Got one that tunnels around my foundation. Set trap back from where he stops next morning a couple more feet another trap same senerio, where does the mole go or is it stopped right where the tunnel ends ?ty all

3 possible answers:

1. He stopped digging there.
2. He sensed the trap and decided to dig down under it.
3. He’s a ghost mole and can move through soil without digging it.

Ty for information

I have what looks to be moles working my yard, except there are few if any runs on the surface. Just pushed up mounds. Gobs and bunches of them all over. When I've dug down to find the tunnel, from center of mound, it ran down at a steep angle, but 6 to 8 inches deep. Have no clue where it goes to after that as runs are deep below the surface. If these are moles, what are they up to? Only thing I can think of is they are deep, as that is where the japanese beetle larva are. Feeding on those?

if you have mole questions, Tony H will help you that is his exact username, he helped me and he has a mole trapping youtube channel I forget what its called though

Hi there. So the mounds are where the mole has excavated to make runs. It’s good practice to probe between mounds To find the deeper run. They sometimes make their runs directly in line with the mounds but more often they will be slightly off center to one side. Tunnels that lead up to mounds are generally singular and used solely to push the dirt out. Setting a trap in that tunnel is a waste of time (and a trap). So probe between mounds to find the run connecting the Cleanout tunnels. I prefer to set on surface runs that lead into a feeding area. Look for the main run (there might be more than one) that leads to an area where the tunneling just goes crazy and has no rhyme or reason. That’s a feeding area. Set on the runs leading to or leaving those areas. And finally, any singular stretch of surface tunnel is a good spot to start. Don’t get too picky, just get some traps in the ground. Take your time and set them properly. Don’t dig up any more than you have to to get the traps set. Minimal disturbance is key.

This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to moles. My YouTube is @molereapertraps. I’ve also got a website. Not sure if I can post it on here but you should be able to find it. Good luck!

How long should you leave traps in one place if you don’t catch a mole?

If you don’t get them the first day/night your set is probably not going to get them. We check our mole traps once a week for ease of scheduling.

I’ve read that they travel through existing tunnels at 80 feet/hour. In a really torn up yard, there’s probably 2-300 feet of tunnels in my area. That’s them checking them every 4 hours or so. Place them on the highways and they are moving through much more often.

It’s probably worth saving we have an average of 1-3 moles in a yard we’re hired to clear. Some guys post here that they are regularly pulling something like 20 moles out of a yard. I think my max was like 6-10 and I’m sure they were coming in from neighbor’s yards during the trapping period.

A good sales pitch I always used -

If you have moles , your neighbor may have them too. Catching every mole in your yard only works until one comes over from your neighbor.
Tell your neighbor you know a good mole guy. Have them call me.

I've done this a bunch of times. Make your customer sell the job to his neighbor.
Major bonus - pull into one driveway and check traps on 2-3 properties at one time. Saves major 'windshield time' , less driving around.

Sort of a visual leaner.......so here is the setup.........



Pushups on left. But after that, basically everything in view is riddled with runs. Farther to the right you go, it looks more like random feeding areas. When mowing, tires on mower flattened fresh pushups, and when I went back a couple hours later, they had been pushed back up. So set traps on the "repairs". Will know more in the morning.

Would be helpful if someone could sketch out a similar setup, ID the features and show where traps ought to go in the ground.

BTW as to "why there".........there is an ornamental crab apple tree just out of view to the left. Past several years, hot target for japanese beetles. My guess is ground here is infested with beetle grubs which are maturing and will emerge in a couple weeks. Choice eats!

Man there’s nothing set in stone with moles. Each yard is different. Yeah you will have the trees with a bunch of activity around them but there’s really no hard and fast rules when it comes to moles. Then you throw the young ones in the mix. They are smaller and can be harder to catch and are often times unpredictable. Experience is the only way to learn with moles. Follow some loose guidelines like setting on singular travel runs and just doing it and seeing thousands of scenarios will make you a good mole trapper.

I tell beginners to get traps in the ground, and lots of them. As you get better you will know where to set them and cut down on trap usage. In the states we set mainly on surface runs and a probe really isn’t needed. I’d recommend a good hori knife. I use that as my probe. Who wants to dig up a tunnel much deeper than you can stick a hori knife in the ground anyway?

Multiple popped traps with no catch tells you that you either have baby moles or chipmunks. Re-evaluate the area and the tunnels to determine which.

I would start where there is the latest sign of mole, where the mower pushes the runs down and they pop up again.
Like said by others, get several traps. I use a screwdriver to prob the runs. I welded a bullet type end on the end of the screwdriver so you can feel when it goes into the run. JMO

Set a pair of traps on fresh run yesterday, both tripped this morning. No moles. Fresh tunnel popped up 5 feet away. Will relocate to those.

Pop ups in photo set also, Nothing there, but fresh digging a few feet away. Will give those a few days.

Good news is I have about a dozen individual fresh digs to go to school on. If that is good news.

Another handicap I hope to resolve in coming days is these digs are all in lawn areas cut to either 4 or 5 inches height. You can see the push ups, but not the runs. Hope to retrieve my push mower with mulching blade......then start cutting grass, setting blade down in 1/2" steps until top of runs are exposed. Old runs and fresh digs. That way I can see what they are up to.

So if you keep missing it’s time to switch trap type. When they encounter your set they are doing the same thing, likely digging under or around, every time. Moles don’t get trap shy, trappers just don’t switch trap types. If I miss twice with the same type of trap I change it up. For example, if I miss with a scissor trap I’ll throw some putange or traplines in. The reason being that the mole was likely dodging my backfill when I wanted him to go through it. With the traplines and putange the first thing they should encounter is the trigger on the trap.

Some of these traps are being set in loose, dry dirt. If I put the loose dirt back in the hole to cover the trap, it flows past the trap like water. Would I be better to first cover the trap with grass clippings or matted hay mulch (like a pan cover), then cover that with loose dirt to block out the light and air? Basically leave the trap and trigger exposed?

You could do that. Some guys cover with a bucket but I never have. If it’s your yard set up a sprinkler and let it run for a few hours where you’ve seen the latest activity. It will bring them up to the surface and allow you better soil to work with. If it’s a customers yard you should probably try a different trap. Maybe a putange you can set a little deeper in the run and then just backfill with the loose dirt. As long as you’ve got the traps far enough up the tunnel the backfill shouldn’t affect the function of the trap.

I set my traps in the undisturbed tunnel to each side of where I broke into the tunnel. I can back fill the tunnel where I opened it up and not worry about disturbing the moles.