MOLES- Backyard Pest!!!

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Willow
    Advanced Daycare.com Member
    • May 2012
    • 2683

    #16
    It's sort of hard to explain, they really are pretty safe. Unless a kiddo got down on their belly and reached their arm pretty far inside the hole they wouldn't be able to access the trap.

    You do have to take out a cylinder chunk of sod around the mound but if you keep it watered once a day or so you should be able to stick it back in when you're done. Set trap (we use the spring ones) and shove it in there attached to a chain. The longer the chain, the more distance you'll be able to put between the trap and the entrance of the hole. One of my dogs is a miniature pinscher. Totally into ratting critters out of holes. I was super freaked out about him shoving his snoot down the holes and taking a trap to the face but ours are placed a considerable ways in so he can't. Attach the chain to a stake and then leave it sit for a few days. You check it by simply pulling up the stake. Chain and trap and hopefully critter will come right up. To release critter you simply step on a lever. If you're empty, you can reset it and leave it a few more days or move it if they've started a new mound.

    This year alone I think our number is somewhere in the 30's. We've gotten 6 this past week alone.

    Our county pays a bounty for them because they're running so rampant right now. I believe it's $3 for a pair of the paws. Don't ask how they're removed, SO takes care of that business, I hunt, field dress and butcher like a champ but I can't bring myself to go that far with a bitty critter. I also know to keep the heck out of the shed freezer or run the risk of seeing the stockpile out there right now

    Here's a pic of one of ours. It's hard to see the chain leading down to the trap because we got loads of rain today and the dirt started to mini-mud slide down. You could always stake and chicken wire off the small space if you were really worried about kids gaining access to it.

    Comment

    • Willow
      Advanced Daycare.com Member
      • May 2012
      • 2683

      #17
      Originally posted by Lilbutterflie
      LOL! ::

      I wish I could find their hole! I think I found one on the side of the house, but I'm not positive it's THE mole hole. There is also a small hole in our front yard, but there are no mounds at all in our front yard. Could that be them, too?
      That sounds like a striped gopher. Or maybe even a snake? This is a striped gopher hole:


      Mole/pocket gophers will leave one little mountains , like this:

      Comment

      • SilverSabre25
        Senior Member
        • Aug 2010
        • 7585

        #18
        Originally posted by Willow
        That sounds like a striped gopher. Or maybe even a snake? This is a striped gopher hole:


        Mole/pocket gophers will leave one little mountains , like this:
        That can't always be true because I have holes that look like your first picture and they are DEFINITELY moles that my cat has been killing for over a year. No doubt about it. And, I have never seen a snake in my yard

        (and btw...is your "striped gopher" aka a chipmunk?)
        Hee hee! Look, I have a signature!

        Comment

        • Willow
          Advanced Daycare.com Member
          • May 2012
          • 2683

          #19
          Originally posted by SilverSabre25

          (and btw...is your "striped gopher" aka a chipmunk?)
          The technical name for a striped gopher is "thirteen lined ground squirrel."

          It's a completely different animal from a chipmunk, and definitely not as cute


          I don't know of any mole that doesn't leave mounds as they exist entirely underground so that I'm unsure of. Exactly where the phrase making a mountain out of a mole hill originates from though.

          Maybe you've got a variety of shrew mole?

          Comment

          • SilverSabre25
            Senior Member
            • Aug 2010
            • 7585

            #20
            Originally posted by Willow
            The technical name for a striped gopher is "thirteen lined ground squirrel."

            It's a completely different animal from a chipmunk, and definitely not as cute


            I don't know of any mole that doesn't leave mounds as they exist entirely underground so that I'm unsure of. Exactly where the phrase making a mountain out of a mole hill originates from though.

            Maybe you've got a variety of shrew mole?
            perhaps. They're mouse-sized, with silky dark grey/black fur that's very short. They're very soft, actually. I haven't cared enough to try to figure out exactly what they are; I just pick 'em up and bin 'em when I find their little corpses on the ground. And then I praise my kitty to no end and find him a treat.
            Hee hee! Look, I have a signature!

            Comment

            • Countrygal
              Advanced Daycare.com Member
              • Aug 2011
              • 976

              #21
              I live in prime mole country. From all I have heard, lime your lawn and it should get rid of them. They like acidic soil. If you keep it limed (maybe spring and fall), they should stay away! It's a simple, cheap solution and usually works well, depending upon why they are there. It's definitely worth a try. Here's a link with the instructions: http://www.ehow.com/how_7103187_rid-...oles-lime.html Evidently it doesn't work everywhere, depending upon your soil and what the moles are eating in it. Around here it works pretty good.

              Comment

              • Countrygal
                Advanced Daycare.com Member
                • Aug 2011
                • 976

                #22
                a mole:

                a chipmunk:

                A vole:

                a shrew:

                A shrew and a mole look somewhat similar. The mole is much softer and has the funny face. Both feet are made for digging, but the mole's feet are much more "heavy?"

                Comment

                • SilverSabre25
                  Senior Member
                  • Aug 2010
                  • 7585

                  #23
                  Okay, I have shrews.
                  Hee hee! Look, I have a signature!

                  Comment

                  • youretooloud
                    Advanced Daycare.com Member
                    • Mar 2011
                    • 1955

                    #24
                    I had no idea a shrew was real! I though it was a hateful, spiteful woman.

                    Shrews are so cute!

                    Comment

                    • Blackcat31
                      • Oct 2010
                      • 36124

                      #25
                      Originally posted by youretooloud
                      I had no idea a shrew was real! I though it was a hateful, spiteful woman.

                      Shrews are so cute!
                      ::::::::::::

                      Comment

                      Working...