How to quickly catch a mole in the garden using simple means

• What effective and time-tested methods exist today that allow you to catch a mole in the garden, doing it quickly enough and without significant financial costs;
• The principle of operation of a pipe mole trap and what design options for this trap really give the desired result;
• How can you easily catch a mole in a bucket or in an ordinary glass jar;
• What is important to know about the correct installation of traps on the site so that their effectiveness is as high as possible;
• What to do with a mole after it is caught;
• What traps and lethal and crippling traps are most popular and is there really any point in using them (including fishhooks);
• How can you reliably protect your garden from repeated penetration of moles.

In general, catching moles can be considered a much more effective way to combat these pests in the garden than using all kinds of repellents, including sonic and ultrasonic repellers of various designs.

First of all, if you catch a mole, then a situation typical of the use of repellers will definitely not arise, when the mole simply moves to the other end of the garden and digs there (or temporarily goes to a neighboring area). In addition, by correctly using mole traps, it is sometimes possible to literally reduce the size of the mole population to almost zero, not only in one’s own area, but also in general in the immediate surrounding areas.

On a note

An important point is that catching moles is a humane way to combat these pests - compared, for example, with methods such as using poisons, pumping car exhaust gases into underground passages or flooding them with water. When a civilized person catches an animal in a live trap, he saves its life and does not maim it, but simply releases it into the wild far from his garden.

Of course, this is relevant for situations where the gardener initially intends to catch the mole and not kill it. However, today there are also flayer fishing methods, during which moles are maimed and then suffer for a long time before inevitable death. We will mention some of these barbaric methods of catching moles in a garden plot a little lower.

Now let's see what devices you can use to quickly catch all the moles in your area and how to effectively apply the appropriate designs in practice.

All the ways to catch a mole

Generally speaking, today the following popular methods of catching moles in the garden and dacha are most widely used:

1. The so-called mole trap is a pipe into which the mole crawls, but can already get out;

2. A pit trap into which the animal simply falls, moving along its underground passage, and then cannot get out of it;

3. Traps that kill animals immediately or slowly (this also includes a wire mole trap);

4. Tackle made of fishing line and fishing hooks: the mole clings to the hook either with its skin (skin), running into itself while moving through the tunnel, or with its mouth, collecting earthworms strung on fishing hooks (and this is just one example of the flayer approach to catching moles);

5. Perhaps it is also worth mentioning an ordinary shovel - with the proper dexterity and experience, with its help it is possible to dig an animal out of the ground alive, and then, for example, place it in a bucket.

It is noteworthy that the effectiveness and ease of use of all these options is approximately the same (with the exception of fishing with a shovel - this method is the least effective and requires a lot of time). Any trap is simply installed in the garden, catches the mole in one way or another, and the gardener can only check from time to time for the presence of a “catch”.

Accordingly, the question arises: if a live trap catches a mole as simply and quickly as a mechanism that pierces the animal with a knitting needle or breaks its back, then why use lethal traps at all? Unfortunately, in many cases, the answer lies in the gardener’s banal laziness - he’s just too lazy to carry the caught moles a kilometer away from the plot every time, because it’s much easier when the trap “delives” a ready-made corpse, which is easy to dispose of, for example, by burying it in the far corner of the garden.

On a note

Some gardeners justify their actions to destroy moles in the following interesting way: they say, in wildlife it is customary to protect your plot from the encroachments of strangers. Well, they say, I also protect the results of my work (beds, crops) from pest attacks, I protect my territory.

Well, that's right - that's how it is in the animal world. The question is why compare yourself to an animal...

mole trap drawings.

Tube mole traps, purchased and made by yourself

The classic mole trap in the form of a pipe has a fairly simple design: it is a plastic or metal pipe with a diameter of approximately 9-12 cm (the average diameter of a mole's stroke), with doors on both sides on the top hinges. The doors of the mole trap-pipe open easily inward, but do not open outward.

A mole trap made according to this principle is called a Solomon's trap.

In order to catch a mole, a pipe trap must be installed in the excavated passage of the animal. The mole, moving along the tunnel, comes across a door, pushes it forward and crawls inside the trap. The door falls down under its own weight, and the animal can no longer open it from the inside.

If the second mole follows the first one, it will also crawl into the trap and remain in it, and the animals can climb into the live trap from different sides.

On a note

There are cases when, when checking, up to 3 moles were found in one live trap at once. Sometimes shrews are caught in the pipe trap together with the mole. During the day, some gardeners managed to catch 6 moles with such a trap.

You can easily make a pipe mole trap with your own hands from scrap materials. In a piece of pipe you only need to make light hinges for the doors, and also provide a stopper for opening the door outward. The easiest way is to make the door itself higher than the pipe passage (in fact, oval-shaped), and hang it on a hinge inclined inward.

Variants of such traps available for sale cost approximately 200-400 rubles.

