Moles - what to look out for

European Garden Moles can be a very costly and time-consuming pest with which to deal. They are known to do considerable damage to turf, formal gardens, lawns, greens, sports grounds and fairways. The cause of such damage is their survival need to dig underground. Their ability to do so is impressive in itself: moles can dig up to four metres an hour in their aim to create complex systems of burrows. The rapidity of this behavioural tendency enables moles to establish themselves in your business premises or your home garden very quickly.

 

We are most likely to experience the effects of the behaviour of moles on our business or domestic property when they create extensive networks of feeding tunnels. It is very rare that we will see a garden mole – they rarely come above ground and they are solitary creatures for the majority of the year. A mole tunnel system can cover 100 – 1000 metres in length. The tunnelling of moles can damage the roots of young plants and can throw up stones and debris to the surface ground, which can damage machinery (such as gardening and farming machinery: i.e. lawn mowers and combine harvesters). For businesses that rely on the external environment – i.e. businesses that that employ lawns, grounds, gardens and greens – this nuisance behaviour can be very costly. Also, livestock may injure their legs when walking on ground that has been affected by the tunnelling of moles.

 

The European Garden Mole has slate-grey, velvet-like fur and shortish hand-like front feet, which are used for the digging. They are around 15cm in length and weigh between 75g and 130g.. As has been mentioned, they are solitary creatures except during the breeding season, which takes place between February and June. They bare one litter per year of 3-4 young. Moles tend to feed on earthworms, insect larvae and slugs.

 

Fresh mounds of earth that spring up overnight on lawns and other similar areas are called ‘molehills’. It is advisable that you take prompt action at this, the first sign of moles on your business or domestic property. Another sign of moles is the distinctive raised ridges that can be seen on lawns and other similar areas. These indicate the presence of tunnels.

 

If you have found molehills or ridges in the grounds of your business premises of domestic property it is important to remember that the largest molehill is not always the newest, and that moles can build up to six new molehills within 24 hours. If you find many molehills, it might not necessarily translate that many moles are present in the system.

 

If you have identified the signs it is time to call in Key West Pest Control before they can do any more damage. We will use the latest techniques to eliminate the problem in order that you can restore the grounds of your business premises or domestic property to their proper state.