No-Mol Traps?

Has anybody had good experience with these?

I feel like my mole line will greatly increase this year and I have always used the victor oos mole traps with great success. Unfortunately, OOS traps now seem to be impossible to find at at a decent price, and if I buy the no mol traps by the case, it would make far more financial sense, IF they are effective.

I am a little sceptical of this style of trap though, because I tried Albano's traps a couple years ago and they did not work well for me in my sugar sand soil. I also worried a lot about pinching a mole and having my trap carried off, although that never actually happened.

First, you have to stake down the No-mole just like Steve's traps. Like any other trap you have to learn how to use them.
Your runs have to be a little larger and straight or you will trip the trap. I just can not get the hang of OOS but I still use them in some cases.

I eventually began staking them with my flags, but I still had problems with moles digging under the traps, as well as misses. I think in my type of soil moles are quicker to recognize a hard, foreign object. I eventually traded my trapline products traps for OOS. Hopefully I can find someone selling them because I'd really like to stick with "Ole Faithful".

Have you looked on line. Ace Hardware carriers them in my area. Did you ever set Steve's trap up-side-down. Did you bed the good? I know you have to go what works for you!

I got a wild hair once and bought 144 of em...used em alot and caught alot of moles with em but OOS i am extremely deadly with.

I will be going in detail at wct how i set the oos and what i do to modify them so they work on hair trigger...also be talking locations to set as well as marketing/advertising and selling mole jobs.

Albano trapline traps must be used with a tether cable. You cannot stake them thru the spring wind loop with a wire flag marker. This prevents the trap from rotating properly which prevents the jaws from closing as they should.

You will have many misses and partially caught animals that will get away in many cases.

I have used most all of the available mole traps over 46 years in mole trapping. They all work once you get on to using each one effectively. I can set and move thru a lawn quickly with my system once I read the sign and determine my locations.

It comes down to what you can use effectively and how many you have to carry around daily. i cant carry enough OOS traps as they are too bulky and heavy to carry hundreds in our busy season.

I can carry a few hundred trapline traps in a couple of buckets with very little weight and bulk in a truck. We need room to carry other equipment as well. Kids mess with them at times, OOS and lawn care folks like to run them over too many times as well. I have learned to appreciate out of site, out of mind trapping with buried traps.

I will set 25-60 traps on our average size mole jobs in our region. A few jobs every year wont require that many traps due to minimal mole activity. However most have had them for a while so there are several moles there on most jobs.

I could never make a significant impact setting just a few traps with all the activity we have to work with using OOS traps. I used many in the past as that is all we had was spears and OOS.

Question about the OOS, should the wall that the pan sits on be as high as the top of the mole run itself? What is the number one reason a mole digs under an OOS? Sorry for using your thread, but not much mole talk going on this time of year!

Bob deals with a different mole species than we do here in midwest. His moles are communal (hairy tailed) and he will take between 20-50 moles out of one yard where my average acre of yard is 3-6 moles (eastern mole). I only need to set 2 traps per mole to catch em in short order. I can carry 12 OOS no problem walking thru The yard along with 12 flags, digger, and setting prongs...during freezing top of ground i can also carry road salt.

Yes the "dam" needs to be horizontal and close to top of the tunnel height. You want it firm and packed as much as you can. It should not be able to let water thru if you poured water in on one side. I make an adjustment to my pan and "dam" that is killer on moles that i will not explain on here til after wct. Will be showing it in person in a big flower pot ay wct

If you get the mole DVD by Alan at WCS he show in detail how to set them, or just call him and ask

Thanks Kirt:
The main trap I am interested in is the OOS. I think the key element I have been missing is the Wall/Bridge has not been high enough and maybe to soft. I know there are many in the South that still use OOS. When it get hot our sand gets real dry. My go to trap are Steve's A., NO-moles, OOS, Duffus (not much luck with). I have tuned up Steve's A. traps and the OOS and the Duffus. The Duffus take a lot of turning up. I am always look for the edge. The DVD did not say anything about the OOS.

The problem most of my students have with mole trapping is understanding good consistent setting technique with each trap. Critiquing your sets after setting the traps to learn to make this part a muscle memory skill. This will come after lots of field work and practice.. That is one of the key problems with newbies.

