i get the population you have there...that is why i am 100% convinced your eastern mole and my eastern mole are a different species...more like sub species of the eastern. You have indicated in the past that activity shuts off there later in the year and i am trapping moles here from first thawing of the ground to after frost goes 2-3 inches deep....i am typically trapping moles here end of feb through middle of december. at one time last year i had 115 stops going per week. averaging 3-4 moles per yard.

If our mole and your mole are exactly the same species then wouldn't we both have the same results on moles?

first time i set up a 139 acre field/yard for a client in missouri there was mole damage all over and after 75 moles were caught i was down to just trapping moles on the edge and only catching 3-5 a week...that is One Hundred Thirty Nine Acres. then for each year after i was averaging 50-60 moles for next couple years then went down to about 40 moles per year. This went on for 8 years before i moved back up to Iowa.

There is no way we have the exact same species of eastern moles otherwise our results would be the same given the number of moles we each capture.

i believe nick penna from New York has the same results i have. i have friends in ohio that catch a mole similar to mine but catch them in numbers but they look different in size and tail size so definitely a different species even a sub species. moles here are not communal unless they are "getting it on" or female releases the pups but even then i catch 3-4 moles fast and damage stops. i am catching 1-2 moles right now on damage that is 1/4 to 1/2 of an acre and no more new damage.

Hard to tell from the pic Bob, but are these Hairy Tailed Moles or Eastern Moles? The tails on the one or two I can make out seem different than the tails on the eastern moles I catch in South Texas. It's the only mole sub-species found in my area.

Here is a close up photo of our eastern mole caught in my yard yesterday.



Our moles seems to be a bit more husky then others I have caught. Some are almost too large to fit in Steves Standard size mole traps. Their shoulder/chest area are quite large. I suppose that attribute is due to all their digging activity that pumps them up.

This ole boy could eat 1/2 of another caught mole with no problem just due to its shear size.

Ours are not that big and have no fur on the tails like that one does.

Just a SWAG but the "squirrel-like" tail on your brutes is a dead giveaway that you are trapping Hairy-tailed moles (Parascalops breweri), also known as Brewer's mole. The tails on our Eastern moles (Scalopus aquatics) are bald compared to yours (lightly furred really). Range maps indicate you probably have both species in SW PA, but not sure.

Note the nearly hairless tails of an Eastern mole. Nothing like Bob's hairy brutes!

yeah...i agree...no hair on the tails of the moles here...i wondered. moles are similar in size but tails are definitely different...i am betting you are on the hairy tailed mole.

I have never caught a mole that had a hairless tail as I can recall over the last 30 some years.

what is really neat is that baby moles grow their fur as the last thing

1st 6 mole traps of the year just went in!


*Fist pump*

Got 33 stops going now...over 115 mole traps set

11 moles on 4 stops today...love it when i go 7 moles for 14 traps i set last wednesday

What is the avg price per mole trapped? Set fee?

my prices are no secret...you can find them on www.callthemoletrapper.com i don't charge a set up fee because i have the utmost confidence i will kill moles on the first check of traps

We charge a flat fee for 7-10 days. Most of our jobs avg. $450 to $550. Some may be a bit less if smaller jobs/lawns, some alot more on large acreage homes, estates and golf courses. Travel distance is a big factor that drives up prices and how often we feel we need to check that particular job.

We have alot of work on most set ups here due to the activity level and our populations. Lots of doubles on first checks.

My mole traps in my yard are under 4 inches of snow this am. and it is still coming.



You would have to change your pricing structure working here Josh or you would be a wealthy man just doing moles.