Do you find it harder to trap moles this time of year. I use Steve's traps. Getting a lot of dug under, I am bedding them all. Put in a few that were dug under today up-side-down to see if that help. If get some repeats on the next check I will try an out-of-site.

If the moles are active and you can find the sub surface runs they are no more difficult now then in the spring. Activity in the summer finds the moles staying in shaded and moist areas if it is dry and warm. As is common knowledge rains promote easier digging and branching out with new activity and mounding.

To help with your dig unders I do the following.

Cut out a new sod section over another part the run. Re set with the open trap jaws perfectly centered with the end of the tunnel run. Make sure you have good alignment. Replace the cut out sod with the mole tunnel re established in the sod so when it is placed back into position there isnt any change in the run size or tunnel alignment.

I use a dandelion tool with the V shaped end to push down the trap frame into the soil so it is depressed into the tunnel bottom. Depress it all the way until the frame is just below the soil level. Do this bedding to the main trap wire from the jaw end back to the trigger bar.

I get occasional dig unders or around the sides of the trap. If you do the trap bedding well it should be there if it uses that run again. Sometimes we get a little sloppy with the positioning of the trap and when you do, the mole reacts to the rigid object felt in its run.

When you insert and set the trap from the end of a tunnel at times it just isnt aligned just right with the tunnel as it needs to be. Remember animals just react to what we do in most cases.

Bob, so I understand this right. I have set the trap and had a dig out, now make another hole to view the setting of the trap. Replace the sod. I maybe bedding the traps at to sharp of an angle. Most of our sand is soft and easy to work with. Thanks

I dont have sand like conditions here so some modifications must be made in order to open the run to be able to set the trap so you can fully view the trap being set. The key is the bedding and returning the tunnel to pre setting conditions as best you can. I use the handle of my dandelion tool to compress a new tunnel in the replaced section of cut out.

Interesting that you post that Everet. I have the same problem this time of year. I have no idea why. It makes no sense. Maybe we trapped all the dumb ones in the spring, although in the fall my catch picks up again.

We have no moles, but every year at this time, we find woodchucks harder to catch. I wonder if there's any correlation?

When setting Steve's traps the far end of the trap is about 6-1/2 inches inside the tunnel. If you trap moles you know they do not dig in a straight line, they dig like a snake moves. When I feel with my finger I can only reach about 2-1/2 to 3 inches. I made a little tool to feel about 7 inches inside the tunnel. It is just a squire with a round lead sinker on the end, a small screw driver with a ball on the end would work.
In some places I have used small section of 1/8 ply-wood cut to 1-1/2 by 2 to keep the sand from going in the tunnel and covering the trap. I am thinks of cutting a grove to place over the winding spring. This would allow the trap to set much closer to the opening and easier to see how it is bedded and have good alignment.

I started setting Steve's upside down a couple months ago after several dig unders. Now I always set them upside down. I feel it better takes advantage of a moles natural tendency to push solid objects up and out of the way.

I "bed" the trap in the roof of the tunnel, but try to make sure the trigger stays down close to the bottom so they hit it and then try to push it out of the way. I also place the flag directly behind the trap so it can't be pushed out of the way.

Makes sense? You want the jaws and main body of the trap up close to the roof and out of the way, but the trigger pan in their way so they try to push it out of the way.

Like Terrier, I now exclusively use Steve's mole trap upside down and set traps the same way. In addition, I make sure to push the trap as far in the tunnel as possible so that I can seal each tunnel with soil/sand sifted with my hands. I think sealing the tunnel is key. The trap spring is strong enough to catch moles even if on occasion I don't push the trap far enough into the tunnel and is somewhat covered with sand.

I use these traps only along fences, sidewalks, driveways, foundations, and in deep runs in our sandy soils. I use Bud's upgraded Elite OOS on open surface/foraging runs.

