Not making a mountain out of a molehill

The late great John Seymour once said that if he could push a button and eradicate every mole in the world, he’d do it. Furry and cute and Wind in the Willows-y they may be, but moles can cause havoc for gardeners, smallholders and farmers. There are many methods of mole removal and we’re delighted today to publish this guest post from the British Traditional Molecatchers Register:

History and tradition

The history of the traditional Molecatcher goes back hundreds of years, when they travelled the length and breadth of the British countryside, visiting farm after farm or estate after estate. They usually stayed with their host whilst plying their craft. This could be for days or weeks depending on the size of land they were working and the amount of traps they were placing.

They were paid according to the amount of moles caught, which were produced for the farmer or land owner as proof of their skill. As a supplementary income they cured and sold the mole skins as they were much in demand at that time. So not only were they paid to get rid of the moles, they also made a tidy sum from the sale of the skins.

Today’s people should take note that in the olden days (some say golden days) everybody made use of everything that they could. They could not survive without doing so. Moleskin trousers, jackets and hats were much sought after – maybe again sometime – perhaps?? But for now the demand for moleskins is minuscule (only used for fly tying for fishing nowadays).

Many of today’s Molecatchers follow in their forefathers’ traditional skilled footsteps, in so far as they do not use poison and it is their knowledge, dexterity and cunning only that produces the mole for the customer to see (although many do not want to see the mole).

The old Molecatchers were very secretive in passing on their skill to immediate family or friends they knew and could trust. A lot of the modern Molecatchers are very similar. It is a hard won skill. In times of old, most parishes had their own Molecatcher or shared one with adjoining parishes. Molecatchers at this time were extremely well paid in relation to the peasants and farm labourers.

Molecatchers today

The British Traditional Molecatchers Register has been set up to address the difficulty in the twenty-first century of those with a mole problem being able to find a Molecatcher, local to them, who has these traditional skills. Through the British Traditional Molecatchers Register this can now be easily done using the Internet. Click here to find our site.

All the Molecatchers detailed on the register use only traditional methods to deal with the problem.

The British Traditional Molecatchers Register promotes only traditional Molecatching and trains people to be traditional Molecatchers, who otherwise are so often are lost in the vast ocean of pest control.

Molecatchers are specialist people who are experts in their field (and anyone else’s field for that matter). To call a Molecatcher a “pest controller” is like labelling a traditional Thatcher a “roofing contractor”.

The problem with moles

So what is the mole population in the UK? Let’s do some sums - the UK has about 60 million acres of land – let’s say 25% of it is suitable territory for moles – lets say there are 4 moles to the acre on average (and we all know that is probably lowish) then a low estimate of the mole population of the UK could be of over 60 million - the problems they bring are unlikely to go away.

The farmers of this country are well aware that moles can have a serious impact on their business by damaging their equipment in the fields; also that soil thrown up by moles containing Clostridium can sour silage and also affect its edibility. Listeria bacteria in the soil can affect sheep and cattle. Also every molehill present on pasture land is grazing lost. Those who keep horses can suffer injury to their animals, who may stumble over mole hills or where the ground has been undermined by the mole! Not to mention damage in smallholdings and private gardens.

The register always wants to encompass all Molecatchers with traditional skills - if you are one contact us soon, if you know of one please direct them to our website, if you would like to train as one – again go to our website and read about the courses that could help you solve your mole problems.

The website contains much interesting and valuable information about Moles and Molecatching and is not without its areas of humour about “The little gentleman in the velvet jacket”.

But first and foremost if you have a mole problem, please deal with it in the Traditional way by using a skilled Traditional Molecatcher who is wise in country ways.

Our motto:

WE DON’T MAKE A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL

© Images and text in this post: British Traditional Molecatchers Register 2011

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