PSA - No more moles!

OLS · 04-21-2014, 07:48 AM

I am glad that I can pass on some professional mole-killing tips for you. Whether you bait or trap, Jamie said it right.
You HAVE TO bait or trap the ACTIVE tunnels. There is only one way to determine this. Take a dowel rod or a piece of
re-bar with you and poke a hole in each tunnel every few feet or so. The mole, if you have poked a light-spilling HOLE in his
tunnel, HE WILL immediately fill that hole back in, within the 12-24 hour period. So you will have NO LUCK baiting or trapping
a mole in an inactive run. Your only chance to kill it is in one of the runs where he filled the hole in. Talparid worms are effective,
as are the scissor traps you half-bury.

We have stopped covering moles at my company and have left that issue to the wildlife trappers and relocators in town
that deal with coons in the attic, crazed opossums and what not. But I thought you could use that little tip for finding
the active runs. Without finding and targeting only the active tunnels, you are wasting time and money. Good luck.

OLS · 04-21-2014, 08:19 AM

Also know the difference between an exploratory tunnel and a primary use tunnel.
Primary use tunnels are generally straight or straight and branching. Use the dowel rod to ensure that
you have an active, primary tunnel. Damage to active tunnels will be repaired within 12-24 hours. Busted.

Exploratory tunnels will be aimless or spider web like and are generally abandoned after digging.
No sense in baiting an exploratory tunnel. They are dug to discover new food sources. Moles must eat
their own weight in worms daily to maintain their extremely high metabolism. No worms in 12-24 hours=dead mole.

Moles meet to breed once a year. Outside breeding season, two moles meet in a tunnel, only one will survive.

WHATEVER YOU DO, if you are using Talparid worms or any other bait, USE GLOVES! Your scent is on
that bait, you might as well pour it into the garbage can, it will NOT be accepted. Poke your holes
in the various runs, come back a day or two later, look for plugged holes to mark active runs. Find the
active run, drop in a Talparid worm, if the dirt is soft and moist, pinch the hole closed, if it is dry, cover with
leaf litter. But again, if you can't find an active run, try again tomorrow. No sense in baiting an un-used tunnel.
One Talparid worm will kill a mole. Better to spend more time in evaluation of active tunnels than to throw all your
bait into tunnels that may not be active runs, just to be done with it. This is the hardest game in pest control.
Patience will win the day.

04-21-2014, 07:48 AM	#1
OLS Suck It Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Brad Location: TN Posts: 7,912 Trading: (19)	Re: PSA - No more moles! I am glad that I can pass on some professional mole-killing tips for you. Whether you bait or trap, Jamie said it right. You HAVE TO bait or trap the ACTIVE tunnels. There is only one way to determine this. Take a dowel rod or a piece of re-bar with you and poke a hole in each tunnel every few feet or so. The mole, if you have poked a light-spilling HOLE in his tunnel, HE WILL immediately fill that hole back in, within the 12-24 hour period. So you will have NO LUCK baiting or trapping a mole in an inactive run. Your only chance to kill it is in one of the runs where he filled the hole in. Talparid worms are effective, as are the scissor traps you half-bury. We have stopped covering moles at my company and have left that issue to the wildlife trappers and relocators in town that deal with coons in the attic, crazed opossums and what not. But I thought you could use that little tip for finding the active runs. Without finding and targeting only the active tunnels, you are wasting time and money. Good luck.

04-21-2014, 08:19 AM	#2
OLS Suck It Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Brad Location: TN Posts: 7,912 Trading: (19)	Re: PSA - No more moles! Also know the difference between an exploratory tunnel and a primary use tunnel. Primary use tunnels are generally straight or straight and branching. Use the dowel rod to ensure that you have an active, primary tunnel. Damage to active tunnels will be repaired within 12-24 hours. Busted. Exploratory tunnels will be aimless or spider web like and are generally abandoned after digging. No sense in baiting an exploratory tunnel. They are dug to discover new food sources. Moles must eat their own weight in worms daily to maintain their extremely high metabolism. No worms in 12-24 hours=dead mole. Moles meet to breed once a year. Outside breeding season, two moles meet in a tunnel, only one will survive. WHATEVER YOU DO, if you are using Talparid worms or any other bait, USE GLOVES! Your scent is on that bait, you might as well pour it into the garbage can, it will NOT be accepted. Poke your holes in the various runs, come back a day or two later, look for plugged holes to mark active runs. Find the active run, drop in a Talparid worm, if the dirt is soft and moist, pinch the hole closed, if it is dry, cover with leaf litter. But again, if you can't find an active run, try again tomorrow. No sense in baiting an un-used tunnel. One Talparid worm will kill a mole. Better to spend more time in evaluation of active tunnels than to throw all your bait into tunnels that may not be active runs, just to be done with it. This is the hardest game in pest control. Patience will win the day.