Just got back from checking mole traps. Dug under again. Some were upside down. Six of eight set were dug under. The other places I have traps set, no problem. Get moles or no movement.
Packing up the motorcycle and heading for the Blue Ridge Parkway in the morning, come rain or shine.

It seems like a lot of people struggle with Steve's traps until they figure out the tricks, then people seem to really like them.

Knowing whether or not you have a catch seems like a downside to Steve's traps for some folks. It seems different from other traps like the OOS where you can walk up & visually spot whether or not your trap has went off.

Every trap requires some good setting technique. Some never really get the hang of it. It is always hit or miss for many. Without good setting discipline done over and over the same way you will struggle endlessly. It takes time and practice to develop a good skill set with any trade as with any learned behavior skill. It took me many years of trial and error to get good setting skills.

Back in those days there was no instruction available in this field.

Dig unders will occur often if you don't get proper alignment of the trap jaws with the tunnel and/or the trap is not bedded down into the tunnel floor to where the mole doesn't run into the frame or one of the jaws.

When the mole encounters a part of the rigid material of a trap in his tunnel his natural reaction is to dig under or around the perceived obstruction. It is always the same. When I trouble shoot for a student it is always poor setting or rushed setting technique.Once you have mastered good consistent setting technique the speed will follow.

To see if this is your problem it is very easy to check for it.........

Cut open a sod section and remove it completely in one piece and make sure it stays as a firm section so you can replace it exactly where you removed it. I use the handle of my dandelion tool to depress the moles tunnel back into the sod lid before replacing it. That way nothing will seem disturbed.

Cut out a sod piece large enough to allow setting two traps in this open section which I call an open face trap set up. When you are done setting, both traps are completely visible when set, not pushed back into the tunnels.

I do carry a T- shaped piece of glued 1 inch PVC pipe that I use also to re compress/form tunnels as needed so as not to alter the run anymore then necessary while setting your traps.
This tunnel depressing method helps you to re establish the tunnel form which encourages the mole to follow the worn tunnel floor. They can feel and detect this easily.

Return the cut out sod to as near original as the virgin ground. This method I found works best for doing this type of setting. It is very effective for troubleshooting a problem with your setting technique.

Set your traps jaws right up tight to the face of each opposing tunnel on both sides. Make sure the jaws are in good alignment with the tunnel opening. Then press down hard on the front portion of the base frame of the trap to seat the front of the trap frame and jaws down into the tunnel below grade. Stake your traps and return the sod to the original position and you are done.

Come back and check to see if you have caught your moles. Once you get on to this setting you can go back to inserting the trap into the end of a tunnel like normal but continue the same trap setting technique and you will have very few dig unders. Not being able to visually see your set traps when completed can be a crap shoot sometimes.

Sometimes you maybe setting up against a sharp turn in a tunnel or a drop down in the tunnel that can't be seen, a rock or root etc. Not probing into a run prior to setting with a longer tool to determine a straight line beyond your set trap can cause problems when trapping moles.

i have learned to do all this things over many years consistently. I have very few dig unders since i learned this method. I trust it will work for you as well.

When a mole is traveling a tunnel he is following an established trail tunnel which he has done previously many times in most cases. He is not constantly digging as he travels in these runs. He is patrolling the tunnel for worms, grubs or other insects that are crawling along the tunnel floor when they break through into the tunnel from the surrounding soil area.

He only digs when he runs into an obstruction, trying to recover food or to advance into a new foraging run area.

You may need to compress and form your setting area to develop a more firm setting area in sandy soils. We don't have that here.

I trapped some moles in Arkansas years back in sandy soils when I was fur trapping just to play a little. I caught a few with victor OS traps. Those moles had very large tunnels compared to our Pa mole tunnels.

Have any of you fellas had worms surface as soon as you cut into the sod to set your traps. If they are close to the incision area they detect the disturbance, vibration or soil movement and try to escape the disturbed area and come to the surface. Built in survival instinct I assume to evade being eaten by the mole.

We are running 120 mole stops per week...just too time consuming on check time per yard using anything but OOS