Businessman Changes Career

It wasn't long ago Tony Wood-Wright spent most of his days, stuck in the office in front of a computer screen. He earned a good living but began to question his quality of life.

"Really, the pressure of the job took over and became almost unbearable. Whilst the money was very good, you've got to look at your lifestyle, so, I opted for a different lifestyle and quite a drastic change," said Tony.

Protective gloves are essential, along with a turf cutter and last but not least, determination. Tony is a mole catcher. He's called in by people, whose lawns have become muddy mole hills.

"The mole is a challenge. He's definitely an intelligent little creature, and he knows when you are about. It's a terrific challenge."

Moles are generally solitary creatures – excavating a labyrinth of tunnels under the ground, where they live and feed. In the winter, fresh molehill's are easy to spot as the piles of earth are not frozen at all. That in itself tells a molecatcher that any traps laid would not have caught the mole in question and further traps should be laid. In the summer it is slightly more difficult to differentiate between fresh mounds and those dug longer ago, although a professional molecatcher will still be able to spot the tell-tale signs.

They're captured in humane spring-loaded traps. "It's a dichotomy really; because I'm a nature lover myself and yet, I kill moles for a living," says Tony. "They do have to be dealt with and if I can deal with them in the most humane way possible, rather than let them have an agonizing death through strychnine poison which was happening before 2006, then I believe that I am doing something for the mole."

There are 33 million moles in England and Wales and because of changes to the way they're killed and captured, numbers are on the increase. Of course being a mole catcher isn't everybody's cup of tea, but when jobs are hard to come by, there's no shortage of work.

Article courtesy of the BBC news website and transcribed by Pest Control UK.

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The Devon Molecatcher, Dantonleigh, Bickleigh, Tiverton, Devon