Customer Reviews

Victor 0631 Out O'Sight Mole Trap

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

Hallelujah!!! The wicked mole is dead.

For 2 years I have hunted this critter. I have read the entire internet. 2 years of research led me here.

For those of you with mole problems, let me save you some time. Forget everything you think you know. The only way to deal with moles is to kill them. The only way to kill them is to trap them. Baits don't work. Treating for grubs don't work. Moles primarily feed on worms, not grubs. Sonic vibration thingys don't work. These traps work.

BUT...

Don't follow the directions on the package. I will do my best to explain how to employ this product.

First of all, if you have to, stamp down all mole runs in your yard. Ordinarily, you don't want to do this, because it just encourages the mole to dig new runs, thus doing more damage. But you need a current picture of where the mole is active in your yard.

The next day after you have stamped down all the runs, observe any new runs. You are looking for long straight runs. Long straight runs are like mole highways. The curvy short runs are hunting roads. The curvy runs are less traveled. Hunt the highways.

Open the trap and set the safety catch. Set the trap down next to the run where you want to place it. Take your foot, and stamp down the mole run just where you want to place the trap. Should only be about your foot's width. Don't push down hard. You want the ground you stamp down to be level with the rest of the yard.

Now take a straight blade shovel and create a notch on either side where the trap blades will go. You don't have to go real deep. Just a couple inches. Wiggle the shovel if you have to, to create those "pockets" for the blades of the trap to go into.

Carefully place the trap into the notches or pockets you just created until the trigger of the trap is level to the ground.

Unhook the safety.

It took me 3 days to catch my mole once I set my trap this way. I moved it once after the first day because I wasn't happy about the run I had originally placed it. If you don't catch your mole after 3 days, then look for a better spot.

Warning!! If you go out to check your trap, bring a shovel and wear shoes. When I got mine, he wasn't dead. The trap had just got him in the back and he wasn't going anywhere, but he was alive. So when you pull up your trap, go slow and be gentle. You don't want to accidentally release him. Be ready to whack him with the shovel.

For 2 years this mole has terrorized my yard. I was at my wits end. My yard is destroyed. Let the healing begin thanks to this product. Now kill some moles!!

EDIT 3-24-09: I just wanted to give everyone an update. I got my third mole last night using these traps. Add that to the 3 my parents have killed, our family alone is responsible for killing at least a basketball team of moles. If anyone has any questions about how to kill moles, post or email me, and I am positive we can kill your mole too.

EDIT 3-16-10: I've been reading some other reviews here and I wanted to clear up some misconceptions and misunderstandings.

First, if it looks like the moles are going around your trap, the most likely cause is that the trap is set too deep. That ties to another reviewer who said they set the trap with the trigger at grass level. That would be too shallow. Before you set the trap, tamp down the run to GROUND level (not grass level). When you cut the notches for the trap blades, and place the trap in the ground, the trigger should lay even with the rest of the ground.

Second, while true that moles will eat grubs, their primary food source are worms. Worms are usually more plentiful, and they move through the ground, thus making them easier to find for a hungry mole. Grubs are more stationary. A mole will eat them, but it requires more luck to find them.

Third, if you don't get a mole in the first day, don't panic. Give it a few days. Remember, the best place to put the traps are in the long straight runs. Those are the mole highways. Just because it's a highway though, doesn't mean your mole will use that highway every day. Give it some time. It's not necessary to move your traps too often. Even if your mole seems to be active in another area of your yard, if you picked a good spot to place your trap, he will come back and use his highway again.

Fourth, moles are territorial. There may be some overlap, but it's minimal. HOWEVER, keep this in mind. Just like you, moles prefer to travel along pre-dug roads. You don't build a new road every time you want to go to the grocery store. Moles don't like to either. So, even if you kill your mole, it is VERY likely that another mole will move into your yard. Keep in mind also, that the runs you see at ground level, are only a fraction of the amount of tunnels that might be running through your yard. Moles don't hibernate. They follow the worms in the winter, and worms dig in deeper during the winter. For a mole to survive the winter, that mole has a whole labyrinth of tunnels deep under ground. Easy pickings for another mole looking to move into your yard.

