THE COMMON MOLE OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 7 

 HOW TO DESTROY THE MOLE. 



When it is desirable to destroy moles, the trap will usually be 

 found the most efficient mean.-». So far all experiments undertaken 

 with the object of finding an acceptable poisoned bait have given 

 negative results, as the very nature of the animal's food makes it 

 difficult to secure a satisfactory substitute for living grubs, worms, 

 and insects. Then, too, the little animal seems shrewd and quick 

 to sense the danger in poisoned substances. 



A number of excellent mole traps are on the market, and most of 

 them will give good results if properly set. However, the mechanism 

 of a trap is of secondary importance to the operator's knowledge of 

 the mole's works and ways. All makes of traps that have come 

 under the writer's observation may be divided into three classes — the 

 harpoon type, the scissor-jaw type, and the choker type. Harpoon- 

 type traps (fig. S, a) are designed to impale the mole in the soil by 

 spring-driven spikes. Scissor-jaw traps (fig. 3, h) are intended to 

 be set astride the runway to grasp the mole firmly when he attempts 

 to pas^ from either direction. The choker type (fig. 3, c, and fig. 4) has 

 a pair of \vire loops that encircle the burrow when the trap is set. All 

 three types are designed to be sprung by the same sort of mechanism — 

 a trigger pan resting on a depressed portion of the mole ridge in 

 such a way as to be lifted when the animal passes beneath. No part 

 of an efficient mole trap may be in the runway itself, as any intrusion 

 of this sort will ahnost invariably excite the natural suspicion of the 

 animal to the extent of leading him to burrow around or beneath 

 even a slight obstruction. 



Only general directions for setting mole traps can be given here. 

 Specific instructions for handling any particular make of trap should 

 be furnished by the manufacturer. A mole trap can be successfully 

 operated only when set on that part of a runway that is near enough 

 to the surface to upridge the sod or soil. A little observation will 

 soon enable one to distinguish the newer and more frequently used 

 runways from those that have peen partially or wholly abandoned. 

 A little cracking of the soil where the sagging roof of the ridge has 

 been raised again, a few particles of fresh earth thrust out to close 

 a tiny opening or cre\dce, the wilting of grass or foliage along the 

 course — these are indications of an occupied runway. When in 

 doubt the question may always be settled by making a small breach 

 in the ridge, and if that particular part of the burrow is in use the 

 mole wall invariably repair the break when he comes that way on his 

 rounds. By follo\ving this plan all the centers of mole activity on 

 one's premises may be definitely located. In placing the trap one 

 of the stretches of the run that seems to be leading in some definite 

 direction should be selected, rather than one of the turns of a labyrinth 

 that may not be traversed every time the mole comes in the \dcinity. 



