Title: WEC327/UW372: How to Use Traps to Catch Nuisance Wildlife in Your Yard
Headings: How to Use Traps to Catch Nuisance Wildlife in Your Yard
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How to Use Traps to Catch Nuisance Wildlife in Your Yard 1
When is trapping warranted?
Live Traps
Wire Cage Traps
Sherman Traps
Glueboards
Steel Leg-Hold Traps
Kill Traps
Snap Traps
Scissor Traps
Harpoon Traps
Choker Loop Traps
Pincher Traps
Conibear Traps
Baiting Traps
Placing Traps
Relocating Wildlife
Additional Sources of Information
Tables

Content: Scissor trap. Credit: Holly Ober
Harpoon Traps
Harpoon traps are also useful for catching moles (Figure 7). The trap should be positioned with the metal legs of the trap straddling a mole tunnel. These traps typically have six sharply sheared points. When set, the spears are retracted into the roof of the tunnel, allowing the mole to pass underneath. The trap must be set so that when triggered, the points are propelled through the mole's tunnel. If you step on the tunnel so that it is partially collapsed, a mole will later trigger the trap when it pushes dirt upward against the triggering plate to repair the tunnel, causing the springs to release the spears into the tunnel. Harpoon traps should not be baited. These traps are lethal.