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WHAT TO DO ABOUT MOLES AND MOLE CONTROL
Biology and Habits
- There are seven species of mole; however, Hampton Roads lawn damage is
generally done by the Eastern Mole.
- Moles are insectivores. They are opportunistic and will eat insects
and grubs, but their primary diet is earthworms. They do not eat roots,
bulbs or tubers.
- Damage to plants is usually the work of voles, which are herbivores.
An easy way to remember: Moles Eat Meat and Voles eat Vegetables.
- Moles have a very high metabolism, spending most of their waking hours
searching for food, eating 80-100% of their body weight in food each day. They
are neither diurnal nor nocturnal, but usually have three waking periods per
day, based on a 24 hour day. These are generally 2-7 AM, 11-4PM, and
8-11PM.
- Moles are generally anti-social, except during breeding season.
However, many times, primary tunnels are used by more than one mole.
- Moles rarely come to the surface. If you see numerous holes in the
lawn, you may have an infestation of voles in addition to moles.
- Moles can live up to 7 years, but due to predation, usually only survive
2-3 years.
- Moles breed in late winter or early spring. Litters size is 3-8,
normally 4. It is believed thy can have up to three litters per year
Damage
- Moles create tunnel systems (aka "runs"), digging up to 100 feet of new
tunnels each day.
- Deep tunnels are up to 3 feet deep and include the mole's den, food
storage, and toilet areas. These tunnels are used year round since moles
do not hibernate.
- Primary surface tunnels are used several times per day. These
tunnels are normally the long straight tunnels in your yard.
- Exploratory surface tunnels are offshoots from the primary surface
tunnels and are usually a jumble of closely packed, zig-zag tunnels.
These tunnels may only be used once.
- Primary surface tunnels and exploratory tunnels are the ones which
cause damage to your lawn. Surface tunnels are made while males are
hunting for food. You will begin seeing them in the spring when
conditions are right for their prey, primarily earthworms.. Worms move
to the surface when the surface soil is warm and damp. Many times you
will see new surface activity within a day or two of a heavy rain during the
spring, summer, and early fall. If the summer unusually dry (as it was
in 2007) surface activity will decrease.
Best Bets for Trap Location
- Edges of sidewalks, curbs, driveways, flowerbeds, and even fences.
Moles often use manmade structure to help navigate, and many times these are
primary or secondary travel routes.
- The longer and straighter the better, regardless of location in your yard.
These are usually the "superhighway" travel routes. Don't move the trap
off this travel route after catching the first mole. You may get lucky
with a 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
- Not sure if it's an active run? Mash it or poke it, then mark it and
wait.
- Make two finger sized holes in a tunnel, about one foot apart. Mark
the locations (I use survey flags). If the tunnel is active, the holes
will be plugged up the next morning.
- Don't want to sick your finger in tunnels? Mash the tunnel with your
foot and then mark it. If it's active, the tunnel will be repaired the
next day!
Troubleshooting your "Trapline":
(Where I've seen Do-It-Yourselfers
go wrong)
- Improper trigger placement. With either the spear or scissor
type traps, the mole's tunnel must be blocked so the mole activates the trap
as it reopens the tunnel. Most DIY'ers don't mash the tunnel (or don't
mash it enough) where the trigger sets.
- Setting traps where new activity appears. Set traps on the
long, straight travel routes rather than were you see today's latest flurry of
tunnels.
- Loss of interest. Maintaining a successful trapline takes
lots of effort! Some DIY'ers leave a trap set in a bad location for
weeks. If you don't have action on a trap after 3 days, move it to a
different location, but only after you confirm it was set properly in the
first place.
- Pulling up a tripped trap improperly. May DIY'ers yank a trap
out of the ground, expecting to see a mole skewered on the spear points.
The proper way to check a spear type trap is to use a long screwdriver to dig
alongside the trap points, perpendicular to the tunnel. When resistance
is felt, pull trap and screwdriver out of the ground together. The screw
driver can be used to dispatch a mole which was caught, but not speared
through a vital area.
Mole Control Methods that DON'T work
- Grub control products: Grubs are only a small
portion of a mole's diet.
- Poison peanuts and other rodent type poisons:
Moles don't eat peanuts or rodent baits. Some may work on voles if EPA
registered for voles.
- Ground glass, razor blades: Do you really want these in
your yard?
- Mothballs: The label says MOTH balls, not MOLE balls.
- Juicy Fruit Gum: Are you kidding?
Mole Control Methods that DO work
- Barriers: Perimeter fencing of metal or concrete
to a depth of 24"- 30" below the surface and a height of 6" above the surface,
around entire perimeter of the yard.
- Chemicals: Talpirid (poison gummy worm type product).
Effective only if applied correctly. Fairly expensive for ongoing use
- Soil Drench Products: (e.g. castor oil) Temporary relief at
best. Requires constant reapplication.
- Trapping: Most effective method. Because of the mole's
solitary habit and a rather low productivity, most residential yards can be
maintained "mole-free" for a number of years. Requires hands-on training
and some practice to become a proficient mole trapper.
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