Mole infestation - what to do?

[gitrdun]

Moles are all over the place on my acreage At least there are nice little mounds of black dirt everywhere. What's the best way of getting rid of the pesky little buggers. Poison is not a good option for me as I have a couple of dogs. Traps I imagine, but some must be better than others?

[Typical]

Buy a couple cats

[MountainTi]

Definately get a mole trap. They work very well. Find a fresh mound, dig down till you find the hole, set the trap in the hole, and cover with dirt so only the top with the small hole are not covered. There will be a small pinhole of light showing, which the moles do not like, and they will go into it to try to fill it in.

[LacLaBicheNS]

dynamite.. or a large caliber gun..


make sure you get it on camera..

[Bushmaster]

Not sure where you live but chances are they are pocket gophers. Go to your nearest UFA/hardware store and buy a trap called The black Hole...or 2 or 3 and set them similar to this. You might have to put a tire or something over it to keep the dogs from digging it up.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/akabushmaster/traps002.jpg

[sourdough doug]

black dirt is what was seen not clay which is what gophers will give you.

[Bushmaster]

Richardson's Ground squirrels/gophers will give you clay. Pocket gophers can and will give you black dirt, not necessarily always....but lots of times....I have trapped hundreds of them.

And I might be mistaken but I don't think we even have true moles in Alberta.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

This is what I say you should consider. Get a few of your pals from alberta outdoorsmen , friends with bows, to come out and put arrows th=rew these varmits.

[gitrdun]

Thanks for the replies, here are mine:

Cats? - those GD useless things, I had them and they crap in the wive's flower beds and destroy the window screens, and kill the song birds. I like gophers better.

Dynamite? - I'm just about there.

Friends with bows? - Come on down BBJ, I'll supply the arrows, heck when the job is done and they're gone, I'll even supply some brewskies.

Seriously though you guys think that they're pocket gophers? I'd never heard of them:(. Like is said, the dirt is a beautiful black color, heck you could package it and sell it for potting soil. The other clue is that we never, ever see them. They seem to go to work at night. You still don't think that they are moles? I'm calling UFA today. Thanks for the tips.

[MountainTi]

Seriously though you guys think that they're pocket gophers? I'd never heard of them:(. Like is said, the dirt is a beautiful black color, heck you could package it and sell it for potting soil. The other clue is that we never, ever see them. They seem to go to work at night. You still don't think that they are moles? I'm calling UFA today. Thanks for the tips.
I have tons of them in my area, and it would be awful tough to stick an arrow in them as I have yet to see a live one. Like I say though, get yourself that trap and they are quite simple to trap.

[Grains]

Richardson's Ground squirrels/gophers will give you clay. Pocket gophers can and will give you black dirt, not necessarily always....but lots of times....I have trapped hundreds of them.

And I might be mistaken but I don't think we even have true moles in Alberta.

You're correct - no true moles in Alberta. Sounds like pocket gophers to me. My father-in-law used to get lots of them, but after using the Black Hole traps from UFA, he only gets a couple per year on his property.

[icefever]

Pocket gophers they are. Usually only like to work in the dark. I trap the pest in my garden all the time. They can destroy a garden in no time. Get the trap

[Prdtrgttr]

Do like Bushmaster says, those traps will clean them out in a hurry. And yes, they are pocket gophers.
Good luck and have fun!

[gitrdun]

SUCCESS - Wow, I'm impressed. Thanks for the help guys. I purchased a couple of "Box Traps" at UFA. They knew of the "black hole" ones but were out, they had two of the aforementioned ones. I followed the instructions and using two traps, four hour laters I had two pocket gophers. You guys are right, the instructions also claim that there are no moles in Alberta or Saskatchewan. .........OK, does this mean I'm a trapper now ;)

[Bushmaster]

Congrats.....in my experience it takes only a couple of gopherrs to make many holes/piles so you can trap them out in a hurry. But others will follow in their runs, even though it might not be till next spring. I took it upon myself a few years ago to try to trap out a 1/2 section of farm land .....and was surprised at how few I actually caught before there were no new holes. But they did eventually come back from the bordering land/pastures. So don't put your traps in your garage sale !! :D

[2430M]

I found this thing at dad's house, doesn't look like a pocket gopher...they had 5 in total last year :confused:

[TBD]

oh wow that is definitely a mole what part of Alberta was this found at????

