YARDDOGMole Trap Step to Set Commercial Grade

As far as I'm concerned, there is no point in spending your money on any other type or brand of trap. When I purchased these, they were the cheapest available on Amazon, yet they are very sturdy, have strong springs, they are galvanized for rust resistance, and simply work magnificently. I purchased two of these. The first day I caught nothing. The next day I moved the traps and within hours caught my first mole. I moved the traps again a couple of times and caught nothing, moved them again and two days later (because I didn't check the traps the next day) I caught 2! Here are some tips I believe will make your experience as good as mine:1) When you pull these out of the box, it might look confusing to you. The largest piece of the trap, the base, comes parallel but can be rotated 90 degrees from the two "scissors" on the trap. You will recognize this configuration from the photos in the ad. This is how you always want the trap to look.2) Placement is everything- this is critical and makes the difference between success and failure. Many negative reviews are because of failure to follow this simple step. Find the freshest and straightest mole run (tunnel) you can, and with your foot perpendicular to the tunnel, step down hard, collapsing it only in that spot. After each successful catch, and if necessary before you even place the traps at all, you may want to step on all tunnels in the area so as to be able to see as clearly as possible where fresh ones are being dug.3) Place both "scissors" of the trap on either side of where you foot just stepped so that each one goes directly into the middle of the tunnel. Don't get confused and make the mistake of putting them on either side of the tunnel like I did initially- it won't do a thing.4) If possible, place one foot on each end of the base to set it in the ground, putting your full weight on it and rocking it a bit if necessary to get it all the way in. Be careful here- it may be easy to lose your balance as it can be a bit awkward.5) Standing at one end of the base or the other (either works), put enough weight on the top of the trap to start to set it, then release pressure to let it go back to where it was a bit. Do this a few times, pushing down a bit more each time until the trap is completely set. Doing this reduces the resistance of the ground on the "scissors" to make the trap more effective.6) If you see the top of the now set trap looking like it is not horizontal to the ground, do what you can to make it horizontal by placing you foot on top and rocking it back and forth until it is as good as you can get it. Sometimes hard soil or roots or other obstructions can make this harder.7) Make sure the square plate that hangs down from the top of the trap is positioned on top of the tunnel, preferably in the middle. This is the trigger that activates the trap when the mole is digging out the portion of the tunnel that you crushed earlier, putting pressure against it. If the trigger is too far off to the side of the tunnel, this needs to be corrected or it won't work. Deactivate the trap (see below) and follow step 6 above to correct for this, then set the trap again.8) While there may be a false catch (trap popped up, in the unset position) on rare occasion, a popped trap is indicative that you've had success. When I see this, I want verification that I've caught something, so I pull the trap straight up out of the ground. If you've had success, you'll need to release the trap to get rid of the mole and to be able to set it again. To do this without having to touch anything, simply grab either end of the base with your fingers on the bottom edge and use your thumbs to push down on the top so as to open the "scissors" enough to release the mole.9) To deactivate the trap safely, simply grab either side of bolt on the top of the trap and pull straight up. That's it. If you ever need to deactivate a trap that is set when out of the ground (perhaps because you accidentally set it while releasing the mole), keep your hands and everything else away from the "scissors", use one hand to put pressure on top of the base plate (also trying to avoid the springs so as to not get pinched) and use your other hand to pull up on the bolt.10) As mentioned earlier, after a catch I will crush all tunnels, then move to another section of yard where there are fresh ones and set traps again. I would not leave traps in the same place for more than one or two days. If you haven’t caught anything by then, the tunnels are likely abandoned so crush them and move on. Don’t waste your time with your traps doing nothing when you can be eliminating these critters.Happy hunting!Update on July 27, 2023Because of my previous success with the two traps I had and because I have about 2 acres of clear property, I got two more traps. The last time I went out with my zero turn mower to cut the grass, I crushed all of the tunnels I could find in the entire yard by running over them with the front wheel of the mower, taking note of where the worst spots were. Two days later it was easy to spot new tunnels, and I put all four traps in that relatively small area. In less than 24 hours I had caught one more mole! I crushed all of those tunnels and set the traps at another location where the little guys had been recently busy.

I ordered the Yarddog mole trap for the pesky moles I was having in my yard. The trap is easy to set and has worked great for me. The trap was timely delivered as stated. I would order again from the vendor.

Doesn’t have enough spring power to “cut” thru the dirt and the mile has to push up too hard and high to activate the trigger. Went back to my old spring traps and have caught two more so far. Was just looking for an alternative since my old traps are about 60-70% effective. It was worth the try and mane work for very soft soil. I will set it up in tilled garden soil to see how it does there.

It seems well made, but it hasn't been effective on Pocket Gophers. I followed the instructions to make it easier to trip, but the gophers still seem to outsmart it.

Make sure to read all of the instructions on the box.Mine was set to tight. Loosen the lock nuts a bit so it triggers easier. Don’t expect to get anything on first try. Need to watch for reoccurring tunnels and move as necessary. I used all the chemicals without luck. This works great.