I wanted to share this with everyone. Found it on youtube and I thought it was just pretty darn informative about setting the Victor Out Of Sight mole traps. The video quality is kinda poor but the point is clear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXfwly_DLaM

Kendrick

1. Why do moles make the mounds you see? I don't mean the tunnels, I mean the mounds. They are burrowing deeper and must bring the excavated dirt to the surface. When they are surface tunneling they can just raise the dirt above them with their body strength.

2. Are moles blind? No,but almost. Close your eyes and look at a light. The glow you see is all the vision they have.

3. When are moles the most active? Day or night? Yeah... They are related to shrews and have a similar metabolism. They must eat almost constantly so they are active several times a day.

4. When is the best time of day (or night) to set your traps? When ever you are there. If you place them, they will come.

5. Has anyone found a way to catch them alive and how? Yes. You can dig a hole across an active travel tunnel and place a deep plastic container in it. When they fall in it they can't get a grip to climb out. disclaimer: never done it, only read about it. Guys also have been trying mechanic wire tubes with cloth floors and trap doors. Because of a moles high metabolism, they will starve to death very quickly in a live trap.

If I'm wrong on these answers, please fill me in too!

Forgot one last question:
What does a mole's main diet consist of?

90% (or there about, depending on who you ask) year round, are earthworms.

There are also some studies that show they eat a small amount of plant matter.
Along with earthworms, are grubs,(and other beetle larva) cicada larva and similar prey.

This is WHY...mole pellets DO NOT work...

They do NOT emulate what a mole actually eats!


It would be better suited for rodents, such as mice and chpmunks, IMO.

I read that in ONE extension paper too. I wonder if it wasn't voles, but the damage was by a mole tunnel so they tagged the wrong critter. That extension paper read like one of my last minute term papers.

Steve's traps, above!

not a mole trapper, . I used to put poison around my ginseng beds in the mole tunnels to try to kill mice. Mice use the tunnels for highways and chew on the ginseng roots, killing the plant. Didn't stop the carnage though.

Nice catch , Nick!

PS....Love the gloves!

Nick those gloves and shirt look pretty clean for a mole trapper,you sure you didn't change for the photo Op?.....B.....

Ha! Yep, that's how I'd look @ 7 am....that shirt would be soiled and wet in 70 degree heat come sundown...
That Nick, is one handsome rascal though....

This year looks to be a profitable one for moles. I've had more people ask me why, and I can't really answer them. Almost all my mowing accounts from last year are starting to see signs of moles. Considering I have 56 accounts, this could be a very profitable year for me both for moles and lawns. I noticed the moles have a terrible odor too. They smell like nasty body odor..HA! That is an AWESOME catch Nick! Hey can anyone tell me how many young a single female can produce in a year? Had a customer ask me that today and I had to make up an answer to look professional on the spot. I told her 4-6 at a time...is that close?

Kendrick

Moles aren't large breeders. With out looking it up, off the top of my head I'd say it's closer to 3-4 a year.

Are there any factors such as weather or seasons which cause moles to more active from one year to the next? In other words, why would moles be more prominent one year, when they weren't the past years?

3-5....close

Only a small percentage of the damage is actually visable in surface runs... when the surface dries out, most moles avoid these dry tunnels do to lack of food... some of the deeper tunnels will still produce mole catches during summer.

Bud is correct on both accounts.