EDIT 4-29-10: Taught my boss how to use these traps and he got his first mole this weekend. The moles in St. Louis are having a bad day!

EDIT 5-28-10: Got another one last night. I've had a mole kicking around the area for the last few months and just couldn't get a good run to trap. Finally, the idiot moved into another area of the yard, and to do that he had to make a couple long straight runs to get there. Well, that was his last mistake. I had the traps in the ground less than 12 hours. I woke up this morning to dead mole. There really is nothing better with your Corn Flakes than dead mole.

EDIT 7-22-10: So about a week after I killed my last mole in May I got another one destroying my yard. Took me 2 months, but that mole is now dead. What a wonderful thing heavy rain is. When it rains, it brings the worms up, and the moles are soon to follow. Right into the waiting arms of the sharp teeth of my mole trap.

EDIT 9-9-10: Pics are up! If anyone has any suggestions or questions about the pics, just leave a comment and I'll see what I can do.

EDIT 9-10-10: Less than 12 hours later, I'm the proud parent of a dead mole. I kill more moles before 9am than most people do all day.

EDIT 9-30-10: Posted 3 pics that show how to prep the trap itself before setting it. I also tried to label some components just so if there are questions in the future, we all have a reference for terminology. I'm sure my verbage isn't right, but as long as we all understand the different parts, that's all that matters.

EDIT 10-22-10: There have been a number of commenters and reviewers that have asked about sandy/loose soil. We haven't been able to give a very good answer because I don't have any experience in that kind of condition. Another reviewer does though, and he did a really good job of explaining his technique. The following is a link to his comments. Thanks Bjay25.

[...]

So it looks like Amazon won't hyper link in reviews, but just copy that link and paste it into another tab on your browser and that will take you right to Bjay25's comments. That should be real helpful for people in the south that are dealing with sandy soil.

EDIT 1-25-11: Doesn't everyone hunt moles in the dead of winter? I got my first winter mole last night. I have all but moved in with my girlfriend, and after taking care of her yard last summer, we started noticing some mole activity. Mostly in a flower bed, which is a tough place to trap. I kept waiting for a good run to trap, but never got one. Then winter came, and I kind of forgot about it. I figured I'd get him next spring. So then I was out taking down xmas lights, and the yard was TORE UP! I tried stomping down runs, and was hoping I would get a highway to trap, but couldn't get a good one. I finally got fed up, set a few traps and stomped down all the other runs. About a week ago, it snowed pretty good here. So the traps have been covered. Yesterday was warmish, and the snow started to melt. That allowed the traps to peek above the snow, and sure enough, the trap was sprung. I figured a kid prolly kicked it. When I pulled it up, there he was. In the middle of winter, on a day when we got freezing rain in the morning, I got a winter mole. Remember, moles don't hibernate. Usually they are deeper, to avoid the cold during the winter, but this one must have been desperate. Maybe he thought he was safe since there was snow on the ground. Wrongo buddy!

EDIT 6-9-11: This year is the hatch of the 13 year cicadas in St. Louis. What does that have to do with moles? Well, the cicada larvae emerge from the ground to mutate and mate. What are they while they are in the ground and preparing to emerge? They are mole food is what they are. I've read a few articles now about the effects of cicadas on the ecosystem, and one thing that is consistent is that up to 2 years before a cicada emergence, mole activity is increased. On the other hand, you can expect to see decreased mole activity after they emerge. So, that might explain why so many in our area have been having mole issues. Hopefully after the stupid cicadas are gone, some of the moles will go with them.

This type of trap is highly effective IF you do NOT follow the directions about how to place it. If you bury it (which the directions will tell you to do) it will simply NOT work. If your "out o sight" trap is out of sight it is TOO DEEP and all you will get is holes in your yard and perhaps an annoyed mole.

When the very expensive exterminator (who we now refer to as "Mark the Mole Man") came to our house, I showed him our "out of sight" mole trap. He tried to be respectful but finally just said, "Ma'am, that's too deep. Ain't gonna kill nothin'." As it turns out, this is exactly the same type of trap he uses. He just knows how to use it correctly.

