Dr mole

I agree with all the points and concerns about taking on a member of staff. As a one man band I have often weighed up the pros and cons. I hate turning work away but through the summer I end up giving out phone numbers coz I just don't have the time to take any more jobs on. I don't have many contract customers and deal mostly with Jo Public. Taking on much more work would mean me charging VAT on jobs and all of a sudden my pricing isn't so competitive and I lose work. No-one is going to make a living from pest control from day one. Income will build up slowly. I know guys that have been i

It'll be a shame to see it go but it had sort of become the Karol show. He'll no doubt hijack another Forum and bore them all to tears. Think he's on a beekeepers forum if memory serves. Anything to sell a few more plastic wasp pots.

Saw my first queen wasp of the season last Friday in a customers garden. Hopefully, with them not emerging too early it's a good omen. Loads of Bumbles about today so they seem to have survived the winter in good numbers. Maybe the wasps have too?

The cat scenario is possible. The first mole I ever saw was years before I started catching them or even knew anything about them. Sat watching the telly one evening and a mole ran across the living room carpet thanks to our cat. Very naively I released it into our garden. Far more likely though I would think it made its way there under its own steam. The foundations wouldn't be a problem - I can think of three customers of mine where their gardens have retaining walls up against fields/surrounding land and the moles have to dig 3 or 4 feet down to gain entry. I've had mole activity on land I'

Out of interest what do you pay in the States to catch three moles?

I used to invariably wash ALL my traps between jobs. Most days I'd have the pressure washer on at the end of the day. Until last summer anyway. Trying to juggle all the mole work and the wasp jobs etc I just didn't get time and seemed to catch just the same as ever. I've never washed a trap since.

I've tried and given up with anything more bulky than nitriles. I can get through half a dozen a day though with the cheaper ones what with them tearing. I like the Touch n Tuff's. They last a lot longer and in the winter I place my cheapo nitriles underneath for an added layer. Justgloves.co.uk have a good offer on at the moment, buy two boxes for free next day delivery. Cheaper than Killgerm without the delivery charge.

These traps were assessed by the APMC around a year ago by a dozen or so molecatchers. They failed to meet the criteria for them to be approved. One problem being that the moles were caught too low down the body and there was no option for adjustment. Perhaps the APMC care more for the welfare of the moles than the Guilds Master Molecatchers?

Like Ian says, the Flatpacks from the last 3 years or so don't corrode like they used to. I saw some of the Bethel traps that Donks brought and can't say I was very impressed. Never had any problem tuning the Flatpack traps, but other than the mumble pins they work just fine straight from the box for most moles.

Heyford, if it's mice eating the bait there should be mouse droppings nearby. As you know, they're crapping all the time. Plenty of traps down if you really can't bait. Let us know what the camera picks up. Mr Muddy - Bushnell make some great Trophy Cams. E-bay have some from about £125. Santa was good to me this year (god knows why) and delivered this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bushnell-119477-Trophy-Cam-HD-Max-with-Colour-LCD-2012-Brown-/271295944793?pt=UK_CamerasPhoto_DigitalCameras_DigitalCameras_JN&hash=item3f2a7f9859#ht_3434wt_1206 I like the fact that it has

Maybe you could tell me where I'm going wrong MMK. Just one example - I do a caravan park near me with over 2 miles of perimeter for the moles to enter. I'm there most weeks (coz they want me to) and cleared 123 in the first year. Second year 97. First 29 days of current contract 10 more. How do YOU stop them coming in?

Well done Dave. Not just on catching one but getting it in to get stuffed so quickly. I'm getting grief regularly off the missus about mine still being in the freezer from about a year back.

Mmmmm... some interesting points in there. Anyone know where I can get some stout plastic windmills from? Preferably with a pre cut chunk out of one of the vanes

Yep, kneepads always worn. I have a cutout on my work trousers but prefer the external type with velcro straps. Any type will do for me. Can't see the need for anything expensive. I wear them primarily to save my trousers getting caked in mud. Plus it saves me kneeling in the snow/frost in the winter or on sharp stones or thorns etc. Not getting too old yet I don't think

Hi Ian, how you doing? Long time no see. I've been catching a few young moles since the beginning of this month. The cold weather this winter was very late coming and perhaps confused them? Some will say they breed all year round. Others two or three times a year. They seem to mature so quickly I find there is only a small window where I could definately say they were young. Quite rare that I catch young moles outside of July to September. Maybe more frequent down south.