In the West, special plastic mole traps are made, from which you can get animals without digging the trap itself. The photo below shows an example of such a device:

It is also useful to read: Ecosniper mole repellers and reviews of their use

Another version of a trap that works on the same principle is a design of several plastic bottles inserted with their necks one into the other. The necks of the bottles are cut with scissors in several places to create easily retractable petals. The mole, crawling into such a “neck,” presses the petals inward with the weight of its body, penetrates into the central section of the trap, and then cannot move the plastic petals apart to crawl back out.

This mole trap made from plastic bottles is exclusively a product of folk art. It’s easy to make with your own hands, having on hand three bottles of the same size, scissors and tape.

Mole traps

Let's start with using traps for animals. It must be said that the method of catching these animals is not used as often as the same repellers or traps. Mole traps seem to separate humane and inhumane methods of combating insectivorous pests by an invisible line.

The bottom line is that this method is somewhat troublesome, because it is much easier to stick the same Ecosniper repeller into the ground or set a mole trap in a hole. And having caught the unlucky miner in a trap, he will then need to be removed from it and taken away if we are not going to kill the animal.

But, we digress. Let's talk about which live traps for catching moles are the most popular and often used.

A very effective folk method for catching our burrower is an ordinary small pan dug a little deeper below the level of the hole. The animal usually moves quite quickly through its underground labyrinths and simply falls into the pan on the fly, not being able to get out of it.

It is also common to use a plastic plumbing pipe with a valve at one end. The pipe is inserted into the hole so that the animal does not suspect anything. One end of it is closed, the other serves as an entrance without the animal being able to get out on its own.

This is ensured thanks to the structure of the door, which is made in the shape of the letter “L”, and the mole can only go inside, after which the door turns and closes tightly for the animal.

In general, the principle is simple and clear. Then all we have to do is dig out the trap and decide what to do with the caught “prey”.

Mole trap, or how to catch a mole in a bucket

This trap is also made from scrap materials. The main task here is to make a hole in the middle of the mole’s passage, into which the animal will fall and will no longer be able to get out of it.

Usually, to catch a mole in this way, they use a deep pan, a bucket (plastic or metal), a glass jar or a cut plastic bottle of large diameter.

The mole trap-pit is formed under the passage of the animal in such a way that its upper edge is at the same level with the lower edge of the underground passage. From above, the entire “excavation site” is covered with a sheet of plywood or other opaque material (so that the mole is not scared off by sunlight). As a result, the animal, simply moving along the way, falls into the installed container.

The photographs below show how a regular three-liter jar is installed for this:

Such live traps are as simple as possible to manufacture and do not require financial investment. Often, a couple of such traps allow you to catch not only all the moles in your garden, but also shrews, voles and other living creatures.

On a note

If a mole and a shrew fall into a pit trap at the same time, then, as practice shows, with a high probability the shrew will soon become a source of food for the mole.

Methods for removing moles

The mole is an extremely fast animal that usually disappears into a hole within a minute. Even if you are lucky enough to see it, a quick reaction is required to catch it.

In addition, you need to catch it after wearing gloves made of thick leather so that it cannot bite through it and scratch your hands with its claws.

Before you start fighting moles in your garden, you need to check the burrows and determine whether they are workers, that is, whether the animal moves through them.

This can be done this way: in the place where the holes are (usually there are small mounds of loose earth above them), you should step a little with your foot and press the earth inside the hole.

After an hour and a half, the mink needs to be checked again. If they are restored again, it means the progress is working. Now this is where the trap is set.

Moles and the fight against them in dachas usually begin in the spring and continue throughout the summer. But not everyone knows that some individuals can harm the garden in the fall.

Moles cause particular damage not only to various plants, but also to trees, in the roots of which they build a shelter for themselves.

You can try to install several traps in the passages and directly near his “home” to increase the efficiency of his capture.

There are several proven methods that can get rid of the problem once and for all. These include:

Hunting. This activity is for those who can sit in place for a long time without moving and, when the mole begins to dig out the previously broken entrance, will be able to shoot accurately at the target. This method should not be used at all by those who do not know how to handle weapons at all;

• Mole trap or mole buster. This method is perhaps the most effective, since it almost never misfires. You can buy a mole trap at markets or in a store. It is installed in a previously excavated working hole.
  Some people recommend that before installation, boil all mole crackers that will need to be installed in juniper water, and also wash your hands in it.

  This is necessary in order to get rid of the metallic smell and the smell of grease. If the mole senses it, it will dig a new hole and, therefore, the trap will not work.

  After installing the entire structure, it should be secured with a regular twig so that the animal cannot move it.

  Next, you need to put a board or plywood on top of the ground and sprinkle it with earth to create natural darkness. Otherwise, the mole simply will not get out to the mole trap, since it will be very light;

• Trap pit. If you don’t particularly want to spend money on a mole trap, then you can use ordinary glass jars or buckets to catch the mole.
  They must be buried in the ground without filling the holes. Just like in the previous method, you need to create a shadow by placing boards on top.

  The mole, moving through the tunnel, will fall into this trapping hole and will not be able to get out, since the surface of the means used will be smooth;

• Anti-mole mines. Before use, be sure to read the instructions, otherwise there is a high risk of harming your own health.

