Scissor Mole Trap

The Scissor trap is the most commonly used mole trap and has been around for years and years. There are many different designs some better than others.  Things to lookout for when choosing a scissor trap include the spring, which should be of the leaf kind rather than a wire coiled type, prongs on the trap which go straight down rather than curve under and galvanisation which is dull not shiny.  You also have to check that the tongue is secured adequately to the main frame of the trap.  This has been learnt through bitter experience!

You need also to check the prongs on the trap overlap rather than meet together, we want a dead mole not a mangled one. You can see on the pictures below what I mean.

 

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The most important part of any trap is the trigger mechanism.  Mass produced mole traps are notorious for their stiff mechanisms. This will result in moles stuffing the traps with soil as they go underneath the trap, once they have learnt to do this for one trap they seem to stuff all the traps they come across and are very hard to catch.

If the tongue has metal tabs that can be bent, it is an easy job to bend them in order to achieve a hair trigger on the trap. see the photograph below.

If the tongue has been cast you have to use a file to get the same result; a tiny bit of metal contact holding the jaws apart.

Finally all mole traps should be buried for a couple of weeks to rid them of factory scent.  Mole have incredible noses an detect anything out of order quickly.  It was always said that the man who milked cows was useless as a mole catcher as the scent was transferred to the trap, same for those who smoke.