He pulled it up and knocked the dirt off and walked around the yard for a while telling me stuff about moles. He clearly took great pride in his mole murdering skills (please don't give PETA my address.) Finally he stopped, stood silently for a moment, then he stepped his boot gently on a run until the soil was level with the surrounding soil. Next he took his special tool for making the slits that the previous reviewer described making with a shovel, and he made his two slits in the run for the blades to fit into.

Then, artist that he was, Mark the Mole Man pressed the trap blades slowly into the slits he had made until the flat trigger was sitting gently on the soil. Released the safety and - Done. He placed three more in the back yard (BIG yard) and 24 hours later we had a dead mole.

It was a wonderful (and for us expensive) experience. Go get your nasty little critter with this trap, but don't follow their directions. Listen to reviewer Geoffrey Klos.

Length:: 5:25 Mins

This is the way I've had luck using this type of trap. I've killed over 35 moles from my yard this way but keep in mind that techniques may vary depending on your area and soil type.

This is an excellent product. I had to play with the sensitivity of the trigger a bit before I used it. Once set, it worked very well. Trapped a couple of moles in 24 hours and problem has gone away now.

I did not like the manufacturer's instructions. I had to find out how to set it myself. Here is what I did:

1. Armed the trapped with the safety clip on.
2. Found a straight area on the mole's runway
3. Flattened a straight part of the runway a couple of inches wider that trap by stepping on it
4. Used a putty knife as wide as the trap jaws and cut two lines perpendicular to the run. I widened the cuts a bit for the jaws to push trough the cut easily
5. I pushed the trap jaws in the cuts until the trigger tip just touched the top part of the grass.
6. Removed the safety clip

You can protect the trap if you are like me and have neighbors with kids and/or dog by covering the trap with a large bucket and a heavy weight on top of it.

Great Product. Made of strong durable metal. Will last a long time. I had best success by not using the product like explained on the box. I used a shovel or axe to make slit in the ground for the "clamps" to fit into to secure a clean catch when tripped. Before setting the traps walk on top of the raised tunnels to find the most active sites to know where to set the trap. I have killed 5 moles in my yard in the first week. Happy Hunting and Good Luck.

I've had at least one mole terrorizing my landscaping for about 8 months now. I initially let him go, since he wasn't actually damaging plants. In time, though, he'd separated enough roots from the soil that I nearly lost several plants, and my 20 ft crabapple was dropping half its leaves in June. Something had to be done. I'd read the reviews here early on, but decided to try some control methods that I could get locally. This trap was not one of those.
I used three of the Victor harpoon-style mole traps, and managed to get them triggered successfully, but the mole escaped. The design is simply flawed--in pushing the harpoon downward, the trap tends to force itself out of the ground. To help prevent this, the trap has very long stakes that need to be driven into the ground... if you have much gravel in your soil, like I do, this is nearly impossible.
Several states' university extensions have tested the relatively new gummy-worm style baits with reasonable success, so I decided to try them. Because my moles "highway" tunnels were right next to my house under plastic, I was able to peel back the plastic and drop them right into the tunnels (the plastic made up the roof of the tunnels). I checked them each day for two days and my mole was actually eating them. I had to leave town for a week, and when I got back there had been no new mole activity, which was not normal for my busy guy. I figure the gummy worms did him in.
Unfortunately, another mole invaded about 2 weeks later--completely different habits, though--this one preferred the lawn over the landscaping beds. I'd ordered these traps the same day I placed the gummy worms, so I set three Out O'Sight traps per the instructions given by other reviewers (NOT THE ONES PROVIDED). In three days I had my new mole.
One additional method of locating active tunnels that I like to use is to poke a stick through the top of an existing tunnel that you suspect might be a "highway". Place a stone over the hole to block out the light. Check under the stone daily--if the hole is filled in, the mole has passed through again. Set your trap there.
Given the choice, I prefer these traps over the baits for two reasons--no poisons in your yard to accidentally get your neighbor's cat, and there's a little mole body to confirm that you actually got him. Just be prepared--the little critters are actually kinda cute.

Familiarize yourself with their habits, follow the instructions given by the others here, and be patient, and you'll have your moles.