[Bushmaster]

Its possible that is some type of shrew....maybe...otherwise.......

[Swamp_Donkey]

I found this thing at dad's house, doesn't look like a pocket gopher...they had 5 in total last year :confused:

Thats definately a mole.
In Alberta we have Voles(which are like mice with short tails), and pocket gophers(which look like rats with long claws, big teeth, and stubby tails)
http://www.photosafaris.com/Images/RoadKillRiches/NorthernPocketGopher.jpg

My suggestion would be to live trap a couple of badgers, and lock the dogs in the house:evilgrin:

[AndrewM]

My uncle swears by this method:
Find a piece of Wrigleys Spearmint gum which is enclosed in tinfoil and white paper (used to be in a green package). Take the white paper off and place the piece of gum in the tinfoil wrapper on top of the mound of black dirt. Within a few days the moles will be gone.
I am not positive on why it works but he swears by it. He tried juicy fruit but with no results, has to be the spearmint.

[2430M]

oh wow that is definitely a mole what part of Alberta was this found at????
About 35 minutes east of Red Deer. Now, after reading this thread I am wondering where the heck they come from :(:confused:

[gitrdun]

What I've got are definitely pocket gophers just as those in SD's picture. The traps are working just fine.....trap some live badgers ?:rolleyes: So I can trade off tiny little holes and mounds for CRATTER size holes? :lol:

[rocky97]

not the nicest way of doin her but it works. you take chocolate exlax put it down the hole and they eat it and **** themselves to death.

[Ishpah]

.........OK, does this mean I'm a trapper now ;)Not until you learn to skin them in whole.:lol:

[Tumbleweed]

Anhydrous Ammonia works pretty good. So does propane and a piezo ignitor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrGnW0KLFZk

[Cooeylover]

this is what i say you should consider. Get a few of your pals from alberta outdoorsmen , friends with bows, to come out and put arrows th=rew these varmits.

lmao!!!!!!!!!!!

[heybert]

I never knew anything about pocket gophers until we got a seasoned mouser. Blackjack brought one back to the barn one day. It was huge. Now, we only see the head because Blackjack likes to eat them. More meat than the voles.

[whitetailnut]

All I used to do was take a small leghold trap(not sure of the #) remove the dirt until I found the hole, widen it so the trap would fit, put a small piece of plywood over it, and cover back up with the dirt. I made a killing from the neighbors one summer doing this. I had about a half dozen traps set out.

[Tredeb]

All I used to do was take a small leghold trap(not sure of the #) remove the dirt until I found the hole, widen it so the trap would fit, put a small piece of plywood over it, and cover back up with the dirt. I made a killing from the neighbors one summer doing this. I had about a half dozen traps set out.

That is the same way we used to catch them back home in Saskatchewan. Every one I caught looked exactly like 2430M's picture.

[270WIN]

JUST ONE MORE SUGGESTION WHICH MAY BE HELPFUL.
Because one pocket gopher/mole will make many mounds, it can sometimes be difficult to identify the currently active one. What I find works pretty well is to flatten all the mounds in a particular area with a shovel and then go back in a day or so, see which ones have fresh dirt piled up on them and concentrate your trapping efforts on those ones.

[AlazyS]

UFA also carries sulphur sticks. They look like dynamite stick, even has a fuse you put in. I use them, they work great. I think each stick, after lighting burns and produces 55 cubic meters of sulphur gas. Follow the instructions and ta da...now more underground critters.:)

[whatmotivatesyou]

SUCCESS - Wow, I'm impressed. Thanks for the help guys. I purchased a couple of "Box Traps" at UFA. They knew of the "black hole" ones but were out, they had two of the aforementioned ones. I followed the instructions and using two traps, four hour laters I had two pocket gophers. You guys are right, the instructions also claim that there are no moles in Alberta or Saskatchewan. .........OK, does this mean I'm a trapper now ;)

I have some univited guests and did not have a clue what they were. So I started searching and found your forum. I will go buy some traps tomorrow and gitrdun.......thank you in advance and will let you know if it worked. Lady on an acreage.

[whatmotivatesyou]

UFA also carries sulphur sticks. They look like dynamite stick, even has a fuse you put in. I use them, they work great. I think each stick, after lighting burns and produces 55 cubic meters of sulphur gas. Follow the instructions and ta da...now more underground critters.:)

Does the sulfer sticks kill them or just drive them away??

