The Art of Mole Trapping - Choosing a Trap Site

The first question to ask is: “what situation am I dealing with?” There are four options:
 
  1. A new arrival. When there have not been signs of mole activity for a long period. 
  2. An interloper. Characterised by a single line of mole hills from ‘point A’ to ‘point B’.
  3. A small number of established burrows undergoing expansion. A sudden explosion of activity where there was previously only the occasional hill.
  4. An established burrow or network of burrows. This is the classic ‘nightmare field full of mole hills’ with many residents and little or no obvious pattern of activity. 
In each case, you should apply a different strategy. We will now look at each in turn.
 
A New Arrival
 
If it is a New Arrival it should be obvious, since you will not have had signs of mole activity recently (with in the last couple of months) and the activity will have started near to the perimeter of the affected area.  
 
Now is the time to get started, before he makes too much of a mess! In the early stages, he will probably be 'living' elsewhere, so look for the ‘access point’ to your property, and set a trap here.  
 
A single trap should be enough, since every time he comes back he will pass this way. Check the trap regularly and if you do not make a catch reset up to 3 or 4 times before moving to a new location further along the tunnel.
 
[diagram]
 
The Interloper
 
If it is an Interloper then there will be only one or two lines of mole hills, in a generally straight direction. They will appear to be going from a ‘point A’ to a ‘point B’.  
 
There are two cases when this might occur; firstly where a mole is exploring and looking for better feeding grounds further afield, and secondly where a male is searching out a female to mate with.  
 
In both cases, you should find a couple of good sections of tunnel between two mole hills and set two traps as soon as possible after the hills appear. It is important to do it soon since the mole may only pass through once or twice.   
 
You should set two traps since you may only get one chance at the critter. Leave the traps down a little longer than you would normally (up to 72 hours) as you wouldn’t want to pull them up too soon; before he returns.  If they have been blocked up, you will probably not get a second chance.
 
[diagram]
 
If you do not catch him, then you could follow the line of hills and try to find his main burrow. Look carefully at the hills to determine which were the most recent.  Then follow them back to the earliest hill you can find. This is likely to be the edge of his existing pre-existing burrow.  
 
Probe in this area for a spur tunnels and set a couple of traps. Remember: if it is a long standing burrow, there may be little or no evidence of excavation in the area. 
 
The Sudden Explosion

If you have had the occasional mole hill, but you then get an explosion of them, it is almost certainly one or more moles off in search of a new food source.  
 
If this happens, you should think about what is causing this new need for more food (see sections on ‘the mole’ and ‘studying the signs’).
In this case, you have probably been trying to catch the mole(s) for some time, and have been unable to make a successful trap – usually because you have been trying in the feeding grounds, and have not been able to locate a main run. 
Classically you will have experienced a high number of filled in traps. If so, then you should take advantage of this new activity to catch the mole out. 
 
When the mole is excavating new runs, he will expect to encounter cave-ins and unfamiliar obstacles. He will also not be moving slowly and carefully looking for prey. This is an ideal situation to make a clean catch.  
 
First, try to establish in which direction the network is ‘growing’. Focus your efforts at the ‘root’ of these growths, since this will maximise your chances. Here the mole will be in ‘transport’ mode, getting to the digging site.  
 
If you position too close to the end of a new tunnel, you risk the trap getting filled in with spoil, from a new excavation. You also risk the mole not returning to this specific branch again, in favour of a more promising option.  
 
Ideally try to set at least 2 -3 traps to make the most of this opportunity before the mole goes back to foraging mode.
 
Established Burrows & Networks
 
In this case, you have probably not tried to control the mole population in some time. There will be a confusing array of mole hills everywhere with little distinct pattern.  
 
However, all is not lost. You can still succeed, so long as you plan your attack. First, try to work out if there is an obvious ‘access point’ to the area. If there are ditches, walls, or a road along three sides, focus on the fourth.  
 
A good place is usually a gateway or gap in the hedge – these will be easier to tunnel under than deep root systems or foundations.  
 
Probe in this area to find the access point, and set a couple of traps in this area. If moles are coming in and out of the area, they will probably be travelling at speed and this should give some good clean catches.  
 
Next, decide on a direction, and work methodically around the field. In a large field, you may want to spiral inwards, in a smaller field, it is better to work in segments (like slices of a pie). Once you have completed a full circuit, wait a few days and then return to see if and where any new activity is.
 
Ideally for this kind of work, you should be setting as many traps as possible in each area. This will speed up the process and make much lighter work. 

Other Top Tips

One:  With a little practice, you will be able to tell if you have uncovered a main tunnel, and active tunnel, or a disused tunnel.  

Depending upon your soil type, a main tunnel will be a little wider, and have smooth compacted sides. A disused tunnel will be smaller, rougher, and will usually have small cave ins.

Two: if you uncover a tunnel and discover that it is a junction, then this will be a difficult place to correctly set a trap. Instead, work our which is the 'root' tunnel (the leg of the Y) and dig a new hole a foot further back along this tunnel.  

Don't worry about the old hole, you can fill in the old hole or leave it open. The mole will expect cave-ins and will simply make repairs. Alternatively an open hole will usually be investigated, bringing the mole into your trap.

Three: if you are having trouble finding an active tunnel, and don't have lots of traps to set then there is an easy way to improve your chances. Start by opening up a few tunnels at random locations, and place marker sticks by each opening.

Leave them for 24hours, and then go back and check them. Any that have been plugged by the mole are probable regularly used tunnels and are a good bet for a trap site.