Mole Control

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

By Adrian Gough




Does your yard look like a war sector? You look out over the lush green grass and everywhere you look you see small ridges and mounds. Oh no, what have those youngsters been up to this point? It was not the kids, you have ground moles. Ground moles! What are ground moles?

Ground moles are a little blind burrowing animal belonging to the Talpidae family. They have round bodies, sensitive snouts and dig like they are swimming the breast stroke thru the Earth. There are many different species of ground mole. These tiny animals can be from 1-9 inches long, are brown or gray in color and burrow everywhere for food. These busy small creatures don't hibernate and so are busy all year long making a mess of your lawn.

Although ground moles make a huge mess out of grassed areas, gardens and crops they are actually useful little creatures in that they also aerate the soil, clear pests and fertilize as they're going. They don't eat any plants, bulbs or roots so damages are limited to the runs and unsightly burrows they create in their unending quest for food. ?The trouble is that the preferred food of the ground mole is near to the surface, so as they tunnel and burrow looking for a meal or to build escape routes from danger they disturb the ground resulting in furrows in your grass. So now you know what they are, how do you get shot of moles?

Mole Control

Moles are famously tough to get rid of. There are actually just two methods to do it and neither way is easy. Well easy in principle though not incredibly simple in practice. The initial way is by poison bait. To use poison bait you must first identify which tunnels are frequently used and then plant the bait. Moles have tunnels that are used often as well as some that might be used once or twice and deserted. This method has its benefits and drawbacks. Poisoned moles can be mistakenly eaten by house moggies and other wildlife, so finding and junking the carcasses could be crucial.

The alternative way is by traps. To trap them you must also identify the used tunnels and place the trap in an appropriate way. Moles aren't considered threatening but may bite, so use heavy gloves if you want to handle a live mole as they have needle sharpened teeth. Once besieged the animal must be released far away so it can not make its way back into your yard. Throwing it over the fence into the nasty guy next doors grass won't work. He might have a mole problem but the mole will simply say thank you for the extra food and make his way back into your yard.

Both methods of removing ground moles can be troublesome and inhibited by breeding; a female mole throws a litter of nearly 8 young 2 times each year during the spring. You need to get them all to achieve success.

Ground moles are bountiful as well as commonly found in the United Kingdom. These little animals can make a massive mess out of a garden in little time and can be difficult to deal with. It may be better to leave the removal to a pro.




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