{{Short description|Person who traps or kills moles}} thumb|A captured mole A '''molecatcher''' 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=== thumb|upright|A mole trap Excavations of ancient Roman sites have revealed earthenware pots that had been set in the ground. The pots were filled with water, and acted as traps for moles.<ref name="Nicholls2006">{{cite book|author=Jeff Nicholls|title=Molecatcher: A Guide to Traditional Molecatching Methods|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n6ObRyWTBzwC&pg=PA3|year=2006|publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-905237-76-0|pages=3–}}</ref>
===Traditional molecatchers === Many early molecatchers set out snares for the moles, taking care to remove human scent from the loops.<ref name="Hennell2012">{{cite book|author=Thomas Hennell|title=Change in the Farm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h6PfHQhLmUcC&pg=PA201|date=2 February 2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-65140-1|pages=201–}}</ref> Over time, traps used to catch and kill moles became more advanced and complicated, incorporating weighted wood or cast iron, and eventually sprung steel.<ref name="Hennell2012" />
thumb|A mole killed by a spring trap
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.<ref name="Tegner1972">{{cite book|author=Henry Tegner|title=Natural history in Northumberland and Durham|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OFg_AAAAYAAJ|date=November 1972|publisher=Graham|page=150|isbn=9780902833128}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title= Fenland Mole-catchers|last= Monger|first= Garry|journal= The Fens|year= 2021|volume= 38|page= 20}}</ref>
=== Modern molecatching === In more recent times, traditional molecatching has given way to the use of poison.<ref name="Carnegie2013">{{cite book|author=W. Carnegie|title=Practical Trapping - A Description Of The Methods In Vogue For The Destruction Of Vermin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQV9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT60|date=16 April 2013|publisher=Read Books Limited|isbn=978-1-4474-9234-4|pages=60–}}</ref><ref name="Rose1989">{{cite book|author=Graham Rose|title=The Traditional Garden Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNPZAAAAMAAJ|year=1989|publisher=Greenhouse|isbn=978-0-86436-263-6|page=80}}</ref> 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,<ref name="Nicholls2012">{{cite book|author=Jeff Nicholls|title=Mole Catching: A Practical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W5l8AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT25|date=1 October 2012|publisher=Crowood|isbn=978-1-84797-470-9|pages=25–}}</ref> but sometimes other animals that shared the environment or interacted with moles were accidentally poisoned as well.<ref name="Carnegie2013" />
Repellents, including sonic devices, holly leaves, moth balls, garlic and castor oil have not proven successful in preventing damage caused by moles.<ref name="Telegraph, Lady Mole Catcher" >{{cite news|author1=Frances Hubbard|title=Louise used to be a drama teacher. Now she kills moles.|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/goodlife/11540110/Louise-used-to-be-a-drama-teacher.-Now-she-kills-moles.html|work=The Telegraph|date=18 April 2015}}</ref>
====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 was advertising for a molecatcher for a term of fourteen years. In Windsor Great Park the molecatcher was said to receive £1 per week in 1910. In 2002, Victor Williamson, the molecatcher for the Sandringham, received a Royal Warrant.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Fenland Mole-catchers|journal = The Fens|year= 2021|volume= 38|page= 20|last= Monger|first= Garry|publisher= Natasha Shiels}}</ref> Following the withdrawal of the poison from the market in 2006, the use of strychnine is no longer an approved method of control in the UK.<ref name="Telegraph, Lady Mole Catcher" /> Fumigation with products based on aluminium phosphide (Trade names 'Talunex' and 'Phostoxin') is still an approved method of control, but may be carried out only by fully trained operatives.<ref name="Telegraph, Lady Mole Catcher" /> thumb|Dead moles traditionally hung on a fence after being caught.
Since the removal of strychnine from the UK market, there has been a revival of traditional molecatching methods in Britain.<ref name="Telegraph, Lady Mole Catcher" /> 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 == {{Reflist}}
== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book|title=Moles|first=Rob|last= Atkinson|isbn= 9781873580868|publisher= Whittet Books|date=2013}} *{{cite book|title= Memoirs of a Fenland Molecatcher|first= Bill|last= Bowles|year= 1986|publisher= Bowles|isbn= 978-0902436404}} * {{Cite book |title=Fenland Molecatcher |first=Arthur |last=Randell |year=1970 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |isbn=0710068026 }} * {{Cite book |title=Moles and Their Control |first=Guy N. |last=Smith |year=1980 |publisher=Saiga Publishing |isbn=0904558827 }}
== External links == {{Commons category|Mole catching}} *[http://www.associationofprofessionalmolecatchers.org Association of Professional Mole Catchers] *[https://www.britishmolecatchers.co.uk British Traditional Molecatchers Register] *[https://www.guildofbritishmolecatchers.co.uk Guild of British molecatchers] *[https://www.mole-catcher.co.uk/ Mole Catcher UK]
Category:Mammal pest control Category:Hunters by game Category:Pest trapping Category:Talpidae