Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Anyone have successful mole eradication experiences?

I'm at war with one that has decided to dig under some river rock at the bottom of a retaining wall next to a flagstone patio. A bitch to get a trap into and a royal pain to clean up. Just got some fake poisoned worms. We'll see if they work.

A good dog. You might want to try a smaller variety for this. My lab gets rid of them, but grade works is necessary after he digs one up.

My daughter has a Dachshund- may be worth a try...

I got tired of the moles a number of years ago. I got out with a garden hose a funnel and some gasoline and put gas in the tunnels, stood back and tossed a burning rag. Gas fumes had leaked all through the burrows, and the whole back yard lit up with a spider web of flame-- FOOMF! I didn't see a mole again for years. The conflagration was big enough, I considered myself lucky nothing bad happened.

I am surrounded by leftist pansies...don't think that is advisable, although it does sound fun!

Little poles and hang the carcasses as a warning to other mole invaders.

I have trapped over 40 of the little Bsteds in the old style Nash choker traps. They catch moles 10 to one over any other trap. Have had good success lately using the tomcat poison worms. seems more effective than the traps.

Vlad

one man made it his life's obsession here in Cincinnati


There are lots of ways for you to waste time and money fooling around with moles. There are home remedies, retail gimmicks, concoctions, even inexperienced companies more than happy to help you fool with them.

Homeowners get confused by all of the conflicting “advice” on mole control. It seems like anyone and everyone has their two-bits worth of mole remedies and concoctions. They’d like you to believe that every control method or home remedy is worth trying. Over the years, I made it a point to learn all that I could about mole behavior and control. I’ve even lectured on the subject at Purdue, Ohio State University, Clemson and most recently Penn State University (January 1999). The bottom line is simple. Chemicals and home remedies (including castor oil, grub controls and poisons) don’t work. They’re not only ineffective, but allow the moles time to establish and become major problems. All knowledgeable sources consider trapping the only effective method of mole control!

When moles have been a problem for any length of time or when residential properties are bounded in any way by woodland (a mole’s natural habitat), trapping is most effective when done over long periods of time. If you decide to use a trapper, insist on long term contracts. Get references! If you want to do the trapping, take some time to learn about a moles habits and biology. (Get some hands-on help if available.) The mole’s home range is measured in acres so almost any mole problem is usually a part of a larger mole population. Trapping is a war of attrition. It’s labor intensive, time consuming, and it’s effective.

http://themoleman.com/

I have been using the Wire Tek traps, but they only seem to scare the moles off, unless it is chopping them in half and I never see the evidence of it. May order some Nash chokers.

I say gas them then toss the match...flim it and post to the fire ...so we can all enjoy it !

Trust me, I would do it if didn't have so much to lose- house, foundation, garage, neighbor's homes, trees falling, etc.

Trapping works but you have to do some work to set the traps properly. I have used the Victor scissor traps and they kill moles. The trick is that you have to find a tunnel they use for travel as opposed to just an offshoot where they push the dirt up to the surface. The traps have to be set carefully so they are positioned in a way that the mole is forced go through them when they traverse the tunnel. Also, it helps to use rubber gloves to keep human scent off the traps.

Moles eat earthworms and grubworms, not grain, so any kind of poison grain or poison peanuts as I once tried, are really useless. I tried the poison "worms" and nothing happened to show they worked. I've tried a lot of "proven methods" to kill moles that were supposed to work, but didn't. Trapping is the best way, and it takes practice and studying the habits of a mole. A dog that will dig them up is just as good, providing such a critter can be found. My Aussie killed several one summer, then has not bothered them since, so much for that. I have 4 mole traps, 3 of the old spear kind and a scissors trap. I've had better luck with the spear traps, but then again, have used them more. I was told by one expert on moles, to spray my yard for grubs, and I wouldn't have moles, because they wouldn't have food. I have noticed that the areas where I've seen a lot of grubs in the past, are also the areas where the moles seem to also like.

I've been trying the compressed spring/spikes type mole trap but no luck so far. I've found it tripped a few times over the past week or two but no dead or any sign of injured moles yet. The only thing I can think of is maybe the mole is tunneling deeper than the trap spikes reach when tripped.

The only real luck I've ever had that I knew for certain I either killed or put a serious hurt on a mole has been visibly catching them actually digging and quickly jabbing straight down right where they were tunneling with a manure/hay pitch fork.

I have had to dig down in a tunnel in order for the spring trap to work. When I set one, I will stomp the tunnel down first, then place the trap in position, move the spears up and down in the tunnel in order to get the ground good and loose as to decrease resistance, then set the trap. It takes a lot of patience.

I have been stomping the tunnel down flat and placing the trap trigger right on top as deep and as close to the stomped down tunnel as possible to where it's almost to the point of releasing. The mole or moles I'm dealing with seem to not tunnel close to the surface much nor for very far where they do.

We had a little terrier dog and he just wiped 'em out, and had fun doing so.

Lacking that this is your weapon of choice





The Minske-Laarson F4200 harpoon guy will teach the mole who the boss is. I recommend the explosive warhead that will really put the fear of God into the little bastards.

No moles but have had gophers. I’ve trapped, used pellets, flooded, poison gas bombs, you name it. I had the most luck with traps but was fighting a losing battle. I finally bought a Varmitgetter and destroyed those bastards. Besides an occasional fire and minimal hearing loss it’s great. I get an occasional immigrant but disperse of them quickly.

And it’s fun! Beer bill went up as well...

I've been using this scissor trap - https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/easy-mole-trap?rfk=1

It catches them pretty good, but the trigger is sensitive to soil conditions. If the soil is too wet it sinks into the earth causing the moles to dig around it. When it's wet like that I slip a square of stiff sheet metal under the trigger, a piece sized to fit within those bars. That usually keeps the trigger on top of the soil.

I've probably had the most success just watching fresh tunnels in the morning and evening and digging them up with a shovel.