How to set traps correctly?

In order to quickly catch a mole in a summer cottage or garden using a trap, when installing it you need to follow a few simple rules, ignoring which can significantly reduce the chances of success.

These are the rules:

1. The mole trap needs to be installed in horizontal near-surface passages between molehills (preferably fresh ones). It is almost never possible to catch a mole if you set the trap in the very heap of discarded earth;
2. When excavating a passage, you should create as little destruction as possible. It is advisable to work with a garden trowel rather than a shovel;
3. Having made a hole, you should try to restore the adjacent areas of the mole's path as much as possible. It is advisable to line the edges of the trap itself with earth, lightly pressing it flush with the walls of the container;
4. The place where the trap is installed must be covered on top with a material that is completely opaque to light, and additionally sprinkled with earth around the edges (practice shows that even the slightest gap that allows sunlight to penetrate inside the pit greatly reduces the effectiveness of the trap - although moles have poor eyesight, however, they are able to distinguish light from darkness well);
5. If you want to increase the efficiency of the mole trap-pipe or pit, then it is recommended to put several earthworms cut into pieces inside the trap - the smell attracts moles (these animals feed mainly on earthworms).

An important point is that after installation the trap must be checked every 5-6 hours. The fact is that moles, due to their very fast metabolism, die of starvation in the absence of a food source for about 18-24 hours. So a day without food for a caught mole is certain death, and any “live trap” without proper supervision can easily become a torture chamber, guaranteeing the animal a slow, painful death.

Considering that after being removed from the trap and taken out of the area, some more time will pass until the mole can catch its first prey, it is advisable to keep it caught in the mole trap itself for no more than 6 hours.

On a note

Some commercially available mole traps-tubes have special holes through which you can see whether a mole is caught in the trap or not, without digging out the entire structure from the ground each time. Therefore, when making a homemade trap from a pipe, it is advisable to provide similar inspection holes in advance (see example in the photo below).

Mole trap made from a plastic bottle

So, the first type of trap is a kind of analogue of the commercially available pipe mole trap, but the “locking” element in it works on a slightly different principle.

The photo below shows a mole trap-pipe for comparison:

The mole easily climbs into such a trap, but cannot get out of it. It is implemented as follows:

Take a plastic bottle with a capacity of 1.5 liters - it will be the basis of the design

It is not worth taking smaller or larger bottles, because a liter bottle is too narrow, and it is difficult for the animal to climb into it, and a two-liter bottle, on the contrary, is too wide, and often does not fit into the animal’s path; Either the bottom or the neck of the bottle is cut off - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is to make a free entrance on one side, and on the other there should be a dead end; Then take a second bottle of the same size, which, in fact, will clog the mole

The dense part of the neck is cut off (on which the cap is screwed), but a “funnel” is left, and the bottom is also cut off (you can even cut off the bottom half of the bottle); In the second bottle, 10-12 longitudinal cuts are made on the tapering part until it becomes a flat part. The result is a kind of long “petals”; After this, the second plastic bottle is inserted with its narrowed part into the open passage of the first, and the junction of the two bottles is secured with tape.

That's all, the mole trap is ready. If you place it in a mole passage, the animal will make its way into it along the second (entrance) bottle: under its pressure, the petals will easily bend and do not prevent it from crawling along the joint line, thereby ensuring unhindered access to the main bottle.

After the animal passes, the petals close again. Here he reaches a dead end, turns around, tries to move back, but runs into narrowed petals that he can no longer move apart. The mole is caught.

This mole trap made from plastic bottles is easy to make with your own hands in about 10-15 minutes.

Not everyone takes into account that this mole trap can be easily improved, increasing its efficiency by approximately 2 times, if both the bottom and the top of the main bottle are cut off, and then “valves” are installed on both sides, allowing the animal to only pass inside. In this case, you won’t have to guess from which side the mole will approach the mole trap in its underground passage. Moreover, as practice shows, if there are several animals on the site, a “double” trap can catch two moles at once.

The video at the end of the article shows the process of making a mole trap with your own hands.

However, it is important not only to make the mole trap correctly, but also to install it correctly on the site, since the final result of its work also largely depends on this

What to do with a mole after being caught?

Immediately after catching the mole, you need to remove it from the trap - before doing this, it is advisable to wear thick construction gloves, since the animal has sharp teeth and can bite painfully.

A caught mole can be placed in any high container (for example, a bucket) and taken out of the area at a distance of at least 1 km from your dacha. It is this distance that guarantees that this individual will never return to your site (in the worst case, after several seasons, the descendants of this mole may wander into your area).

It is preferable to release the animal either in a field with loose soil, where it can quickly burrow into the ground, or in a bush, where it is least noticeable to predators (mainly birds of prey). At this point, the task of catching the mole can be considered solved: the garden is rid of the pest, the animal itself is not destroyed, not maimed, and released into the wild, where it has a high chance of survival.

