What Is the Best Mole Trap to Buy? The Top Traps of 2025

With hundreds of different mole traps on the market, I’m here to tell you exactly which one you should buy. The truth is, not all traps are created equal—they work in vastly different ways. And frankly, some of the traps you find in stores are absolutely useless; they’re just there for retailers to make a profit, not to actually help you solve your problem.

This article is packed with advice from professional mole catchers. To get all the essential information you need before buying a trap and to find the very best one on the market, make sure you read all the way to the end. (Spoiler alert: In my opinion, the Putange trap is by far the best).

The Best Traps for Killing Moles

There are countless mole traps out there, but these four are the most common:

• The Putange trap
• The scissor trap
• The explosive trap (or “mole gun”)
• Fumigation cartridges

The Putange and scissor traps are both excellent choices, and I’ll explain why they stand out as the best. Their effectiveness has been proven for centuries because they are simple to use, durable, and highly efficient.

Now, let’s talk about fumigation cartridges and the explosive trap. Fumigation works by asphyxiating the mole, but the problem is that new moles will soon move in to take its place. To get rid of them, you’ll have to buy new cartridges to gas the new tunnels—a process we’ll discuss in more detail later.

The explosive trap is a dangerous option. Sellers will tell you that it’s highly effective, which is true. What they always fail to mention, however, are the accidents that happen when these traps detonate in the hands of trappers while they are being set.

I highly advise against using these two traps, and I’ll explain my reasoning. Common sense will probably lead you to agree with me, especially since you have to keep buying new explosives or fumigation cartridges every time a new mole shows up. While these two traps do kill moles, they are neither practical, safe, nor cost-effective.

1.How the Putange Trap Works

The Putange trap is a simple yet incredibly effective device that kills the mole instantly. If I could only recommend one trap, I would tell you to choose the Putange trap without a moment’s hesitation.

To use it, you simply set the trap and place its trigger between the two arms. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Dig up a molehill to find the mole’s entry and exit tunnels.
2. Push a long trap into both the entry and exit points, with the arms resting at the bottom of the tunnel.
3. Cover the molehill with a slate tile and fill any gaps around it with soil.
4. Check back a few days later—or even the next day—and if you followed the method correctly, you’ll find a mole in your trap !

2.The Scissor Trap: How It Operates

The scissor trap works differently. As the name suggests, it uses a pincer-like mechanism that snaps shut on the mole when it touches the trigger.

To use it, you open the pincers and set the trigger. Once the trap is set, you locate the mole’s main tunnel and dig a hole above it. After exposing the main tunnel, place the trap over it with the arms pointing downward.

Cover the trap with a slate tile and soil, ensuring that no light can get into the tunnel. That’s all there is to it. Check back the next day, and your trap will have killed the mole.

The Putange and scissor traps are the two you should buy if you’re serious about getting rid of moles for good.

My advice is to buy several and place them in different tunnels at the same time. If a mole notices a single trap you’ve set, it will simply use another tunnel to get around it.

The more traps you place, the more likely you are to catch them!

3.A Trapper’s Tip

From my experience—and you’ll see this yourself—old mole traps always work best. I believe our site is the only one where you can buy traps that have already been aged in the soil.

4.Do Traps That Scare Moles Away Actually Work?

Many customers ask about traps that are designed to simply scare moles away. The most famous of these is the solar mole trap, which generates vibrations and ultrasounds in the ground.

You can certainly test them for yourself. But based on my experience, they are far less effective than scissor or Putange traps for several reasons.

The solar mole trap is planted in the ground near tunnels and, according to its sellers, covers an area between 400 and 700 square meters. The main issue with these traps is the same as with any electronic device: they break down, even the expensive ones. Another problem is that they stick out of the ground, so you can’t bury them.

There’s also a third issue: the vibrations don’t make moles leave as quickly as you might think. Moles are accustomed to hearing things move above them, whether it’s animals or people. The vibrations from your footsteps are far stronger than those from a solar trap, yet the moles don’t leave.

5.Traps That Catch Moles Alive

If you want to get rid of moles without killing them, you can use traps that catch them alive.

The most common type is the tunnel trap, also known as a live catch trap.

This trap mimics a mole tunnel. It’s a plastic tube that you slide into the main tunnel, with a door on each end that only opens inward.

When a mole passes through its main tunnel, it pushes one of the doors open with its paws and nose, enters the tunnel, and then can’t get back out.

The tunnel trap works well if you want to catch moles without killing them. You can buy these traps online.

However, if your yard is covered in molehills, you’ll need to buy several to prevent the mole from simply using a parallel tunnel to avoid the trap.

Moles are intelligent. If they spot an obstacle in their main tunnel and have a second one that goes in the same direction, they will use it. This trap is a bit tricky and doesn’t always work. Ultimately, we come back to the same conclusion: the Putange trap is often more effective.

In the world of professional mole catchers, the Putange trap has a reputation for being the most accessible for beginners, the most effective for everyone, and one of the most affordable and durable options available.

Natural Mole Repellents: Do They Work?

You hear a lot about natural mole repellents online, but I don’t know many people who can honestly say they’ve had good results. A repellent can only work if you use it perfectly.

A mole that settles in your yard will dig an extensive network of tunnels. If you place a repellent in one specific spot, the mole will simply block that tunnel with dirt and carry on its business elsewhere.

There’s nothing to stop a mole from blocking the tunnel with the repellent and continuing its life in parallel tunnels. If your soil is good and there’s plenty of food, the mole will stay.

It will always find a way to get around your repellents. The only way a repellent works is if you spend all day digging up tunnels and molehills to apply the product throughout the entire underground network.

But again, as long as the mole is alive, it will find a way to come back, get around all your repellent products, and live its life peacefully underground.

6.Can You Make Your Own Mole Trap Instead of Buying One?

There are a few ways to make your own mole traps, but they are often more for fun than for actually getting rid of moles. The most famous homemade trap is a variation of the solar vibrator.

You drive a stake into a tunnel or a molehill and then stick an empty plastic bottle on top. The idea is that the wind will make the bottle vibrate the stake, sending vibrations into the soil to disturb the moles.

This is a very makeshift solution and rarely 100% effective.