Moles on Golf Course Help&Advice please

[wingnut 27]

Hello i'm a greenkeeper on a local golf course and i deal with the pests mainly on the golf course but unfortunaltely i have never had much luck with trapping moles we have always used worms with strycnine but obviously can't no longer as can't get hold of it and a pest controller charged £950 to deal with the moles last time using strychnine, and the company i work for can't afford his trapping prices so they have asked us to do it our selves, and i was wondering if anyone could give me some valubale advice to deal with these moles as i only a young lad and the more tips i learn of people of this site the better for the future, the traps i will be using are tunnel traps they old weathered ones. Can any one help it will be much appreciated many thanks.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Can any one help it will be much appreciated many thanks.

 

Relax, man. I'm sure many of us can feed you all the tips and advice you'll need to get the hang of trapping the buggers. But first of all, can you please just verifie what you mean by " Tunnel Traps "? Do ye mean the galvanised ones, like a small piece of upside down guttering. Spring powered, wire loop at each end?

 

Or do you mean the ones like a pair of tongs, with a metal bit with a hole through the middle hanging between the jaws?

[IanB 0]

I think he means duffus half barrel traps ditcher, not the scissor style traps...may be wrong though..

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

I'm pretty sure he does, Ian But, as he says; He's young and inexperianced. Last thing he'll want is a hard kick in the confidance by someone bellowing; " It's not bloody rocket science! ". One step at a time

 

I've seen enough grown men with plenty of experiance in other fields just about reduced to despair over trying to catch their first moles with 'Duffus' traps. Personally, I was always a 'Pincer' man myself. Just never had any trouble with them. I'd actually go as far as to say they'd be better on the turf of a Golf Course. All a bit accademic to me now ~ living in a bog in Eire!

[TOMO 24,880]

wingnut, where is your golf course. if your not to far from nottingham pm me. i run my own pest control company im sure i can undercut the other pester

 

however if you are far away then pm moley of this site and buy his video/dvd about £30 , it will show you all you need to know about mole trapping

[wingnut 27]

Can any one help it will be much appreciated many thanks.

 

Relax, man. I'm sure many of us can feed you all the tips and advice you'll need to get the hang of trapping the buggers. But first of all, can you please just verifie what you mean by " Tunnel Traps "? Do ye mean the galvanised ones, like a small piece of upside down guttering. Spring powered, wire loop at each end?

 

Or do you mean the ones like a pair of tongs, with a metal bit with a hole through the middle hanging between the jaws?

 

 

Hi guys sorry for late reply just got back from work the ones i mean are the galvanised ones, like a small piece of upside down guttering. Spring powered, wire loop at each end, i have to use these ones as the golfers seem to spot the scissor like pincer traps and take them.

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure he does, Ian But, as he says; He's young and inexperianced. Last thing he'll want is a hard kick in the confidance by someone bellowing; " It's not bloody rocket science! ". One step at a time

 

I've seen enough grown men with plenty of experiance in other fields just about reduced to despair over trying to catch their first moles with 'Duffus' traps. Personally, I was always a 'Pincer' man myself. Just never had any trouble with them. I'd actually go as far as to say they'd be better on the turf of a Golf Course. All a bit accademic to me now ~ living in a bog in Eire!

 

 

wingnut, where is your golf course. if your not to far from nottingham pm me. i run my own pest control company im sure i can undercut the other pester

 

however if you are far away then pm moley of this site and buy his video/dvd about £30 , it will show you all you need to know about mole trapping

 

It quite far away mate i in wolverhampton area buts thanks for help anyway.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

What we call " Duffus " type traps then, mate. Moley's excellent with those ~ but he's not exactly notorious for giving anything away! Maybe Chalkwarren could offer ye a few tips. Have to be fast to catch it, before he deletes the f***in lot though! P&G likely knows his way round a Duffus, but he's said to be a bit otherwise engaged just now. For my own part, I won't be free till late tonight, at the earliest. But, if no one else pitches in before then, I'll try to give ye a few basic pointers, as best I can.

 

These aren't 'my' trap, see? Always been a Pincer man, myself. But I should be able to give ye a few fundamentals. If nothing else, my sacrifice will egg the others on to ripping me apart in public. That'd be fine by me, if in so doing they tell you how it Really should be done, according to their own ways!