On a note

There is no need to worry that you will have to remove moles from the garden 20-30 times. As a rule, 1-2 moles live in one medium-sized garden plot (only in rare cases more - when the offspring of one female grows up in mid-summer). Accordingly, if you manage to catch at least 10 individuals, this will already be a very significant result, which will most likely save not only you, but also all your neighbors in the area from serious problems with moles.

After catching all the moles, pit traps must be dug out of the ground so that various beneficial insects (as well as shrews, which bring a lot of benefits to the garden, although many fight with these animals out of ignorance) do not get caught in them and die.

Signs of a mole

The appearance of fresh mounds of earth on the site, which are located at some distance from each other and the soil between them collapses, is the main sign that an uninvited guest has settled. It can ruin a planted lawn, move under the roots of a tree or shrub, or walk through vegetable beds.

The mole is small and harmful.

Harm from a rodent

Although the rodent eats plant foods on rare occasions, it causes a lot of harm. It makes its moves in an area under a layer of soil, damaging roots and bulbs. Moreover, the scale of damage can be great - even trees die.

You can read this article about how to fight moles in a greenhouse. Here is the experience of a gardener with extensive experience.

Catching moles with a shovel

This method of catching moles is as simple in principle as it is complex in implementation: a gardener with a bayonet shovel waits near the mole’s passages when the animal passes through one of the galleries close to the surface of the earth. At this moment, the ground above him rises slightly, and the movement of the animal is clearly visible. The catcher’s task is to stick the bayonet of the shovel behind the mole and quickly throw the soil with the animal itself to the surface of the earth.

It is also useful to read: Using a mole net and reviews about this method of protecting a site

The main difficulties of this method:

1. Usually you have to spend a lot of time before you can notice the movement of the mole along its course. As a rule, moles inspect tunnels once every few hours, but they may not visit individual branches for days at a time. So there is no guarantee that a person on duty in a certain part of the garden will wait for the animal to appear;
2. In addition, the mole needs to be dug up very quickly - the animal moves underground quite quickly, and can avoid the fate of being caught if the gardener is slow.

Nevertheless, the experience of a considerable number of gardeners shows that this method is generally quite effective and widespread: many people catch moles with a shovel.

Effective control measures

It is important to understand that moles are just animals, they do not intentionally cause harm, so try to use humane methods if possible

Other inhumane, but fairly reliable methods include traps and molebreakers of various models, which are sold in large numbers in stores. They are equipped with a spring and are aimed at directly killing the animal that falls into the trap.

In general, the question of how to catch a mole that has appeared on a site is solved quite simply. Sometimes the fight against animals takes a lot of time, but thanks to humane methods it is possible to protect the crop without harming the animals.

There are many ways to get rid of moles in the garden:

• Sound methods in the form of self-made pinwheels made from plastic bottles will not always help get rid of moles. To effectively influence underground inhabitants, a constant presence of wind is required.
• Ultrasonic repellers, which can be purchased at specialized gardening stores. More effective, they act on moles without the intervention of external factors. Disadvantage - they can act as irritants on humans.
• Aromatic methods. The area is planted with black beans or imperial hazel grouse - the unpleasant smell emitted by the roots of the plants will help get rid of uninvited guests. Also for these purposes, rotten fish, meat, garlic or rags, previously soaked in gasoline, kerosene, or tar, are placed in underground passages.
• The usual barriers are in the form of underground fences that prevent the animal from further moving.

• Use of poison. To get rid of underground pests, stores offer various poisonous products that emit odors that are pleasant to the mole’s sense of smell. The poison can be mixed independently with crushed dried worms or insects, and the prepared substance can be carefully placed in the place where the animal is supposed to move.
• Dog baiting. In addition to barking, moles cannot tolerate the feeling of danger when they are being hunted.
• You can also get rid of moles using a watering hose, placing it directly in the hole you made. If you first scatter carbide along the length of an underground tunnel, then after the substance comes into contact with water, the effect of a gas chamber is formed. It should be noted that this method involves a long and painful death of the mammal.
• Installed traps and traps will help get rid of moles in the garden. If the first option implies the instant death of an underground inhabitant, then the second is a more humane method and is suitable for those who are wondering how to catch a mole without harming it.

Lethal means

Products that kill moles upon capture are available in various variations, and they implement different principles of action.

Let us note the most popular of them:

• A plunger trap is installed above the mole's passage, and a guard is lowered into the passage itself. As the animal passes along the way, the guard descends and the brackets on a powerful spring crush the mole’s body. After this, the animal suffers from several seconds to several hours, after which it dies;

• A harpoon trap (it is also sometimes referred to as a plunger trap due to its design features) is installed above the passage, and when lowered, the guard pushes out several harpoon spokes. These harpoons pierce the animal, which, as in the previous case, often does not die immediately, but only after some time;
• Crushes - most often these are ordinary mousetraps and rat traps, buried in passages, less often - special (and quite expensive) imported devices;

• Wire mole traps - kill the mole by squeezing its body (they can also be called nooses or a type of disease trap);

• Loops that, when triggered, forcefully tighten on the animal’s body and lead to suffocation;

• And, finally, the so-called crossbows (firearms), usually of quite complex designs - they shoot the animal in the face. They are not commercially available and are made by hand; they require the use of gunpowder, shot and a motion sensor. They are dangerous for people and therefore their use is prohibited.

