A molecatcher (also called a mowdy-catcher) is a person who traps or kills moles in places where they are considered a nuisance to crops, lawns, sportsfields or gardens.

History of molecatching

Roman times

Excavations of

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

sites have revealed

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...

pots that had been set in the ground. The pots were filled with water, and acted as traps for moles.

Traditional molecatchers

Many early molecatchers set out snares for the moles, taking care to remove human scent from the loops. Over time, traps used to catch and kill moles became more advanced and complicated, incorporating weighted wood or cast iron, and eventually sprung steel. Some itinerant molecatchers travelled from farm to farm. The molecatcher's customers would provide food and lodging, as well as a fee for every mole caught. The molecatcher could also earn additional money by selling the moleskins to

furriers Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item ...

Modern molecatching

In more recent times, traditional molecatching has given way to the use of poison. Poison resulted in moles dying much more quickly and in greater numbers. For some time, strychnine was used to kill moles; its purchase was cheaper than paying molecatchers, but sometimes other animals that shared the environment or interacted with moles were accidentally poisoned as well. Repellents, including sonic devices, holly leaves, moth balls,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

and

castor oil Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans, the seeds of the plant ''Ricinus communis''. The seeds are 40 to 60 percent oil. It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its den ...

have not proven successful in preventing damage caused by moles.

In the United Kingdom

The value of moleskins was subject to the vagaries of fashion. In 1903, a furrier in Leicester was offering £1 per hundred, in 1926, the price was 12s 6d (62.5p) per dozen. By the 1930s, only a few pence per skin was being paid. Some molecatchers were full time. In 1875, the town of

Out Rawcliffe Out Rawcliffe is a village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Wyre in the Over Wyre area of the Fylde in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 626. It is the location of the medieva ...

was advertising for a molecatcher for a term of fourteen years. In

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of to the south of the town of Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, Windsor, Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park ...

the molecatcher was said to receive £1 per week in 1910. In 2002, Victor Williamson, the molecatcher for the

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

, received a Royal Warrant. Following the withdrawal of the poison from the market in 2006, the use of

strychnine Strychnine (, , American English, US chiefly ) is a highly toxicity, toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, ...

is no longer an approved method of control in the UK. Fumigation with products based on

aluminium phosphide Aluminium phosphide is a highly toxic inorganic compound with the chemical formula AlP, used as a wide band gap semiconductor and a fumigant. This colorless solid is generally sold as a grey-green-yellow powder due to the presence of impurities ...

(Trade names 'Talunex' and 'Phostoxin') is still an approved method of control, but may be carried out only by fully trained operatives. Dead moles on display hung on a fence

Since the removal of strychnine from the UK market, there has been a revival of traditional molecatching methods in Britain. Modern traditional mole catchers use traps, and usually charge a 'per-mole' fee, as their predecessors often did. The price charged reflects the fact that there is no longer a market for moleskins.

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{Commons category, Mole catching
Association of Professional Mole CatchersBritish Traditional Molecatchers RegisterGuild of British molecatchersMole Catcher UK
Mammal pest control Hunters by game Pest trapping Talpidae