How to Catch the Eastern Mole in Northeastern Indiana:
by David VanZuilen, Snow Lake resident
If you like a well manicured lawn which we all do around the lake, moles can ruin your life especially if you don't know how to get rid of them.
For several years my former neighbor and I tried all kinds of stupid remedies that led to failure, disillusionment, disappointment and eventually in Bob's case, anger. We tried Hot Sauce, grub killer, we tried flooding them out, we tried lawn roller to flatten them out, we tried a variety of traps that were placed in the wrong places. Nothing worked.
Hot sauce, they just seemed to acquire a taste for it kind of like Tuesday taco night in the back yard. Flooding, for get it. These are lake moles. They live near a lake.
I read somewhere that moles and voles live in perfect harmony together. Chances are if you have moles you have voles which is the case around Snow Lake. I started first noticing Voles when the cat caught one and brought it up for us to see.
Vole
Voles like to use the tunnels that the moles make. Voles are vegetarians moles like grubs and other live foods. You will notice Vole damage where patches of lawn are dug up. (Usually when you run over them with the lawn mower and a giant swatch of your lawn flies out the shoot pulverized). The good news is if you can get rid of moles, the voles seem to disappear too. Shrews can also live in perfect harmony with moles.
Mole Runs:
Moles are relatively solitary creatures. Unfortunately, one mole can wreak havoc on your entire lawn and your neighbor's lawn and drive you both crazy. They like to move around in search of food. They have time on their hands.
Mole runs seem to run randomly in all directions. But if you study them for a moment, you can see that there are a few that appear to be more main than others. Those are the ones you want to place the trap in. See figure 1.
Some of the better Traps available:
Figure 2. Mole traps: (a) scissor jaw, (b) harpoon, (c) choker loop
You really only need one trap to catch one mole, however, more power too you if you have more.
I prefer the choker loop (Nash) trap. Over the past 5 years, I have caught 5 moles with it, two the first year the one the following and another the next year and the last one two years later. One came back again this year and I got him within a day. I got my trap at Meijer. But you can get them any where.
In the past, I had a borrowed harpoon trap from my father in law and I was disappointed with it. It went off a bunch of times, but I couldn't tell if it stabbed one or not.
My next door neighbor has a scissor trap and it works good but is a little bit scary to set because of it's strong spring mechanism. He caught one with his.
The choker loop trap and the scissor jaw trap provides you feed back whether or not you caught the mole. The loop trap is easy to set and place it in the ground using a flat blade spade.
How to catch a mole using a loop trap:
Step one. Set your mind to it. We're going hunting. We got to be smart.
(Remember Quint from Jaws Movie, circa 1973-"Show me your scar -Chief!")
Look for a 3 foot or longer stretch of tunnel that is relatively straight and in the middle of the tunnel network. Flatten only about a 6" section of the run with your heal down to about level with the yard. In the middle of that section, use your heel to press a small indent down about 2" deeper to used to place the trigger. Using a flat blade spade or any shovel, make two piercing's into the ground perpendicular to the tunnel about the exact distance between the loops just wide enough for the loops to fit into. Set the trap so that the frame is flush to the level ground. The loops will sit about 5-6" into the ground. Be careful not to deploy the trigger. The trigger should be placed in the indention below the surface.
Moles like to keep their mole runs open so a small partial blockage, they will try and repair. They will try and dig through the block pushing the dirt back upward deploying the trigger. Their runs are about 3 to 6" below the surface.
Important:
Do I continue to trap after I catch a mole?
No. Most likely you caught the culprit. You should flatten the runs, fix yourself a drink and resume normal life until another one shows up. Be sure and tell your wife and brag to your neighbors about how you caught your mole and that you are an expert.
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