Moleman News
May 1, 2008- -Nothing new on moles. Learn how to use traps! Years back, I
thought the internet
would be a good way for homeowners to get factual
information about moles and
maybe how to control them. It’s actually been a
disappointment and when one
surfs the net for information on moles, it’s just one nutty
solution after another.
Poisons that don’t work, European traps that have never worked.
Spray this and
sprinkle that. Same old, same old.
If one thing worked, everyone would know about
it and all would do the same thing. Trapping will work, but
it’s not easy or fun.
That’s it.
August 27, 2007 -The prolonged
drought (11 inches missing) of 2007 is causing mole problems
for those watering lawns and plant beddings. The drought doesn't make trapping
moles any easier either. Moles are still numerous in areas that will experience
periodic cicada in late May 2008 as these moles aren't so dependent on surface
insects and worms. These areas include Kenwood, Indian Hill, Montgomery,
Sharonville and most of Loveland.
March 31, 2006 -A new twist
by incompetant mole trappers is a combination of
trapping and
poison worms offered together as an expenseve short
term service. You would think that
if they were any good with traps, they wouldn't need the poison. Or if their
poison worked they wouldn't need traps. Their services are not guaranteed,
so you have no recourse when you
realize that these folks don't know what they're
doing!
For heavens sake, get some refernces
before you go this route.
March 16, 2006 - Beware of
ADVERTORIALS in magazines like Pest Control Magazine. These
article like pages probably are paid advertising made to look like
editorials.
I've yet to hear anything good about Talpirid or
Tomcat (gummy looking poison like
worms designed to fool moles and people) that wasn't paid for and
promoted by the manufacturer. "Gee Bell Labs, can you control moles with
a poison bait applied monthly?"
October 21, 2005 - This is really not
news but with all of talk about poisons, I thought it worth a mention.
An important thing to remember about moles is that they will always take
the path
of least resistance. They will recolonize a
vacant mole tunnel before they will dig a new
one. I don't think there was ever a more lethal threat to a mole than Phostoxin -
( hydrogen phosphide gas) in
dry pellet form. The problem to applicators who used
Phostoxin was the same as those trying poisons
today. They are not prepared for
the many follow-up calls over the course of a season. Homeowners can be led to
think that control methods are a one or two shot deal and they're not.
February10, 2005 - "Hype"
spin and marketing won't control moles. Somebody should have explained that
to EPA before they approved Talpirid or Tomcat as an
effective bait to control moles or maybe
its that EPA knows so little
about mole behavior, they have to accept a manufacturers
word on the subject. Apparently this would be nothing new for EPA, as they also
approve
the use of Kaput, Mole Patrol, Poison Peanuts, Castor Oil Sprays, Phostoxin and Fumitoxin
as other safe and viable methods to control moles.
September 23, 2004 - Am running into a lot of ads in Pest
Control Magazines touting Kaput (
a gel bait)
as an effective form of mole control. The ads are run and paid for by the
manufacturer
and it is their opinion that the product is effective. Dr. David Rickard
(registration
director for Bell Laboratories, Inc. Madison, WI) says in this months
edition of Pest Control Magazine "Neither grain baits nor gel baits
were accepted by moles in their (Bell Labs) study." Dr. Rickard probably
has an
ax to grind because the same magazine has a full page ad touting Bell Labs
new product, poison for moles shaped like worms. Seems that the mole will
mistake
the fake worm for the real thing, garf a few and
spend the next 24hrs quietly
dying in its tunnel. I've never read of a poisoned mole dying anywhere but on
top
of the ground, where breathing is better. Quoting Dr. Rickard, the product
"resulted
in a complete reduction in visible mole activity." "The reduction was
maintained through
the entire seven-day follow up
period." And so if we are to believe Dr. Rickard and
Bell Labs Inc., we have a mole bait that will control
moles for at least seven days.
April 4, 2004 - Unseasonably mild
temperatures coupled with the fully mature cicada Brood 10 have
help to accelerate 2004 mole litters. Some litters have appeared as early as
the
second week in March. I don't know if this extends out of the Brood 10 area,
but
newborn moles are showing up a full two to three weeks early.
March 26, 2004 - Received new China made Victor Out-O-Site shipment today. Among
the improvements
are literary unbendable setting tools. If you want to narrow these, you better
use a vice.
The same material seems to be used on the spring. Much stronger spring than on
the old
the old trap. The old spring was almost too much spring, so watch your fingers
and improve
your hand strength.. The added spring tension makes
the trigger less sensitive and harder to
discharge. The jaw spread has been increased a full half an inch on about half
the traps. Poor quality
control makes the spread too narrow on the other half. Out of a dozen in a box,
half
will need serious adjusting to make them usable. The trigger is narrower
allowing less
contact with soil for triggering. A tunnel choke should compensate for contact and
sensitivity trouble.