Any of these means allows you to catch a mole and kill it immediately, on the spot, without the direct participation of the owner of the site. As a rule, such devices are actively used by comrades who are not burdened by ideas about the need for humane treatment of animals.

Here is a clear example of using wire traps:

Reproduction and raising of offspring

In most cases, the timing and duration of the mating season depend on the species and habitat.

Moles, depending on the species, reach maturity a few months after birth or a year later.

Mating season

On average, the mating season begins at the end of March, but some individuals mate underground while there is still snow on the surface. Therefore, the timing of the birth of cubs can vary significantly. In addition, young females go looking for a mate later than adults.

During the mating season, moles leave their underground shelters. Females usually do not go far from their tunnels and wait for a male to appear in their territory. Males, on the contrary, actively move in search of a partner and are guided by smells and sounds.

Is it worth catching moles with fish hooks?

There is another cruel way to catch a mole - catching it with a fishing hook. The principle is simple: a small hole is made in the arch of the passage, into which a fishing line with several fishing hooks is lowered (usually tees are used to be sure), the end of this fishing line is tied next to a metal pin driven into the ground or simply to a strong stick lying on the ground.

The mole, going along its course, runs into a fishing hook and it digs into the body, piercing the skin. The animal cannot free itself and tugs on the fishing line, which is visible on the surface (sometimes a bell is tied to the pin, which at that moment begins to ring). After this, the gardener can only dig out the passage with a garden shovel and pull the struggling mole to the surface directly by the fishing line.

During such manipulations, the mole's side or abdomen is sometimes literally torn apart with a hook. And it is quite obvious that the knackers who use such a means of capture will definitely not stand on ceremony with the animal after it is caught.

There is an even more sophisticated way of mocking a mole - using the same fishing hooks with earthworms pre-attached to them. The animal will try to eat such bait, and the hook will stick into its mouth or throat.

On a note

Perhaps somewhere here lies the line when cruelty to animals begins to border on sadism: if a simple gardener at the dacha is able to catch moles in such ways, then why are we surprised when somewhere in a foreign country a live seal’s nose is sawed off with a grinder or They skin foxes alive on fur farms.

Let us only add here that in terms of efficiency and labor intensity, catching a mole with a hook is comparable to using live traps. But if adequate gardeners try to save the life of the animal and not injure it, then sadists, of course, will be more interested in figuring out how to catch a mole with fishing hooks.

Choosing a location for the trap

During the hot season, it is best to catch moles along ditches and streams, as well as on trails used by people and livestock for travel. In such places the soil is not so hot, so moles will be found here most often. During the rainy season, it is best to place mole traps directly on the surface, where the prey will crawl out of the water-filled holes.

Permanent and feeding passages are quite often located in close proximity to each other, forming a complex interweaving between them. In order to determine the type of burrows, do not hesitate to dig up the ground and examine them from the inside. If you find a feeding ground, then be sure that there will be a permanent passage nearby. Remember that setting traps in feeding holes is a waste of time.

Constant moves

Permanent passages most often run a little deeper - at a depth of 14 to 20 centimeters. They can be detected quite simply by molehills - heaps of earth that are thrown to the surface. The passages are distinguished by compacted smooth walls, since moles often move along them. It is the permanent passages that are the most convenient place to install mole traps. Therefore, when going hunting in the forest, look for them first.

How to protect the area from repeated penetration of moles

It should be understood that catching a mole and removing it from the site does not mean protecting your garden from these animals forever. If one mole somehow got into the territory, then in the future other individuals will be able to get here, it’s only a matter of time.

Therefore, even if you managed to catch, it would seem, all the moles in the garden, immediately after that it is useful to take measures to protect the area from them:

• Dig a plastic or metal mesh into the ground around the perimeter (to a depth of 70-80 cm and protruding 15-20 cm above the ground surface). Sometimes slate or roofing felt is dug in instead of mesh;
• A narrow, not very deep trench along the perimeter of the site also helps protect against moles - it is covered with crushed stone or broken bricks;
• A more expensive option is to pour a concrete foundation around the perimeter of the site and then install a fence;
• Laying a lawn mesh over the area also helps - to do this, remove the top layer of the lawn (5-10 cm), lay the mesh, and then put the top layer back.

Such measures will guarantee that moles will no longer appear on the site.

If you have personal experience of catching moles in one way or another, be sure to share it by leaving a review at the bottom of this page. Perhaps this will help someone who is in the same situation.

Interesting video with an example of using a mole trap-pipe

Is it worth protecting the site in winter?

