Identification Help Please! What Are These?!

Hi all!

I was out with my son last week and we saw some string poking out of a molehill so I pulled on it (couldn't resist - lol) and to my great surprise, these metal objects came out! I gave them a quick wash but still have absolutely no idea how old they are, or what they'd be used for. There appears to be some small buckles attached to each one, and the only thing that came to my mind is that maybe they were used as clamps or similar?

A pen next to them for scale (they're pretty big - several inches). Any further info or ideas would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
John

 

some type of small animal trap???

or device to secure a snare...........?

 

Something along this line, and as usual no mole ever gets caught in them!

https://www.amazon.com/Wildlife-Con...d=1&keywords=mole+trap&qid=1612292723&sr=8-30

 

Oh wow! At least you now know I wasn't lying about finding them in a molehill.. lol. The place is riddled with them so perhaps that explains it. Definitely looks similar to the Amazon link - thanks for the replies!

 

we hunted field mice with these.

 

In our parks, they eat through the underground cables for the street lights. One means of reducing the population.

 

they did find it in a mole hill..........right..

i thought one was only supposed to Whack - a- mole ?????

 

Whacking them is about the only way to kill those buggers! Or perhaps a big dog but they make a worse mess of the yard digging for them. However, on the upside dogs only play them to death & don't eat them.

Thirty years since we moved from northern WI, where we weren't plagued by them, and we've yet to find a trap that will catch them consistently - one in the very first trap, on the first night - that's it folks. A couple of years ago my DH made me a 'mole stabber', went out in the yard, saw a fresh looking trail, stepped on it & it squeaked, I stabbed and got my one & only 'kill'. Beginners luck I tell ya.

My golden retrievers & beagles love to dig for them. Moles have to be one of nature's ugliest creatures.

 

Hi,
Years ago I learned a neat trick. When I saw mole hills in my yard, my elderly neighbor said go to the drug store and buy a box of EX'-Lax. place near the hole.
The mole will eat the Ex-Lax and fill his hole with the result. He will move 75 feet or more to a new nestand tunnel. I have used the trick for years.
greg

 

And this keeps them out of your yard? I know a couple of people who would like to try this. I have not had them in my yard, yet.

 

Hi,
Their tunnels are filled with diarrhea which is a great fertilizer for the grass.
greg

 

A different opinion, from the Seattle area: moles are pretty much harmless; they do eat beneficial earthworms, but they also eats lots of harmful bugs. The main drawback is the mole-hills in the lawn.
But if you understand that they only dig tunnels so that bugs can fall into them to be eaten...and in Seattle, the ground is so hard that once dug, the tunnels remain without collapsing.....and that if you disrupt the hills or the moles, they just dig more....and they live in colonies, so you are never going to get rid of them, no matter what method you try....
So the solution is, ignore them. If there is a mole-hill, scrape off the dirt and put it in your garden. They won't make another. Your lawn will remain free of mole-hills; you will be happy, the moles will be happy.....
May not work in other areas; but around here, this simple method - doing nothing - kept my lawn free of mole-hills for years, though I'm sure the ground was full of their tunnels. How do I know? The neighbor put in a new driveway, suddenly both our lawns were full of mole-hills, as they replaced the destroyed tunnels.
He tried to trap/poison/fill-in his...and never got rid of them. I ignored mine, and my lawn is once again free of mole-hills.

 

I live with very soft, sandy soil. Moles don't create just 'mole hills' here, their tunnels are right at the surface. Someday I'm gonna break an ankle when I step on one of their roads!

Backyard fenced for the dogs, so not trying laxative.

This is what my whole yard looks like:

 

My sympathies, birddog!