THE MOLE TRUTH
The European Mole (Talpa europaea) holds a strange affection with many folk thanks, in the main, to children’s stories such as The Wind in the Willows. That is, until the pesky critters appear on manicured turf. The havoc they cause is simply a by-product of the lifestyle they lead.
In the first of a series on pest control Andy Bedoes, of ABComplete Pest Control, explains the options available
M
oles live throughout mainland Britain wherever soil is deep enough for tunnelling. They are
absent from Ireland and most islands off the U.K. coast, with the exception of Anglesey, the Isle of Wight and a few of the Inner Hebrides. They were once known as mouldywarps, from the Nordic muldvarp, meaning soil thrower, and is still called the maulwurf in Germany. Moles mate once a year between
February and June. 95% of all matings are successful. Females are on heat for only thirty-six hours and, after mating, the female evicts the male from her territory. Gestation is 28-32 days. The runs or ridges, often seen just under the surface coming from a hedgerow, a fence, a wall or woodland, are pushed up by males testing to see if the resident female is receptive. Between two and seven young are born in a single annual litter, within a fortress of the run. The fortress will be a larger than normal hill, usually near the
centre of the territory, with a nest of leaves and dry grass. The young are hairless when born and, once weaned at around four to five weeks, move away from the female. They disperse above ground to start their own territory. Life expectancy, without hindrance of groundsmen, greenkeepers or gardeners, is four to five years. The feed runs are tunnels dug to catch worms and other invertebrates. The resident mole flattens the sides of the tunnel making it difficult for anything that blunders into it to dig out. They patrol the tunnels roughly every four hours, spending the alternate four hours asleep! The periods of most activity is at dawn and dusk.
The feed runs will be at the same level as the worms, therefore, in a dry summer when the worms go deeper, the runs will be deeper. Feed runs are generally between 100mm and 200mm below the surface.
Surface and feed runs are never in a straight line and will normally link mole hills.
Some tunnels, at the very extreme of a
territory, may be communal if there is a high population. Moles from adjoining territories will also patrol these runs . They have a poor sense of smell, so the need to bury new traps for a month is an old wives tale - if you have to bury them do it in a mole run with the traps set. However, their sense of touch is highly developed and, if a trap is touched by a mole without it being triggered, the mole will backfill, blocking up the trap with soil.
Moles sight is only light sensitive - light and dark is all they need to see. If a set trap has not blocked out the light completely, they will see the light and proceed to block it out and, in
doing so, prevent it from springing. You have no legal obligation to check a trap set for small ground vermin, however, there is legislation to prevent undue suffering to wildlife, so you must check traps frequently, keeping a record of when the checks are made.
Why do we control moles?
Moles bring up sub-soil, preventing grass from growing and reducing the fertility of the soil. Grass maintenance equipment can be damaged by stones and other detritus brought to the surface. Crops, vegetables, bedding and stock plants are damaged when roots are undermined. Young trees and plants may also be killed by the soil drying out because of mole workings. In addition, bacteria from the soil can make silage unpalatable to animals and cause gastric problems, such as listeriosis, if eaten. This is transferable to humans. Mole runs can also reduce the strength of flood defences and other retaining embankments.
Methods of Control
There are four main methods of control, if you discount the Jasper Carrott method! These are trapping, fumigants, repellents and smoke bombs.
Trapping: There are four main types of traps used by professional pest controllers to trap moles. These are the Yorkshire, Duffus, Scissor and Talpex traps. All of these traps are set in the runs and not the mole hills. The Talpex trap is quickly becoming the favourite of professional pest controllers because the width of the jaw reduces the need to be accurate when placing it in the mole run.
Fumigants: There are two fumigants approved for use in the UK - Talunex and Phostoxin. Both are
based
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140