There are two really very reliable ways to prevent moles from entering your summer cottage:

It is clear that such work is very labor-intensive and expensive, but in general it is usually carried out not only to combat moles, but also to improve the area (to install a fence, prevent flooding or soil movement). Therefore, if there is an opportunity to do this, then you need to do it: when the neighbors cry about the fact that their entire plot is dug up by moles, you will already forget what the traces of the vital activity of these animals even look like.

In winter, the mole does not hibernate, becoming only slightly less active than in summer, but in general it digs many new holes due to lack of food. This means that with some probability the animal can enter the area at this time of year. Consequently, if in summer and autumn certain folk repellents have really proven themselves, then in winter they should also be left on the summer cottage, and, if necessary, updated regularly.

In addition, it is in winter that it is easiest to catch a mole in the garden using a shovel or a live trap.

If you have your own experience fighting moles in your country house or garden, be sure to leave a review at the bottom of this page - perhaps it will help someone make the right decision when choosing this or that product.

Moles and shrews are active animals. Their benefits in the garden are enormous, because they:

The harm is that the animals form voids in the ground, digging labyrinths of wide passages and damaging the roots of plants, fruit plants, and trees. They lose contact with the ground and dry out.

Types of ready-made traps

There are quite a few ready-made mole traps, for example: scissor traps, tunnel traps, plunger traps, pipe mole traps (also called humane traps) or live traps, ultrasonic repellers. Let's look at each trap in detail.

Scissor trap

There are many options for such devices, which are most often found in gardening stores, etc.

The photo shows a simple example of a scissor trap

Advantages:

• Easy to install (just press the handles into the ground and cock the mechanism).
• You can observe the operation from a distance.
• It is easy to adjust the sensitivity of the device.
• Simple but reliable design.

Flaws:

• Although easy to use, the trap is difficult to install in a tunnel opening, especially at great depths. It must be located and hidden so that the moving parts are not obstructed in the form of stones, pieces of peat, or clods of earth. Due to the tight handles, it is difficult to completely hide the device without light entering the passage, ensuring reliable operation.
• If there are low temperatures in the ground, the handles freeze and the trap does not work.
• Heavy rain can wash away the soil, making the trap undetectable.
• Difficult to install in very shallow and very deep tunnels.

Tunnel trap

The most suitable design for a mole trap is one that includes a semi-tunnel. Such a trap is easy to hide; working parts for the most part do not jam from foreign objects.

Advantages:

• Easy to install in a mole passage. It is enough to pour a little earth on top to block the access of light.
• Quickly and effectively kills pests.
• It is easy to adjust the sensitivity of the mechanism.
• Working parts practically do not jam due to the ingress of stones, peat, etc.
• If you cover the trap with peat or a board, frost and rain will not affect its operation.
• It is used with equal success in deep and shallow tunnels.
• Can neutralize two moles at the same time.

Flaws:

• Complex installation, requires advance instructions. If used incorrectly, you can easily get hurt.
• The operation of the device cannot be seen from afar.
• Invisible above the ground, so if the pointer is lost, the trap will be difficult to find.

Plunger trap

If you prefer to use a scissor trap, then this effective device is worth a try.

This is what a plunger trap looks like Another version of a plunger trap

Advantages:

• The trigger mechanism is triggered in a different way from the previous two types. The trap is activated not by the movement of the mole with its nose or paws, but by pushing through the earth to restore the previously dug tunnel. Thus, the trap is very useful in the presence of moles that bypass the traps.
• A very powerful trap that requires a little practice to use.
• No need to adjust before use.
• Relatively easy to install, but requires a little time, especially when working on rocky soil.

Flaws:

• If there are stones in the ground, it can become stuck, as is the case with a scissor trap.
• If you do not have the skills to install it correctly, the device may not work, and moles will freely pass through it.

Humane mole trap-tube and ultrasonic device

Quite ineffective devices. The first is a hollow tube with movable doors on both sides, the second also has the shape of a tube that is installed in the soil. According to reviews from gardeners, it is almost impossible to get rid of moles using such traps, because moles bypass some of them, while they get used to others or ignore them altogether. However, there are also cases where ultrasound turned out to be effective, as long as it did not become addictive, like any surface noise produced by a person.

Example of an ultrasonic trap Humane tube (not very effective) Ultrasonic mole repeller device

Pit trap and rules for its use

The principle of operation of a pit trap is that a mole, moving along its underground passage, falls into a “pit” specially prepared for it, into which a glass jar, bucket or pan is placed.

Making such a trap with your own hands is much easier than making a pipe mole trap. By and large, any container of suitable volume with a sufficiently wide neck is already a ready-made basis for a trap. Many gardeners successfully use even two-liter plastic bottles for this purpose, but it is advisable to take a larger container - for example, the same bottle, but five-liter, or a bucket.

So, to install such a trap along the path of the mole passage, a hole is dug of the appropriate diameter and such a depth that the bottom of the passage is flush, or just above the upper edge of the container lowered into the hole. In this case, it is advisable to damage the walls of the underground passage as little as possible, since significant damage can scare away the mole.