[sourdough doug]

The lifespan of a mole does not last as long as this thread, so the original problem has hopefully rid itself , by attrition...:sHa_shakeshout:

[Littlejet]

All I used to do was take a small leghold trap(not sure of the #) remove the dirt until I found the hole, widen it so the trap would fit, put a small piece of plywood over it, and cover back up with the dirt. I made a killing from the neighbors one summer doing this. I had about a half dozen traps set out.

An old dish style hub cap works great, gives more room for the trap.

[Artist]

Garden hose down the hole works too

[Ishpah]

You need this,
http://www.rodenator.com/

[New Hunter Okotoks]

I had heard of guys taking old light bulbs and breaking them and putting the shards of the bulbs into the holes.Apparently it doesn't take very long for these things to tear up their paws and bleed out.

[maddwapper]

an old friend told me to shoot propane down the hole kills em all the time ..but i dont know how he did it ,,good luck:fighting0074:

[dgl1948]

I run a flexabvle hose from the exhaust on my atv into the hole. Seal the hole and run the atv for a while. Seems to work fine.

[Rustynuts]

My grandpa used a couple of small wind mills. They don't like the vibrations and it drives them away and keeps them away. Atleast that's what he told me.

[Reeves1]

an old friend told me to shoot propane down the hole kills em all the time ..but i dont know how he did it ,,good luck:fighting0074:

That is what I do and it works. I just took the end off of the tiger torch & put the hose down hole (after opening it up).
Used to light r up.....but was afraid the Feds would show up looking for whom ever was causing mini earth quakes :sHa_shakeshout:

[Bushmaster]

I have been trapping them for the past 2 weeks....they are in every field we combined this year....never seen so many!

[mudbug]

UFA also carries sulphur sticks. They look like dynamite stick, even has a fuse you put in. I use them, they work great. I think each stick, after lighting burns and produces 55 cubic meters of sulphur gas. Follow the instructions and ta da...now more underground critters.:)

Those work really well, I've used them on gophers, kills em dead in no time

[KegRiver]

SUCCESS - Wow, I'm impressed. Thanks for the help guys. I purchased a couple of "Box Traps" at UFA. They knew of the "black hole" ones but were out, they had two of the aforementioned ones. I followed the instructions and using two traps, four hour laters I had two pocket gophers. You guys are right, the instructions also claim that there are no moles in Alberta or Saskatchewan. .........OK, does this mean I'm a trapper now ;)

Way to go! Yup you a trapper now bud. You can get yursef a coonskin cap n all. LOL

I was visiting my brother-in-law down in Millet several years ago. He took me to a seminar on Pocket Gopher control. There were a small group of scientists researching control methods in the area.
It was very interesting, and some information was hilarious, but the long and the short of what they said they had learned was, poison is not effective, because the varmints like Alfalfa and Alfalfa contains the antidote to the poison, cats are not effective, ext. ext., the only thing they found that actually worked was traps, and the best traps according to those researchers is the trap you are using.
They also told us that they lost a lot of traps to coyotes, seems that when the trap snaps shut on Mr gopher, he screams and if a coyote hears that, by by to trap and gopher.

[noslack]

This is the best way to remove moles with out any toxins.


Bubble Gum. Yup that stuff you chew. There itty bitty stomachs can't digest the gum and then they get constipated then die.


It's the way we got rid of our moles back when I was in Ontario.

[lyallpeder]

I used the wood box traps and used a chunk of re bar to probe around the hill and find the tunnel going to the hill and that's where I would set it. Some times they will come from the other side of the hill and make a new mound on top of the trap. I used to trap lots of them in the cattle pasture.

[Got Juice?]

My uncle swears by this method:
Find a piece of Wrigleys Spearmint gum which is enclosed in tinfoil and white paper (used to be in a green package). Take the white paper off and place the piece of gum in the tinfoil wrapper on top of the mound of black dirt. Within a few days the moles will be gone.
I am not positive on why it works but he swears by it. He tried juicy fruit but with no results, has to be the spearmint.

It works because the moles and shrews cannot digest gum. It works by jamming up their intestinal tract.

Juicey fruit will work, in fact, any mint or fruit gum works as gum is essentially a malleable plastic resin.