[woodga 170]

:11: :11: DONT KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN :whistle:

GOOD HUNTING ALL WOODGA :ph34r:

[Guest NANDO]

Edited August 21, 2007 by NANDO

[bullsmilk 2]

What we call " Duffus " type traps then, mate. Moley's excellent with those ~ but he's not exactly notorious for giving anything away! Maybe Chalkwarren could offer ye a few tips. Have to be fast to catch it, before he deletes the f***in lot though! P&G likely knows his way round a Duffus, but he's said to be a bit otherwise engaged just now. For my own part, I won't be free till late tonight, at the earliest. But, if no one else pitches in before then, I'll try to give ye a few basic pointers, as best I can.

 

These aren't 'my' trap, see? Always been a Pincer man, myself. But I should be able to give ye a few fundamentals. If nothing else, my sacrifice will egg the others on to ripping me apart in public. That'd be fine by me, if in so doing they tell you how it Really should be done, according to their own ways!

feck me ds by the time you typed this lott you could have given him a master class in mole trapping :11: talk about going around the bushes ...but as always ds a pleasure to read mate

[red dog 3]

 

 

 

they all work mate, good quality british made are the best, moley's the man to get in touch with.

[wingnut 27]

What we call " Duffus " type traps then, mate. Moley's excellent with those ~ but he's not exactly notorious for giving anything away! Maybe Chalkwarren could offer ye a few tips. Have to be fast to catch it, before he deletes the f***in lot though! P&G likely knows his way round a Duffus, but he's said to be a bit otherwise engaged just now. For my own part, I won't be free till late tonight, at the earliest. But, if no one else pitches in before then, I'll try to give ye a few basic pointers, as best I can.

 

These aren't 'my' trap, see? Always been a Pincer man, myself. But I should be able to give ye a few fundamentals. If nothing else, my sacrifice will egg the others on to ripping me apart in public. That'd be fine by me, if in so doing they tell you how it Really should be done, according to their own ways!

 

Thanks Ditch_Shitter sorry late reply getting back to you thank you for your help

 

..

Hello i'm a greenkeeper on a local golf course and i deal with the pests mainly on the golf course but unfortunaltely i have never had much luck with trapping moles we have always used worms with strycnine but obviously can't no longer as can't get hold of it and a pest controller charged £950 to deal with the moles last time using strychnine, and the company i work for can't afford his trapping prices so they have asked us to do it our selves, and i was wondering if anyone could give me some valubale advice to deal with these moles as i only a young lad and the more tips i learn of people of this site the better for the future, the traps i will be using are tunnel traps they old weathered ones. Can any one help it will be much appreciated many thanks.

this guy does avideo mate...wayne@molecatcher1.wanadoo.co.uk...it will teach you the basic's,teaches you how to ajust traps...best runs to trap etc..helped me..as for the traps,i think you will probably have more success with the duffes...i find when you get the hang of it..you do catch quit a lot of double catches with the duffus trap,the pincers just dont seem to be quick enough for me..good luck..a trapper

 

 

 

they all work mate, good quality british made are the best, moley's the man to get in touch with.

Nice pics

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Yeah. Sure. Trouble is, mate; Unless you've been PM'd the information, I actually haven't been any help, have I? I was hoping to provoke any of the Real Pro's out there to step in and show their stuff. No takers

 

Ok. Sh*t or bust time. I'll tell ye what I know. Not much and especially as I've never liked 'Duffus' traps. But here's a few observations I can offer. Though these'll leave gaps I have no idea how to fill because I've simply never worked your particular situation. Those damn Golfers bother me.

 

First off, the Pro's all use a Probe. Steel rod with a small bulge in it. They say pushing that into the ground between mole hills causes a slight 'Give' when ye hit a run. Cool. I'd suggest getting a threaded rod of Eliza Tinsley and screwing a nut onto it, probably about four inches up would do it? (* Armchair Theorist Alert!!! * : To be perfectly honest; I always just pushed a hill over and used my eyes and finger to find the shaft beneath it. I can't weld and had never come across pre threaded steel rods in those days. I'm just guessing that may do as well ) But, as you'll be removing those hills as soon as? Up to you wether you probe or use my old way. It worked for me, no matter what the book says.