Then a suitable container is lowered into the hole, a roller of earth is pressed over its upper edge, and the entire excavated passage is covered on top with opaque material. When the mole next checks its feeding passage, it will most likely fall into the trap and will not be able to get out of it.

Catching moles using fish hooks

Live traps should be checked every 3-4 hours. Since moles are very sensitive to hunger strikes, they need to be removed from traps as soon as possible - a mole cannot live for more than 24 hours without food due to its accelerated metabolism. At the same time, you shouldn’t look into the mole trap every fifteen minutes either, since such fuss will only scare away the animal.

Immediately after catching the mole, you must remove it from the trap: this must be done with thick gloves so that it does not bite through the skin. Then the animal must be taken outside the site to a distance of about 1-1.5 km - then the mole will no longer be able to return to its territory.

It is advisable to release the mole in dense bushes or thick grass, where predators will not be able to immediately catch it and where it will have sufficient chances to burrow into the ground.

And another barbaric method of catching moles, which is not, in fact, a trap, but allows you to catch and mutilate the animal: a fishing line with fishing hooks (usually triple ones) is used, the end of which is brought out and tied to a pin stuck in the ground or simply to a lying one on the ground with a stick. The mole, moving along, runs into hooks that cling to its body and pierce the skin, and begins to jerk the line, trying to free itself. These jerks can be seen by the movement of the fishing line and the pin, and if you hang a bell on the pin itself, it will also ring at the same time.

When an animal is caught, it is simply pulled out of the hole by the fishing line (who cares if the hooks go deeper into the body or even tear the skin and muscles).

It is clear that the hook can only be removed from the mole’s body by tearing the muscle fibers, or even with a piece of meat. However, people who prefer to catch animals in this way do not really think about how to deal more carefully with the animal, and at best they will not mock it before killing it...

As a result, we can conclude that for successful, efficient and fairly quick catching of moles, it is quite enough to use mole traps in the form of a pipe or pit. Their effectiveness is approximately the same as that of traps (and sometimes even higher), and with their help you can get rid of pests without having to kill, in general, innocent animals.

It is also important to keep in mind that removing moles from a site once does not mean forgetting about them forever. If they once entered the garden, they will be able to do so in the future. To eliminate the possibility of moles reappearing, the area should ideally be fenced around the entire perimeter with a net or other barrier dug into the ground. This will help prevent a conflict of interests between the gardener and the mole in the future.

Crossbows

There is also a very complex and dangerous method of destroying moles with crossbows. Let's consider it as an example of the lengths people go to when trying by any means to destroy the underground inhabitants on their site.

So, how does a crossbow work: when the animal moves, a pipe is installed, sealed on one side, into which gunpowder is poured and shot is loaded. A nichrome wire is connected to the gunpowder through a thin hole, and a motion sensor is connected to it, installed 20-30 cm along the hole. When a mole passes under the sensor, it turns on the battery, it heats up the wire and after a split second the crossbow fires.

It is clear that the mole dies after this. It is also quite obvious that the design of such a crossbow is many times more complex than the use of any other homemade traps. Perhaps, the use of crossbows today is more the lot of flayer enthusiasts who are willing to spend their time and effort on inventing more and more sophisticated ways of killing animals.

Press traps

All means of catching moles can be divided into two types:

1. Live traps that allow you to catch an animal without harming it;
2. Lethal traps (traps, snares of various types, fishhooks, etc.), either immediately killing the animal upon capture, or injuring it so severely that the likelihood of its subsequent survival is minimal.

The results of using these types of traps show that the effectiveness of live traps is the same as the effectiveness of means that lead to the death of moles. The question of using one or another type of device ultimately comes down to whether the owner of the property will be too lazy to constantly take the caught animals outside the garden and release them into the wild.

Based on humane considerations, traps and snares are significantly inferior to live traps, and if you can rid the garden of moles without killing the animals, then it is better to choose the gentle option. The use of devices that kill moles is hardly justified killing.

Below, the word “traps” will primarily mean live traps, into which the mole is caught alive and unharmed. However, we will also look at various traps - in order to show with what sadistic methods today some summer residents are trying to fight nature on their plots.

Also, sometimes standard mouse traps and crushers are used against moles. If the mouse pulls the bait on the guardhouse to release the mechanism, the mole simply crawls onto the guardhouse and lowers it with its body.

In the case of a competent approach, traps are practically no different from live traps in terms of efficiency and ease of use, however, the use of such lethal means to exterminate moles can be considered to a certain extent senseless cruelty.

We use scented products

Repelling moles with smells is not much more difficult than with noises - just bury the odorous agent in the animals' passages or near them.

Perhaps the simplest and at the same time popular way to get rid of moles using such means is to place rotten fish in the passages of the animals. In this case, you usually proceed as follows:

1. Any fish can be used, including the most inexpensive ones (in particular, herring and sprat are the most popular);
2. The fish is cut into small pieces (and the same sprat may not be cut at all);
3. Then the pieces of fish are left outside for several days, out of reach of pets;
4. When the fish gives off a characteristic odor, a piece of it will need to be placed in holes dug in the ground in all detected near-surface mole passages.