I have recurring mole problems, lost count how many years now. Tried many things, but only this "Out of Sight" worked. This is my story:
1) First encounter years ago, surprise, what's up with these bumps?
2) Just tidy up the surface. Never mind that.
3) Ran water down the tunnel until water came out the other end. Very satisfying, but just a waste of water. Made the whole place muddy and the creature liked it even more.
4) Invested in a plunger type trap. Expensive and reusable, sounded good. Not quite. I was excited the first time it triggered, got my gloves on and plastic bag ready. The spikes went down a couple inches, but no catch. Tried a few more times with the same result. Even tied bricks on the top half, but the trap became unbalanced and did not plunge well. Trashed it.
5) Poison "peanut". Do not like poisons, but maybe just for this one. Carefully dropped nuts into tunnels as directed. No noticable result, but creature was gone late fall. Used it again early next season, at which time I concluded that it did not work. The creature likes worms and bugs, not deadly smelling chemical.
6) Wire type trap (like a rat trap). It fits inside the tunnel. Hard to use - the trap is directional and the tunnel must be disturbed for the deployment. My creature ran over or around it, never triggering it. The creature probably hit trap's frame and changed course. Would have been better if the trap is narrower and fits into a 1.5" tunnel.
7) Saw it digging undergroud once (just once). Drove a pitch fork down mercilessly. Missed.
8) Lastly, the "Out of Sight". The size of the spring alone is impressive - WARNING: bone crushing spring force! Even my normally curious coworkers refused to play with it when my order arrived at the office. Set trap as directed the first night. At 3:30AM, a snap woke me up; continued to sleep, but with a smile on my face. The next morning, voila, face to face for the first time.

I have a video of this last episode, may upload it later.

Hints:
1) Creature likes wet area. It is most active right after watering. For the purpose of trapping, you can make a tunnel "flavorable" by keeing it moist between watering.
2) Creature works day and night, just not when you are looking.
3) Size your creature. Mine (I live in SoCal) turned out to be small like a fresh sausage. It explains why my pitch fork missed and the wire trap was too big.

Our yard was COMPLETELY overrun with moles this year. The lawn was dead and the trails were everywhere we walked--literally. We tried sulphur bombs (the Giant Destroyer), spring traps, castor oil (lots of it), Talpirid (80 worms), sonic molechasers (13 of them on 3/4 acre--way more than was suggested), and finally a professional mole guy which cost us $450 to place poison bait (all we got from that is a sick cat and a $150 vet bill), but no dead moles. Killing grubs doesn't work because their main love is earthworms and you definitely don't want to kill those. Everything that you read says that trapping is the only way to truly rid yourself of moles. They only reproduce once a year and usually have litters of 3 to 4 pups--and half of them die. The only reason we get overrun by them is from not trapping them and using deterrents that only work for short periods of time, allowing their numbers to increase (from what I've read). I read about this product and all the great reviews and I chose to *believe* one last time, so I ordered 6 of them. We went outside this afternoon to set 2 of the traps and within 1 hour we had our first mole!!! He was huge and very well fed, he lived a good life. RIP.

Initially, we did get completely frustrated and we each threw one across the yard, then we calmed down and figured it out. The reviewers all had great tips and I re-read them. The thing to remember is to set the trap and put the safety on BEFORE you try and put it in the ground (sounds obvious, but it seemed easier to place it in the ground first and it wasn't). The spring is VERY strong, but the metal bars they put in the package make it easy enough to open the trap with both hands, then hold it open with one hand, and keeping the plate near the ground for leverage, engage the pin on the striking plate and flip the locking pin over. The only other hard part is finding the right type of tunnel!

I'm convinced there is no "natural* way to get rid of moles--I wish there was--but the only thing that is ultimately going to work is trapping them. Be patient and don't give up, it really is easy to set this trap once you get the hang of it. GOOD LUCK!

UPDATE 11/2009: Just caught another one this morning! The trails are dwindling...

UPDATE 5/2010: Our grass finally grew back in after the moles killed every square inch of the lawn last year. We ended up getting about 5 moles. Just got the traps out again for the summer season as we noticed a small area being dug up. We found a straight trail, set the trap and caught him within 4 hours!

As many other reviewers, I had tried pellets, castor oil repellent, giant smoke bombs (two packages), and a sonic mole chaser to no avail. Every morning during the summer I would surely wake up to fresh mole hills and pebbles on our front yard, and I was losing the war. Then I purchased the Out of Sight trap on Amazon based on reviews and because it was available through Amazon Prime. Also, surprisingly no mole traps were available at my local Home Depot and OSH stores.