A note of caution: Because the setting tools are wide at the hook ends,
they can wedge between the
end of the spring and side of the trap and be difficult to remove after the trap
is set. Tugging at them
can set the trap off with the tools still attached. And because the new spring
is too tight, the
handles can hurt. The Taiwan (old trap) required about 28 lbs. of force to
set.
The China (new trap) needs around 34 lbs. The setting handles on the old Taiwan
trap
were about 17 1/2 inches apart at the setting ends. The handles on the new
China trap
are nearly an inch wider or 18 1/2 inches apart at the setting ends. I
think the new trap is
going to be difficult if not impossible for most folks to handle. Poor job Woodstream!!
March 2004 - The unseasonably
mild weather has given us a jump-start trapping out adult moles before
newborn become a problem. March and April can be trouble trapping as they are
usually wetter months. The extra moist soil allows speed-bumps (needed to
properly set
Victor Out-O-Site traps) to get too soggy and disolve.
We are using Little Woodies more
often because they hold shape and function in the very wet conditions. Moles populations
should be larger (cicada based acceleration) this year and litters will be early.
March 2004 - Woodstream
Corp. has a Consumer Care line to help with traps and setting problems.
Call 1-800-800-1819 Extension 450.
July 2003
- Long and heavy dispersal this year. Newborn started around the
first week of April and just now beginning to ease off a bit. All of greater
Cincinnati area experiencing
cicada based accelerations in the mole population. Would like to get Woodstream interested in the
advantages of the tunnel choke and how it will increase the effectivness
of the Out-O-Sight trap. To date
they've shown no interest in improving the trap. Patent issued for the
"woodie" # 6578314. They
sure make using the Out-O-Sight trap a lot easier for us.
Spring 2003 - Patent pending for "Little Woodie" tunnel choke. Tunnel Chokes
Sept. 22, 2001 -The Moleman makes PCT Magazine. For story PCT Magazine 9/01
July 1, 2001 -Soil
conditions went from a dry extreme in early spring to extremely wet in May and
June.
Mother Nature for you! The unusually heavy rains in May flooded dispersing young
moles out
of the ground. I suspect a lot of dispersing was just moles trying to find dry
ground. Several
reports of moles indoors through opened garage doors. Unusual numbers of
moles hitting
mulched areas around homes. I'm sure a lot of moles dipersed
above ground, willing to
travel through the high grass. High grass is another subject I could spend an hour
talking
about. Trying to find an inch high mole tunnel in 4 to 6 inch grass is really
fun.
April 30, 2001 -Unseasonably dry weather
during dispersal means more digging in mulch or irrigated
areas. "Clean" lawns can start getting new activity through existing
tunnels.
Cincinnati rainfall to date is only 6" compared to a normal 13.5".
The ground
is getting too hard for moles to dig new tunnels.
Nov. 20, 2000 -Returned 11/17 from
France. Pleasure and work together. European moles appear to
mound rather than tunnel. I noticed
tunnels stemming out from fortresses (large piles of earth
that moles occupy in areas with high water tables) only. Other tunnels were
marked by
small
sequential piles of dirt. I bought four mole traps in a hardware store near
Normandy. Three of
the four were one directional only and the fourth was bi-directional. All four
used metal tabs that
the mole had to push out of the way to discharge the trap. Out-O-Sight by
Victor is the best!
Nov. 20, 2000 -Noticing several "new" traps on the internet. Two of them are simply gopher traps that must be used two at a time in opposing directions. The other is a British scissor trap that is now being used primarily in Washington State and Oregon. I have used the British trap and find the opening too small for the Eastern or common mole in the mid-west. All three traps rely on the mole hitting a metal tab to discharge the trap. I have had several emails from UK and Belgium trappers using this trap. The problem seems to be plugged traps. If a mole doesn't hit the metal tab hard enough to set it off the first time, the mole will generally plug the trap with dirt. I find that moles are generally unfamiliar with metal objects of any kind and will usually force dirt against the objects.
Nov. 9, 2000 -Beginning to get into the most effective time of the year to trap moles. Grass is staying down and once the leaves are up, tunnels are fewer and more obvious. Great trapping until the ground freezes. Remember, moles don't hibernate!
August 2, 2000 - Spoke to Daryl Cozzens of Woodstream Corp. (customer relations). He reassured me that they will be addressing current problems that some homeowners are experiencing with the correct use of Victor mole traps. They are concerned with problems that you may be having. Feedback can be directed to Mr. Cozzens at 1-800-800-1819 Ext. 300. If you're doing a good job with the traps, you might pass that along also.
