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Last month, I related my contact with a mole trapper who uses the Nomol trap to catch moles. Mike Marshall was kind enough to provide me with information on using the trap as well. Before I begin, I want to emphasize the need to check state laws before instituting any animal damage control work. Next, you should be made aware that there are a number of mole traps that are very effective in catching moles. Don't fall into the trap that somehow the there is some special trap out there that works magic. The fact is many people are not successful in catching moles because they lack proper training in the use of the trap. Visit http://www.wildlifedamagecontrol.com/mol... for literature that will help you learn how to trap moles. Anyway, here is some of my e-mail conversation with Mike. [NMmedsz.jpg]Can you describe the steps to using the trap?

I ask the homeowner a couple of days before I come out to flatten all the boils. This way when I come out, I know what is the most recent boil. I have never had the problem of a customer unwilling to wait for me to come out in a couple of days to see all the activity.

Once a mound has been chosen, I just dig down through the mound to locate where the tunnels branch from the tunnel used by the mole to bring dirt to the surface. I use a large shovel (6 inch wide blade and an 18 inch long handle) for initial digging when the sod is tough. For the final shaping of the hole to get good placement of the traps, I use the smaller shovel (3 1/2 inch wide blade and an 8 inch handle). The idea is to have a fairly even surface at the bottom of the hole in order to slide the trap into the exposed tunnel without setting it off. I'll dig loose dirt out of the tunnel using the trap forks, and cut vegetation roots out of the way with a hand pruner.

After placing the traps, one facing in each direction down the branching tunnels, I insert a dowel through the ring in both traps to secure them. I place a fairly thin piece of sod between the dowel and the tunnel to prevent loose dirt from getting into the trap. If no good sod is available, I use a piece of black plastic sheeting, which I secure in place using dirt and rocks at the edges. Then I hand sift dirt back into the hole I made. When done, the only thing visible is the dowel sticking up through the dirt. I then mark the location with a survey flag so I can see it from a distance. This helps me to locate my traps, and warns off lawn mowers. The survey flag color chosen depends upon the background, which is more of an issue when setting near flowering vegetation.

Sometimes a boil is up against a railroad tie or root or some other obstruction. You know the tunnel is underneath the tie or other obstruction and it prevents your setting there. That is when you have to probe. I will probe around the mound in a six inch radius looking for a good tunnel. The probe I use is a plastic garden stake that was made for staking plants. They are 3/8" wide and 4 feet long. I like them because of their light weight and ease of use-. I simply insert the probe down 8-10 inches. If I feel a change in resistance than I know the probe has found a tunnel. If not, then I try again two inches away from the previous spot but still six inches away from the boil. I also use 1/4 inch wide and 18 inch long wooden dowels painted orange on the top couple of inches, and various colored survey flags on metal shafts to mark the location of the traps. These markers do two things: They help you locate your traps, and they warn people running lawnmowers not to drive over your traps. Even though the traps are completely underground, running over them with a lawnmower might set off the trap or push dirt and/or mud into the trap keeping it from firing when you need it to. The dowels also act as stakes to secure the traps. (Editor's note: The Nomol® 4 Packs come with 8 inch dowels. Mike has to use longer stakes due to the depth of the tunnels in Oregon). Sometimes I use pieces of black plastic sheeting when no good sod is available.

How many traps do you use per location?

The number of traps I set depend upon how widespread the mole activity is. Our coastal moles will run three to five to an acre. The average residential yard typically has one or two moles. I'll set three or four sets of traps to a mole system usually. Each set will have two or three Nomol® traps, depending upon how many tunnels branch off from the hole I dig. So for the average job, I am setting twelve to twenty traps