After placing the trap in three different locations over the span of a week, I finally nailed the bugger. Here are some tips that I learned on my own or from various sites on the Internet:

(1) Many of the reviewers on Amazon said that they encountered only shallow mole runs that were visible on the surface. They cited a good technique to set the trap for the shallow runs. However, my mole burrowed only deep runs. No runs were visible from the surface; only the mole hills. To set the trap for the deep runs, I followed the directions on the box, which called for digging a hole along a main run. I had to dig around 6 inches to get down to the run. Then, just as the directions say, I created a "speed bump" and filled the hole with some very loose soil. Then I placed a large 39 oz coffee can on top of the hole and trap. In fact, the coffee can made for a good template to carve out the hole, which should not be much wider in diameter than the length of the trap.

(2) I found out on some website (I don't recall which) that when you first get the Out of Sight trap that you should stick it in dirt for a couple of days so that the odor of the freshly machined trap metal, which the mole can apparently smell, gets diffused. I don't know if that is fact or fiction, but my first unsuccessful experience with the trap seems to support that theory. The mole kicked dirt into the hole where I first placed the trap and also plugged up the runs leading to the trap. Smart little critter!

(3) I found that a good tool to locate the main runs was a weed remover. The tip of the weed remover is thin enough to poke into the turf, but thick enough to have you sense whether you are still poking through dirt, which may be loose, or have discovered a run. Keep in mind that the main runs are still only around 1-1/2" in diameter. The key to placing the trap is to find an active, main run.

(4) If you have deep mole runs (like I experienced), a good way to locate them is to draw a straight line between adjacent, new mole hills. There is a good likelihood that there is a run that connects the mole hills. Place the trap between the adjacent mole hills, but more than 18 inches away from either mole hill. If you place the trap within close proximity to a mole hill, you will invariably just get dirt thrown into the trap by the mole.

(5) Once a mole is trapped, you may get another mole (or some other critter) moving into its place. Moles are individualists. They stay away from other moles, but take over a territory when there is no other mole present. Moles do, however, get together in the spring when they mate. So, even after a kill, stay attentive to your lawn.

In conclusion, I attest to this trap and its quality. It should last a long, long time. I would not allow my wife or a child to use the trap, however. As others noted, the spring is heavy duty and takes a fair amount of strength and courage to set. Also, it can be dangerous, and a set trap needs to be handled very carefully and with the safety latch on.

Now that I got my mole, I can wake up without the anticipation of me having to rake over mole hills and replug grass. Also, now that I am confident about using the trap (I have one kill under my belt!), I am assured that if another bugger shows up (and one surely will), I know how to effectively deal with it.

First of all, do not follow the instructions in the box. Instead read some of these reviews for very good tips.
I got two moles in about five days. It took me a little bit to learn where and how to set it. I pretty much followed the good advise given in other post, I recommend you do the same, their method works.
Before this trap I tried a bunch of less-aggressive methods but to no avail. It is really hard to get rid of moles in a nice way. Finally I got fed up and went for a trap. Also, with a trap you can see the body of the critter and know for sure that you got it.
The trap has a simple-but-effective design, it is built of solid, black-painted iron and it is bigger and tougher than what I thought it was going to be from the product pictures, but it is not huge. The spring is very strong and I have to put my weight on it (using the provided levers) to set it (remember to use the locking hook).
The triggering mechanism is simple and reliable, although I used a file to round the edge of the holding "stick" to make it slide out easier of the trigger piece (added sensitivity) but be careful not to over-do it! or it will trigger by itself.
The trap stays out-of-sight in my backyard because it lays low and it is black. I added a bunch of tree leaves on top of it to make it invisible. The leaves don't interfere with its functioning.
The most difficult thing about setting this trap is placement. I'm still learning where is the most likely tunnel that the mole is going to use. I'm using little construction flags to mark tunnels that I step on to find out which tunnels are the most active.
One if the moles that it caught was still alive when I checked the trap, so bring a shovel with you in case you need it.
Also the price is very good compared to other very expensive traps.
I highly recommend this trap.