 

Try to find the most outlying hills / runs. That's sensible. Mole has to come in from some point and you may bush whack him on the way in. Once he's in that network, it's anyones guess where he'll go. Why try to chase him all over the place?

 

Having decided which spot to set, I used a knife. Pointing trowels, I found, were f***ing awful. They don't cut turf so well and I just ended up digging a god awful great crater. Messy. No. BIG sheaf or even carving knife is what I used. Made cuts like \ / and prised out the resultant earth plug. Not as simple as it may sound. But I was doing it for the love of it. You're getting paid by people who won't realise how much slower you'll be than a Pro'. And, presumably, on an hourly wage? Enjoy yeself.

 

DO try to leave the run bottom as ye should have 'found' it. Work it out: Mole's a tubular thing. His body smooths as it goes. No animal's Ever made a square or \/ shaped hole. So use the handle of that knife to tamp and smooth his run again, after you've plucked the loose 'pebbles' of earth out which you Will displace and drop in there.

 

Make the hole trap sized. The \ / shaped opening you need to create will allow the trap to 'hang in' the hole. Not much I can add there that common sense and doing it won't make clear. Now comes the hard bit!

 

When I used Pincers, I'd move aside and carve out a little 'turf'. I'd then generally shake, beat and scratch much of the underlying earth off the roots. I'd cut it in half and use those halves, front and back of the 'handles' of the trap, to form a light excluding cap / cover. See, the Pincer handles would fire well enough between that. Duffus springs need to lift Through what ever cover you use. Being a Golf Course, the turf will be both dead short and sacred, I'm guessing? But, I'm also guessing you'll have a huge compost heap of grass cuttings somewhere? Ok, try this (Yep. More guess work!) :

 

Get a pocket full of hand sized plastic bags - I always have those in my back pockets as I use them to pick up behind my Dogs. Freezer / Sandwich type bags. Fill a few with those grass cuttings and put them in your trapping bag. Then, having set the trap to your best guessed satisfaction, lay a plastic bag across it. Then just heap grass cuttings on top of that untill you reckon you've blocked any light. One advantage of your type of trap is that it doesn't admit That much light to start with. All the stuff on top also makes for a good support for your cover.

 

One last observation from real life: There's an old theory about how moles work in - I think it's - four hour, on / off shifts? Well, there may be something in that, only I've never tried to work out what time they clock on. But I Have found that, if I set traps just after noon, I have my moles by about 16:00. Giving that just a split seconds consideration, I wonder if that may help you with those poxy Golfers? Set to those times and - while it'll lead to untold grief in lifting and re setting (else where) if you feel you need to adopt it - I'm figuring it May let you work in between the Golfers most active periods? Just a thought.

 

 

 

Anyway, that's as much as I can do for ye, man. I only ever touched moles for a hobby. But I've certainly caught my share. Remember though; I 99% used Pincers. I'll be absolutley Delighted now if any of the Real Deal Pro' Mole Catchers here would care to step in and say I've spoken so much bullsh*t it stinks to high heaven. That's fine by me. As long as they have the decency and generosity of spirit to then help You out as they ridicule me

 

Best of luck anyway. Shame rats or crows weren't ye problem!

[wingnut 27]

Yeah. Sure. Trouble is, mate; Unless you've been PM'd the information, I actually haven't been any help, have I? I was hoping to provoke any of the Real Pro's out there to step in and show their stuff. No takers

 

Ok. Sh*t or bust time. I'll tell ye what I know. Not much and especially as I've never liked 'Duffus' traps. But here's a few observations I can offer. Though these'll leave gaps I have no idea how to fill because I've simply never worked your particular situation. Those damn Golfers bother me.

 

First off, the Pro's all use a Probe. Steel rod with a small bulge in it. They say pushing that into the ground between mole hills causes a slight 'Give' when ye hit a run. Cool. I'd suggest getting a threaded rod of Eliza Tinsley and screwing a nut onto it, probably about four inches up would do it? (* Armchair Theorist Alert!!! * : To be perfectly honest; I always just pushed a hill over and used my eyes and finger to find the shaft beneath it. I can't weld and had never come across pre threaded steel rods in those days. I'm just guessing that may do as well ) But, as you'll be removing those hills as soon as? Up to you wether you probe or use my old way. It worked for me, no matter what the book says.

