12 



CIRCULAR 3 81, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The harpoon type of trap was designed primarily for the ridged 

 runways of the eastern mole. It is set by firmly pressing down about 

 3 inches of the ridged runway and forcing down the anchor prongs 

 so that the trigger rests snugly upon the depressed part of the 

 runway and at right angles to its course. It is well to spring the 

 trap a few times to make sure that there are no obstructions to the 

 impaling spikes. This trap may be used for the deeper runways, 

 the same instructions being followed that were given for the other 

 types of traps. 



Traps should be visited twice a day. When a mole is caught, the 

 hole should be left open and the trap moved to the next active 



system. To ascertain 

 whether runways are 

 active, test openings 

 may be made in ad- 

 vance of setting. 



For additional infor- 

 mation on mole con- 

 trol, consult Farmers' 

 Bulletin No. 1716. 







MICE AND RATS 



In plantings of 

 bulbs and root crops 

 the presence of native 

 mice — meadow mice — 

 is indicated by small 

 open burrows, usually 

 about an inch in diam- 

 eter; by small well- 

 beaten trails in dense 

 vegetation; and by 

 w i 1 1 i n g and dying 

 plants. Favorable con- 

 ditions for their in- 

 crease in n u m b e r s, 

 with consequent great- 

 er damage, are created 

 by such cover as rank growth along fence rows or borders and other 

 litter, also by existing mole and pocket gopher runways, in which 

 they are trespassers. Often, too, the white-footed mouse is there, 

 and sometimes the introduced house mouse. 



Deep plowing, clean cultivation, and where cover for valuable 

 forms of wildlife is not a consideration, clean fence rows and borders 

 aid materially in checking mouse damage. Control of these mice 

 may involve the use of poisoned grain, usually to be obtained from 

 county agricultural agents or horticultural commissioners. Detailed 

 information concerning methods of mouse control in field and 

 orchard is given in Farmers' Bulletin No. 1397. 



Poisoned-bait material should be distributed not only over the 

 infested garden or bulb field but also in the bordering fence rows, 

 ditch banks, and immediately adjacent waste lands. A teaspoonful 

 of bait should be placed here and there in the runways, the intervals 



Figure 7. — Diamond-jaw trap, of the gripping type 

 sprung when the trigger (directly in the runway) i 

 moved to either side. 



