Brandy 2, Moles 0

[Greg Peterson]

Our dog Brandy has developed a nose for moles. She caught one last spring and just this evening caught another one. I heard a little squeak and saw it flying through the air and land in the lawn about ten feet behind me.

Brandy gets the scent and then just stands there, fine tuning the location and waiting for the slightest hint before jumping in and snapping it out of the ground. She sat there waiting patiently for about a half hour. I'd forgotten she was even there. She's a busy body, patrolling the yard, chasing squirrels or the occasional cat that makes a wrong turn into the yard.

I guess I can return the trap I just bought. Seems like she knows the drill now.

[Karl Laustrup]

Greg, I could have kept Brandy busy this summer.

I ended up trapping 10 moles from my backyard. It took most of the summer but I thought I had finally gotten them all. I was amazed at how many there were.

I've just noticed there seems to be at least 2 more digging. Guess I'll have to get the traps out again and try to get them before winter sets in.

Karl

[Greg Peterson]

And she would love it. The attention and determination she has once she thinks she's onto one is amazing. That becomes her sole focus.

I found some new mounds this morning so I see her work is not yet done.

[Justin McCurdy]

Karl, What kind of traps do you use. I have a colony in my front yard that just won't seem to get the hint.

[Greg Cole]

I have had a couple of moles take up residence this summer as well, seems as I am the only one to water the lawn in the neighborhood and the only one with extensive flower bed-gardens.
The high pitch squeaking spikes did nothing. Grub killer and pesticide did nothing but keep the kid off the lawn for a couple days.
I wound up trapping them with the spring loaded trap that drives spikes into the ground. I read that moles are supposed to be territorial and usually an "average" lawn only has one or 2 resident moles.... dunno who did that research My 1/2 acre yard seemed to have at least 4 by my last body count.
My neighbor did manage to get one with a shovel sitting and being patient as one other post mentioned about the dog.....

Greg

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I have given up trying to get rid of moles. If you're persistent enough you can get a few, but if whatever attracted them to start with is still there replacements for the ones you got rid of will show up at some point.

My neighbor across the street had a mole catching cat that would put them on the back porch like some cats do with mice or rats. He told me one summer he tood 21 moles off the porch.

[Jonathon Spafford]

Ok... here is the way to do it, if you want use a trap. First of all, the trap you need looks like this http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/for/for42/f02b.jpg

I have caught a couple moles on several occasions and, although I do have a spear trap, I have never caught one with that kind of trap... and BTW, those vibrating rods do not scare away moles. I just pulled some out of my yard after having them in there for several years. The traps were really the things that got rid of my mole problems.

Second, you'll need several of these jaw traps... 3-4 is ideal. As soon as you get them bury them in some dirt for a couple of days before using them to get rid of the human smell and remember to always wear gloves when handling them.

The next thing you'll want to do is to go around your yard and stomp down all of the mole hills... this will show you which of the holes are the most used. The moles like to work at night so chances are the next morning some of the hills will be popped back up. These are their most used hills and the ones that you'll want to target.

Now that you know where to set the traps, get a little spade and dig the mound up until you get down to the tunnel. You'll notice that, when you get down there, some of the mounds have tunnels cutting through there going in one direction and some of them have tunnels going in both directions creating a sort of four-way passage. This mound with the intersection is the best one to set the traps in, as it will probably get a lot more traffic than the one way holes. So, once you dig down until you get to the tunnel(s) then carefully set the trap as the directions show and take it over to the hole. Inside of the hole, put a little pile of dirt in the bottom. Don't put in so much dirt that the dirt pile hits the trigger and springs the trap when you set it down, but just enough so that when the mole goes scooting through he'll push the pile of dirt up into the trigger. So now that you have the pile of dirt at the bottom of the hole, set your trap down carefully (remember to wear gloves to mask the scent), so that the tunnel or at least one tunnel runs through the open jaws. After that, you're ready to catch a mole!

Make sure you put a bucket or cardboard box over the open hole/trap (do NOT fill it all in with dirt), not only to prevent your dog from stepping in it, but also to prevent light from getting it, which will keep the moles from going through that area.

Make sure you check your traps everyday!

[Jonathon Spafford]

BTW... if you don't understand my instructions or need more help, feel free to e-mail me. I am not an expert, but I have caught them before and I learned my method from a pro!