Killing Vermin

This is the first time we have lived next to a woods. Been here six years now. Along with the deer, wild turkeys, squirrels and an occasional coyote we have moles. They come from the woods and tear up a yard with their little tunnels just under the ground surface. They dig out the roots under the grass so the grass above their burrows always dies and shows their burrow paths which are easily seen against the green of the rest of the yard. Repellants and poisons don’t work well. Traps are hit and miss because they are set up on a tunnel, but most tunnels are used only once to find food. You need to find a tunnel that is frequently used between the burrow and the feeding areas. After 2-3 years of failure with poisons I decided to go with killing traps. There are several varieties and if used correctly and on a frequently used burrow they will all work effectively. I went to youtube for tips and tricks on each of the traps I’ve purchased and have caught and killed moles with each kind except the cinch trap. The weakness of the cinch trap is that it only works in one direction of the burrow so if you set it up in the wrong direction, the mole being behind the trap, it is ineffective. All the others can kill the mole from either direction.

I finally settled on a spike type trap made by Victor because it works, is easy to set, and leaves the creature under the ground after it has been dispatched. I really don’t use that feature though preferring to make sure I got one I spear it with a barbed fishing spear to bring it up through the ground.

I don’t want to mislead a person who is looking for an effective remedy for these vermin because it is a challenge to get them. It is not that they are so smart, but because where they will be for setting the trap is so difficult to predict. And if you harass them too much they just go deeper and multiply. Then you have a bigger mess. A couple of times I really got frustrated with the whole business and used a ground tamper which was about 8” square to pound down all the tunnels in one area. While I was doing that, venting some frustration, the mole became afraid and surfaced. I happened to have the spear close and speared him before he could vanish beneath the ground again. That happened twice, but when I continued to use this technique they just went deeper.

I have about 6 or 7 moles in my half acre yard this year and so far have not scored any kills. Setting the traps in the right place is essential. I learned from youtube or somewhere that to determine a frequently used burrow you just poke a hole in it and see if the animal fills it back up within 24 hours. If they do fill the hole, that is where you set the trap. The hole size I use is the handle of my spear which is about ¾” or about 15mm. I use little flags to mark where I put the holes to relocate them the next day to check them.

I’ve included an image of my preferred trap. Good luck!