 

Try to find the most outlying hills / runs. That's sensible. Mole has to come in from some point and you may bush whack him on the way in. Once he's in that network, it's anyones guess where he'll go. Why try to chase him all over the place?

 

Having decided which spot to set, I used a knife. Pointing trowels, I found, were f***ing awful. They don't cut turf so well and I just ended up digging a god awful great crater. Messy. No. BIG sheaf or even carving knife is what I used. Made cuts like \ / and prised out the resultant earth plug. Not as simple as it may sound. But I was doing it for the love of it. You're getting paid by people who won't realise how much slower you'll be than a Pro'. And, presumably, on an hourly wage? Enjoy yeself.

 

DO try to leave the run bottom as ye should have 'found' it. Work it out: Mole's a tubular thing. His body smooths as it goes. No animal's Ever made a square or \/ shaped hole. So use the handle of that knife to tamp and smooth his run again, after you've plucked the loose 'pebbles' of earth out which you Will displace and drop in there.

 

Make the hole trap sized. The \ / shaped opening you need to create will allow the trap to 'hang in' the hole. Not much I can add there that common sense and doing it won't make clear. Now comes the hard bit!

 

When I used Pincers, I'd move aside and carve out a little 'turf'. I'd then generally shake, beat and scratch much of the underlying earth off the roots. I'd cut it in half and use those halves, front and back of the 'handles' of the trap, to form a light excluding cap / cover. See, the Pincer handles would fire well enough between that. Duffus springs need to lift Through what ever cover you use. Being a Golf Course, the turf will be both dead short and sacred, I'm guessing? But, I'm also guessing you'll have a huge compost heap of grass cuttings somewhere? Ok, try this (Yep. More guess work!) :

 

Get a pocket full of hand sized plastic bags - I always have those in my back pockets as I use them to pick up behind my Dogs. Freezer / Sandwich type bags. Fill a few with those grass cuttings and put them in your trapping bag. Then, having set the trap to your best guessed satisfaction, lay a plastic bag across it. Then just heap grass cuttings on top of that untill you reckon you've blocked any light. One advantage of your type of trap is that it doesn't admit That much light to start with. All the stuff on top also makes for a good support for your cover.

 

One last observation from real life: There's an old theory about how moles work in - I think it's - four hour, on / off shifts? Well, there may be something in that, only I've never tried to work out what time they clock on. But I Have found that, if I set traps just after noon, I have my moles by about 16:00. Giving that just a split seconds consideration, I wonder if that may help you with those poxy Golfers? Set to those times and - while it'll lead to untold grief in lifting and re setting (else where) if you feel you need to adopt it - I'm figuring it May let you work in between the Golfers most active periods? Just a thought.

 

 

 

Anyway, that's as much as I can do for ye, man. I only ever touched moles for a hobby. But I've certainly caught my share. Remember though; I 99% used Pincers. I'll be absolutley Delighted now if any of the Real Deal Pro' Mole Catchers here would care to step in and say I've spoken so much bullsh*t it stinks to high heaven. That's fine by me. As long as they have the decency and generosity of spirit to then help You out as they ridicule me

 

Best of luck anyway. Shame rats or crows weren't ye problem!

 

Thank you so much Ditch_shitter i was saying thanks before for your time and effort helping and this advice will be used thank you for taking the time to help me i will let you know of the results, we have our fair share of rats in the ditchs and wood areas and near the yard but me terriers deal with them ha ha and crows and magpies there are loads decoying them early in the morn before the golfers come out is fun, there is one thing i have tried with the crows and magpies before golfers are about .I don;t play golf much prefer hunting ha ha but i noticed whilst working how close golfers can get to these vermin as golfers are seen as no fret as they see them day in day out so i decided to borrow a trolley put me air rifle in it and pretended to be playing golf and much to my amazement the magpies and few crows and squirrels fell for it was able to get pretty close before i said hello ha ha.

[Phil Lloyd 10,736]

Nice work from Ditchshitter,...er,.I think we shall leave it there,.eh

Us 'pro's ' have got to live,.thou knows,.. :11:

 

Moles are a doddle to catch,.but you gotta play by the rules,...learn em' and they are fecked....

Edited September 10, 2007 by CHALKWARREN