Some get on to it after watching me fairly quickly, then practicing on their own for a while. Others still struggle and just cant get it down consistently. Most anyone can be taught if there is a sincere interest or you can learn a skill and get reasonably good at it in time.Trapping skill is no different.

There is a learning curve with each specie of animal that you must learn to control or trap. It can take many years to achieve significant success mastering some techniques, devices and learning to read and decipher mole tunnel networks.

That is also a learned skill that takes considerable time and contributes to your success as well.

Not unlike finding predator trapping locations. It takes a while to master that as well.

Without continued practice of proper technique some will get frustrated no doubt. It took me some years to really get it down thru trial and error. Setting technique is only one part of mole trapping. You have to know where to set the traps in the best locations and the best runs that give you a straight run that is long enough to be able to set your traps to be most effective.

I get very few misses or dig unders. When I do, I know I have not taken the time to use good technique and hurried the sets in most cases. Other cases ground conditions were found to be the problem or rocks,roots etc.

With the Trapline traps the biggest key is that you "must make sure that the trap is centered in the run properly, the bottom of the jaws where they hinge together and pivot at the bottom of the trap frame must be pushed into the soil below the tunnel grade or at least even with the tunnel bottom.

" I use a dandelion tool to reach into the tunnel to perform this bedding technique to the front of the trap frame/jaws. It's simply a coordination of using one hand to secure the trap and the other to push the trap down into the tunnel bottom.

You must make sure that your jaws are not miss aligned in the tunnel with regards to the travel lane and how you have set your trap. " This is where one or the other jaws are protruding" into the open tunnel travel lane obstructing traffic of the mole in some abnormal manner.

You want to check for this at times to see if you are setting in proper alignment to the mole tunnel with your traps.

If you just push them into a tunnel and call it good you will have problems with that technique down the road.

This poor trap placement habit creates what is perceived to be a tunnel obstruction to a mole. So they naturally react by digging under or around the obstruction or damming the tunnel at this point only to re route the tunnel around the blockage.

I had to develop a tool for me to avoid much of the encountered problems with mole trapping using the Trapline traps. It was a game changer for me after many years of doing this work commercially. We all learn short cuts and things to do to make us more productive on the line.

Bob, thank you for taking so much time explaining the different aspects of mole trapping. I think one of the item I have to look at more carefully is the placement of the OOS in the run. I think I will take a small light with me to make it easier to see the placement of the trap. Our ground in my area is sandy and when it dries out is will not pack very well. No-mole and Steve's traps are not problem. I purchased one of your tools, it works great. I set a lot less traps then when I first started because learning to read the tunnels. Thank you again!

A little tip that I learned along the way is this. When I have decided on a section of mole tunnel to set up I cut out a sod the size that I need to set two traps easily and close enough for the tethers on each trap to reach each other. This way I can anchor each trap with one flag wire to identify the location.

Once that is done I run my dandelion tool into each tunnel the length of the tool which is about 12" long. This tells me the direction of the tunnel and if there may be any obstructions in that area before setting a trap. Once that is done and I know it is a straight workable run I am ready to set a trap.

I see guys trying to use their fingers to determine this and if it is a good straight run. These are the fellas that run into problems more then they should.

Once I establish the run direction and travel lane I lay my dandelion tool on top of the tunnel on the ground surface giving me a visual surface window of where my trap should be placed in the proper direction. Fingers being used to determine the correct position and line of travel of your trap to the tunnels direction is critical so finger method is not fool proof for effectiveness and allows for improper alignment more then you realize.

I know as that is what I use to do thinking it was adequate and all that was needed in my early years. Once I moved on to another method my catch / miss ratio changed significantly.

Bob:
I made a tool out of a dowel that is about 10 inches long, I do the same thing. It is amazing how sharp a mole can turn underground. Just another chance to get the edge on them. Do not get in a hurry. There are no two sets the same in every way.JMO Thanks again Bob.

I have seen them turn about face right between my knees in an open run. They are like silly putty when they are alive. When they stiffen up after death you wouldn't know it. Talk about strong. Try to hold one in your clinched fist. Near impossible to hold one contained.

On the DVD I got he covers the OOS and two or three more. Now not everybody digs a hole and puts a wall, I use a closed trap to clear slot for legs then pnuch the soil in middle to make blockage. Don't do this in frozen ground. I have used trapline traps also. I don't get that many mole jobs

Kurt:
Mole are my bread a butter. I want to make SURE that the legs of the trap are not in the run at all. I will have to give setting them above ground a try. Sure would take a lot less time.
Thanks.

