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Le Braconnier

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Everything posted by Le Braconnier

  1. Le Braconnier
    I've pondered on this myself. On the farm where I can check the traps as part of walking the dog I'll often only set one per mole because I'm under no time constraints. For the same reason I'll often leave the trap for three days and re-set it in the same hole after catching for another few days. But recently I did a few garden jobs for friends of friends whereby the travelling time was greater than the time taken to survey the area and set some traps. On that basis I set two per mole and where I couldn't establish where one run started and the other finished I'd err on the side of caution and
  2. Le Braconnier
    I think you are a bullshitter. You started off last week telling us that it was rubbish to insist on buying quality traps and that you had been catching moles for two years in cheap Chinese traps and it was all down to skill not the trap. Since then you've talked about nothing but using Fenn traps.
  3. Le Braconnier
    I think he's talking bollocks myself.
  4. Le Braconnier
    That is because you havent killed enough stuff and you havent learnt respect for the animals that you do kill. Maybe that's why I drown my fish by throwing them back in the water after I've caught them.
  5. Le Braconnier
    I can tell you are getting old. Not only wanting knee pads, but posting the same question 10 times I take a gardener's kneeling pad with me. They are only a couple of quid.
  6. Le Braconnier
    I think hanging is too good for them. Personally I prefer to bury them alive.
  7. Le Braconnier
    Cheers Matt, sounds a bit quicker,( once i get up to speed,LOL ) I take it they hold ,pretty well ? The farmer I trap for kept asking me how many I'd caught and I suspected that he didn't believe me so I started putting them on the wire. Some are still there from last September. It is interesting watching them decompose. There is a fly with an iridescent green body that cuts a small 'V' into the skin and then lays its eggs under the skin. The maggots eat the mole from the inside out and in time the fur goes like lace and you can see the skeleton inside. The last thing to rot before the b
  8. Le Braconnier
    Errr. Apart from only having a 2" diameter hole suitable for a hose pipe, but not much else, have you given any consideration to the traps, etc going round and round inside the drum?
  9. Le Braconnier
    You'll have to put a 'No Dogs' sign up in your shop Come on, be fair Matt. You came on here to drum up business for your new venture. It is bound to wind people up. They can see through you.
  10. Le Braconnier
    It's great value Tom. All their products are.
  11. Le Braconnier
    Why? If the mole uses the tunnel it will get trapped as long as you set the trap correctly.
  12. Le Braconnier
    I use a simpler French pincher trap for that purpose. They are only 2 euro a piece over here and ideal for that.
  13. Le Braconnier
    Well done young 'un. Brilliant to see new blood getting into the mole trapping scene. You are right to ask for recommendations, but beware those who try to get you to buy things they sell. Personally I recommend Flatpack tunnel traps. They might not be the cheapest but they will last you far longer than cheaper traps. And I have no connection with the company. .
  14. Le Braconnier
    Don't be stupid! And they only come in yellow. I test drove one on behalf of Mole Catchers UK Monthly (I think Matt has the franchise ) but by the time I'd climbed up and down the ladders I was too knackered to dig any holes. I'm with Moxy on this one. If I have to walk then I'll just take enough in a canvas fishing bag. If its too far to walk I use the farm's small Chinese tractor with a link bucket. Dragging or pushing anything isn't an option on a lot of land. If there was a viable option the pigeon decoying boys would have found it as thy carry far more kit than mole tr
  15. Le Braconnier
  16. Le Braconnier
    These are the types of tunnels I look for. You'll find that there are less chances of getting traps back filled in the deeper runs.
  17. Le Braconnier
    If you are using Flatpack tunnel traps then you don't need to change anything to alter their dimensions. If moles are filling the traps then you are either taking too much soil out of the side walls or have not adjusted the trigger properly. Check back on the video. I'm sure it will explain how to do that. Once the trap is placed and secure, take the weight of the spring by pushing down on it and with a finger or thumb on your other hand carefully move the trigger latch back so it only just holds on the catching loop. That way the slightest touch will set it off. Then gently sprinkle soil over
  18. Le Braconnier
    You are using the best traps on the market in many people's opinion. You are increasing your skill level every time you go out. So all that remains is to carry on what is doing good and learn from your mistakes. As you experience different soil types and varying weather conditions what you have already learned will stand you in good stead. Don't change anything unless it isn't working.
  19. Le Braconnier
    I don't just dip the traps to protect them from corrosion. Speed dip is a wax product that helps the traps fire smoother and slightly quicker. I don't see the sense in buying stainless steel traps because as has been pointed out, the springs will wear out long before the trap rusts through. The cost of dipping is negligible, and it certainly seems to help the traps work a little better. It also gives my traps a 'different' look. I did have a customer ask me recently where to buy the 'black' traps like I use Each to his or her own. If you are happy with stainless steel traps th
  20. Le Braconnier
    All I did is bend the trigger loop forward. Once the trap is planted I ease the trigger so it is just on the edge. So far they are trapping really well. I've had five doubles in the last three weeks and I even lent two traps to a friend who had no experience of mole trapping. I planted the traps and he re-set them after they had caught. He got more than me and he didn't know about the trick of easing the trigger
  21. Le Braconnier
    Over here in France I cleared a litter last month from a garden and have been having double traps for about 5 weeks in various different locations. I also had a new infestation of young in October on the farm pastures. I reckon they are breeding all year.
  22. Le Braconnier
    http://www.ratbait.co.uk/talpex-mole-trap-490-p.asp
  23. Le Braconnier
    I got some Flatpack stainless traps a few months back and they are superb. I can't see me having to ever replace them whereas the cheap Chinese made traps bought from a mole catching web site were useless after a month. And that was after having to be butchered just to make them work properly. all I've done with the Flatpacks is to bend the trigger loops slightly forward. Made me laugh when I mentioned the stainless traps on another site and someone said that they were a waste of money as the springs would wear out before the trap rusted. If that is so, then how come a pro' trapper on the
  24. Le Braconnier
    Same here. I agree with everything you say. Since I started using Talpex every one's a coconut. Well almost, but I'm talking twice or three times in six months the trap has failed to catch and in each case it was down to heavy rain causing the soil to stick. I use them in occupied sheep pastures and cover them with plywood boards to prevent stock from disturbing the traps. I also found that the Flatpack tunnel traps virtually never get filled with soil like the cheaper tunnel traps used to. Same trapper, same ground, same methods yet the more expensive traps catch when the others faile
  25. Le Braconnier
    Well, my landlord bought me some cheap Chinese traps and they didn't last a month. Not only that they needed serious tweaking and even cutting of the latch wires to make them anything like humane and reliable. Then, as Moxy rightly states; the wires bend and the spring becomes weak, they also verdigris to an alarming extent meaning that the trigger mechanism becomes harder to trip. If you get on with them then that's fine. But from my own experience with them compared to better made traps I reckon that you will be nowhere near as efficient as if you used better traps. So my motto is; Buy
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