.
I've just read the article in The Guardian, but fail to see the difference between the life of a Mole or an earthworm. One is furry and cute looking, the other its essential for soil and hence plant life.

Edited by robj4 on Monday 24th December 23:27

[Japveesix]

robj4 said:

Japveesix said:

robj4 said:

The traps I use break the back of the Mole, the dozen or so I have killed have all been dead on unearthing.

The EasySet looks good but I struggle to see...

But you haven't actually tried one, have you?

I give up, FFS all I did was try and point out for the OP one way to rid of Moles in his garden.

Why don't you go round and sort them out for him / her?

Of course I don't know how long they take to die, but then again I drive a car everyday (killing hundreds of insects) eat meat, fish, use soap and drugs tested on animals. The list goes on.

You are right, I am wrong. All traps have an element of causing immense suffering.

Edit.
I've just read the article in The Guardian, but fail to see the difference between the life of a Mole or an earthworm. One is furry and cute looking, the other its essential for soil and hence plant life.

Edited by robj4 on Monday 24th December 23:27

I thought I was pretty polite and simply trying to provide a balanced argument for someone who wanted some advice on mole traps. I thought PH was where people shared knowledge and liked discussion and adult posts.

I'm not being rude or having a go so not much need for you to be pissy.

Merry Christmas you grinch!

[Ed/L152]

The moles I've seen in traps had their chests crushed. Not as humane as a crushed skull but none would have taken another breath.

I can see how moles could be a problem for a bowling green, but I just see their damage as a part of living where I do. Does burying a depth of wire help prevent their access?