People who have been helped by this method to get rid of moles in their dachas note that the pests go away within 3-5 days after placing the fish.

In addition, instead of spoiled fish, the following options are sometimes successfully used to get rid of moles in a summer cottage:

1. Calcium carbide (technical carbide always contains impurities of calcium phosphide and arsenide, and when interacting with water, it releases not only acetylene gas, but also specific-smelling phosphine and arsine as impurities);
2. Technical fluids - kerosene, gasoline, turpentine, solvents (646, etc.);
3. Acetic acid;
4. Ammonia;
5. Alphos anti-mole tablets (their active ingredient is aluminum phosphide, which releases a strong-smelling and very poisonous phosphine gas upon contact with moisture);
6. Feces of domestic animals, as well as human;
7. Exhaust gas from a car - a hose is put on the exhaust pipe, the end of which is inserted into the mole's hole, after which the car is started and just waited for about 1 hour;
8. Smoke bombs (sulfur, insecticidal-repellent and even just signal).

More pleasant to use and sometimes show good effectiveness are Detia mole balls with the scent of lavender (a product made in Germany). If you use them according to the instructions, burying them in the ground at a depth of 20-30 cm and at a distance of a meter from each other, then sometimes you can get rid of moles quickly enough and for the entire season (though not in all cases either).

What is useful to keep in mind if you suddenly decide to “go crazy” at the dacha:

• Improper handling of calcium carbide can result in ignition and even a dangerous explosion of the acetylene air mixture. Therefore, it is not recommended to fill mole holes with acetylene and then try to set it on fire;
• Similarly, filling mole holes with kerosene, gasoline and other flammable liquids can pose a fire hazard;
• Ammonia (ammonia dissolved in water), which is sometimes used to scare off moles from an area, is very volatile and quickly disappears from the ground, so its effect will be very short-lived;
• Also, bleach, being a very active substance, decomposes very quickly in the ground, completely losing its repellent activity after just a couple of days;
• When using smoke bombs, it is useful to keep in mind that sulfur bombs burn only with good air access, so they will not burn underground and are unlikely to help get rid of moles. But insecticidal smoke bombs (Quiet Evening, City, etc.), as well as signal bombs, may well smolder even underground, however, when using them, you need to be aware that the mole will not crawl out of the ground to the surface to “get some fresh air,” and with a certain probability he will simply die right in his own moves. That is, this option for getting rid of moles in a summer cottage can hardly be considered humane (just like using car exhaust gases).

If you use several different methods of repelling moles at the same time, you can significantly increase your chances of a positive result. Sometimes it is the combination of different options that allows you to get rid of moles that were not repelled by the same means, but used separately.

But suppose you used a combination of repellents, two weeks passed, and you still couldn’t get rid of the moles in the garden or dacha. In this case, we move on to the next stage - catching moles in the area...

Benefit or harm?

Moles can not only harm the gardener, but also be beneficial. For example, they actively eat mole crickets - the fierce enemies of gardeners. They can significantly reduce the population of various beetles, wireworms, caterpillars of cabbage butterflies and other pests on your site, which can cause great damage to the crop. These mammals also destroy baby rats and mice. Thanks to their keen sense of smell, they quickly find rodent nests and are able to destroy a brood in one go. Another benefit is soil aeration when digging underground passages: loosened soil is well saturated with moisture and has excellent air permeability, which is beneficial for the root system of all plant crops.

However, entire colonies of moles in the garden are dangerous for plants. The harm from moles on a personal plot is much greater than the benefit. 1-2 individuals will not cause serious damage to the crop, but these predators do not remain alone for long. Where there is a female and a male, a litter of moles will soon appear. Finding moles with babies is very difficult, it is almost impossible in large areas. Some gardeners fill the passages with water, but such measures are useless, since in case of danger the family will quickly find a safe dead end.

Here are a few consequences of moles infesting a garden.

1. In search of food, a female with a male and a grown brood can turn over up to 5 acres of land on a site in a day. As a result, a well-groomed area loses its aesthetics due to the appearance of numerous passages and piles of soil.
2. One adult mole is capable of digging tunnels with a total length of 15-20 m or even more in a day. While making passages, the animals damage various obstacles that they encounter along the way: rhizomes of trees and shrubs, wires, sewer systems, plastic water pipes. Damaged roots of plants planted in the garden quickly dry out and they stop feeding the plantings. As a result, plant crops may become sick (with minor injury to the root system) or even die.
3. Moles are capable of destroying almost all earthworms on the site. This can cause damage to the gardener: the fact is that the worms eat nematodes - microscopic worms that infect the rhizomes of plantings on the site. Due to the lack of “raincoats”, the nematode will actively develop, the soil will become poor, and the plants may soon die.
4. In the process of digging tunnels, predators mix the infertile lower soil layer with the surface nutrient layer. Because of this, the soil becomes poor, and plants may not receive a lot of different fertilizers.