March 11, 2000 - I'm getting a lot of e-mails from homeowners
trying to locate mole trappers in their local
areas. Particular areas in Illinois, Nebraska, Cleveland and
Dayton areas in Ohio. The
moletrappers page is maintained for
references. Mole trappers looking for listing
information can contact me at moleman@fuse.net or 513-662-3017 evenings.
March 6, 2000 - Male
moles seem to be enjoying the warmer temperatures. Considerable
activity through
the old tunnels. Females are probably pregnant. Great
time of the year to begin trapping.
Ground moisture and temps about perfect.
September 19, 1999- The drought in the midwest continues. Setting mole traps is all but impossible without irrigation. The scissor still works well if you can keep the soil around the trap moist.
September 19, 1999- I received the following comment on the web guest book today. My responses to guestbook questions or comments are normally made by e-mail. I would like to respond to Mr. Rebers on this page. From: "Boyd Rebers" <Brrebers@aol.com> Subject: Thanks Moleman Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 09:29:20 +0000 (EDT) "Your site is the most informative I have found on any one subject on the web. I have a suspicion that you work for the victor trap company. If you do your doing a great job for them. Well off to the trap store I go. Thanks a lot."
Dear Mr. Rebers:The Victor Co. was purchased years ago by Woodstream Corp. Several years ago Woodstream was bought out by Ekco (The bakeware co.) and so mole traps have become a very small part of the Ekco Corp. picture. I don't work for Victor or Ekco Corp. I used Victor traps because they were the best traps on the market and I could catch moles with them. If a better trap becomes available, I would use it in a moles' minute. Comments can be made to Victor/ Woodstream/ Ecko by calling 1-800-800-1819 and asking for trap help. If you bought a mole trap that you can't work, return it and tell them why. If you bought Mole-Med or Mole-Go or some other castor oil or racinus oil and soap concoction and it doesn't work, return it! Get your money back! If you don't return it, people at the company will think it works. A hands-on help video of the two Victor mole traps is available through Wildlife Damage Control, 340 Cooley St. Springfield MA. or Moles Make Lousy Pets Video
August 8, 1999- Most of the midwest is currently experiencing severe drought conditions. The soil is brittle and dry, driving worms and insects deep into the soil. Mole activity has been mostly dry powdery mounds of soil. Tunnels crumble at the touch and the moles are staying busy. Setting the Victor spear trap in these conditions is almost impossible without heavy watering. The draw-back to heavy watering is that it can cause moles to root (shallow tunneling just beneath the grass roots). Rooting tunnels seem to go everywhere and anywhere. These shallow tunnels are rarely reused, so trapping them probably won't be productive. The Out-O-Sight or scissor trap can still be effective but setting them takes a bit of additional doing. In most cases, the soil is too dry to hold the trap in the ground. Again watering will help. Trap loss is high during drought. Dead moles left in the traps for more than 24 hrs. will attract larger animals, particularly possum. The possum will take the mole and trap. Near woodlines, finding the trap will not be easy. Unless you are an experienced mole trapper, waiting for rain and more favorable conditions is prudent.
May 31, 1999 - Young moles appear to be in full dispersal which means there are more moles per acre than at any other time of the year. Dispersal is a little unusual this year because of the lack of rain in late April and May. This has caused the ground to dry-out and harden earlier than normal. This in turn makes digging difficult if not impossible for young moles trying to establish homeranges of their own. The results have been more recolonizing of existing tunnels in areas that had been trapped clean as well as considerable new digging in irrigated landscaping. Moles also appear to be more numerous than in years past. I attribute this to mild winters as well as the oncoming cicada brood 10 emergence in late spring 2004. I fully expect mole populations to increase significantly between now and 2004 within the brood 10 boundaries.
April 18, 1999 - New home remedy to waste your time! M.D. expert in cooking and gardening suggest applying mint oil, used in cooking, to the ends of a Q-tip and putting in tunnels. He says it works! I'm really sorry to hear this kind of stupid information on the radio, and you can be sure frustrated homeowners will be out to the grocery store to buy the mint oil. Maybe the doctor could suggest a candy recipe to use when homeowners find out that this stupid remedy doesn't work and have half a bottle of mint oil left over. Maybe they could just put the bottle in the tunnel.
April 14, 1999 - For what it's worth, moles showing signs of molting winter fur. It's also a good way to tell if a mole is newborn or at least a year old. Newborn won't have the molt lines.
April 9 & 10, 1999 - Just finished the first ever mole clinic in Bellefontaine, OH. Ohio State Extension agent Gary Comer (Logan County) was expecting around fifty participants. The Saturday morning turnout reached 102 for the lecture and some hands-on help with traps. Lots of moles in Bellefontaine and now a lot of mole trappers.
April 8, 1999 - I am finding the first newborn of the year. This comes about three weeks earlier than usual, and doesn't get me very excited. The peak density for newborn should be around the first week in May.