Alignment of most any device is critical to high percentage catches of moles. Sometimes the least bit of perceived blockage in a tunnel will cause a mole to react.

Either by digging under, around or completely blocking that part of its tunnel with dirt. It will then decide in an instant to avoid that part of the tunnel and divert to another direction or go back from where it came and never reuse that run again at times.

There is always something that must be interpreted by the trapper to understand how to react or to prevent the same experience in the future too many times. Some guys just spin their wheels much more than they should because they dont know how to read the moles reaction at times to what they have done.

Just remember if you alter or block the run partially or obstruct it in some manner that they wont accept it, you will create problems for yourself. It is that simple. Their behavior will alert you to something that you need to change or to become aware/conscious of when you set in the future.

You must understand what it is you are failing to do. Sometimes this is a challenge as there can be several variables taking place at the same time. Ground conditions are one of those things that you can't control. So you must learn to work with those conditions or you can bring in your own workable ground material to place it to allow you to develop your own setting situation with ground media that will give you better working conditions to set in.

I have jobs a few times a year that I must bring in a couple buckets of moist dirt and a piece of 1" pipe. I cut out a section of the ground remove the native soil and replace with my own material. Keep it moist or wet it to enough to be able to form it to fit the area. I lay the piece of pipe so it aligns with the existing run and compact the soil to form a new tunnel. Remove the pipe and set your traps. I cover the open top runs with black weed block material cut to the size I need to cover the open tunnel area. I use weed block spike pins to hold the cloth material in place. This keeps the air flow out the tunnel dark.

I use the same cover method in mulch areas as they tend to collapse all the time when setting traps. Sometimes you can use rocks or gravel if it is available near your set up to use to hold things in place.

Bob:
I found it interesting about the soil. I was thinking about doing that but I though the mole would since the new soil and avoid moving forward. I was also thinking of taking water and moisten the soil, but again the mole would notice the different soil condition and not move forward. Thank you for your help!

I have done it a lot when needed over the years. If you feel the need to mix in some of the local soil with the imported dirt that may make you feel better about it.

Just make the tunnel hold and form together as it should to continue the run and you are good in my experience.

I have transported cut out pieces of sod that I formed a mole tunnel into the bottom of the sod roots system that holds the tunnel intact. That works nicely also. Just takes a little practice to learn to cut out the needed size and translocate the sod to the selected mole tunnel section for setting traps.

Bob: Thanks again! I will have to take some heaver soil with me this year when the weather get hot or run into sander soil. This is one of the reasons I like lawn that are sprinkled. More moles and heaver soil.

I have caught Moles without digging but i have missed enough that way that i absolutely refuse to set traps that way. I have maybe enough misses with set traps under the surface with OOS that i can count on one hand in a year. We caught 1,326 moles in 2018. Opening up the run, setting trap, and recovering should take about the same time as cutting a run to set trap in when setting in top. I have done it enough i could set the trap blindfolded in 30 seconds. Matter of fact i have had my son time that 2 times.

I teach my students exactly how to set the traps for effective and consistent mole catches. First half of the day they watch and learn locations for setting. Then i talk them thru exactly how i set traps as they do it...everything from digging the hole to setting trap to setting trap off first time to making the dam to covering trap. Then the rest of the day and next day we continue to learn location and i set one trap then their turn then mine. By 3rd day they are setting the trap exactly how i do it and placing traps in the right runs the way i pick em.

My 14 year old son now goes with me in summer to set traps with me on yards...

You must look like a Jack Russell Terrier digging up a gopher setting a OOS in 30 sec. LOL I am lucky if I can set the OOS in 30 sec. Again good information! The old saying, " Haste make waste", place the trap in the right tunnel and the rest is history.

Alan shows the tool he sells for above ground setting, its for sale on his site. The pro's on here are a much better source then me for info. Both Bob and Trapper have decades in mole trapping, You can't go wrong in absorbing the experience they freely give.

X2

We have a variety of moles here. At times I will catch 3 species on one job. I can catch hairy tails, and Eastern moles in the same lawn and if they have a wet bottom along a creek for example I can catch a star nosed mole.

I have never seen a Hairy Tail mole in this part of Michigan. I am on the far West side of Mi.