If you really can't live with a mole in your garden, then trapping is the most reliable way to deal with it. If you use the method below you are much more likely to achieve success, but bear in mind that even trapping is not a permanent fix. If there are moles in your area then it probably won't be long before another one arrives - which is why it's important to put mole repellents in place as soon as possible, to make your plot less attractive for re-colonisation. It is much better to prevent moles from moving in in the first place than to have to remove them later.
Professional mole trappers
Putting down mole traps may seem like child's play, but you'll soon find that actually catching one is another matter. Professional trappers have a much higher success rate because they are used to 'reading' the pattern of the mole runs to find those all-important motorway routes. They also know how to set a trap just right to increase the odds of it being triggered by the mole itself rather than the earth it moves.Professional trappers will return to your property to check and remove their traps. Many also offer a second free round of trap-setting if the first does not eliminate the mole, but success cannot be guaranteed.
Reading the mole runs
Once established, the network will consist of motorways (long, fairly straight tunnels) linking multiple hunting warrens (relatively shallow twisting mazes with multiple dead ends). The motorways are used to move quickly from one area to another. Moles often put these along the edges of walls or paths because this makes them less likely to collapse. Hunting warrens are sometimes abandoned if they are badly damaged, but motorways are energetically maintained.
Types of mole trap
Traps on the market are sometimes described as 'humane', but the word is very loosely used. Most people would understand 'humane' to mean 'non-lethal', but in this context it usually means 'kills cleanly' - so read the details of any product you're considering carefully. 'Non-lethal' traps aim to contain the mole for later relocation. This means that the trap must be checked twice a day to avoid killing the mole by dehydration. The disturbance involved means that 'non-lethal' traps have a slightly lower success rate than lethal ones.'Non-lethal' mole traps
Basically a plastic tube with one-way flaps at each end, these traps are very easily blocked by the soil that moles push ahead of them. You'll also notice that I've put 'non-lethal' in inverted commas, and that's because using one to relocate a mole is still very likely to kill it. By the time it is released the mole will already be hungry and dehydrated. It will then have to dig out a new tunnel network before it can catch anything to eat: no joke for an animal that eats up to its own body weight in worms each day.Scissor mole traps
Inexpensive and popular, scissor traps are often sold in multiple packs. This is useful because you cannot always be sure which part of the tunnel network the mole is using at any given time, but two traps should be perfectly adequate for a single mole. Note that for effective operation the bottom of the trigger ring should be no more than 2cm (3/4") above the end of the trap arms, but many manufacturers have missed this design point. If the arms are too long you may need to cut them down with a hacksaw or fit a larger trigger ring, otherwise setting the trap correctly is difficult.Tunnel mole traps
This newer type of trap involves digging a longer hole (which means more disruption) but they are easy to set provided you don't wear gloves. It's a common myth that moles avoid anything that smells of man, but recent research has shown that they have a very poor sense of smell so there's no need to wear gloves, rub your hands vigorously with molehill soil, leave the traps out in the rain for days, or any other of the various smell-diguising techniques mentioned on the web. Do it the old-fashioned way, and save your fingers.Professional scissor mole traps
Poorly named since many professional mole trappers use ordinary scissor traps, pro scissor traps are used widely in Europe. They are less easily set off by moving soil than regular scissor traps, but they are fiddly to set until you have the knack and the very strong spring can make this a painful experience.How to set a scissor trap
You can read a very detailed and interesting set of instructions on how to set a scissor trap using the 'John Finnemore method' at http://www.walcotefarm.co.uk/, but very briefly;- Use a probe (such as an old ballpoint pen) to find the runs, and identify the straight 'motorway' sections used to move between feeding areas.
- Choose a spot and use a trowel to cut out a piece of turf a little smaller than the open trap, exposing the run.
- Push the open trap into position in the run. Because the arms of the trap are a little wider than the run they will make grooves that will hold it neatly in position. Waggle the trap a little as you put it in so that the grooves are not too tight.
- Gently lift the trap back out and set it safely aside. Remove any loose soil and use the handle of a spade to compact the bottom of the run. If this lowers the run by much, use the handle at an angle to make ramps on either side connecting the bottom smoothly with the rest of the run.
- Once again remove any loose soil, and gently replace the set trap. Use handfulls of matted long grass around and between the arms of the trap to create a false ceiling, and then gently top this with loose soil to exclude all light. In most situations the top of the trap arms will stick out of the soil: take a good look at them so that you will see when a trap has sprung.
- If a trap isn't sprung within three or four days, or if you find it clogged full of earth, there is no point in trying again at the same spot. Dig the trap out, fill the hole in, and try again in a different place.
- Once you successfully trap your mole, you'll need to defend the tunnel network against the arrival of other moles in interconnected runs. If you can find where the tunnels enter your property, place the traps there for several weeks and then, win or lose, tread the runs down or dig them out thoroughly. And if you'd like to try sonic deterrents or any of the other mole repellants on the market, this would be the perfect time!
