Moles (6616)

Moles are stout, gray to black small mammals often confused with mice. Their broad forefeet, equipped with huge flattened claws for digging, make them easy to identify. Moles are not rodents. They lack the long incisor teeth of rodents, and have small sharp teeth suited to their diet of insects, grubs, and worms. Their eyes and ears are small and poorly developed.

People complain about moles because they create long winding ridges of upraised soil in lawns as they tunnel just beneath the surface looking for food. These are usually temporary feeding tunnels. An active mole may dig 100 to 150 feet of surface tunnel in a single night. Their permanent burrow system lies 10-18 inches down, or below the frostline. So-called molehills result when moles push soil to the surface from the deeper tunnels or nest cavities. Moles rarely emerge on the surface.

Although moles are often blamed for damage to bulbs, seeds, and roots, the damage may also be caused by mice using the mole's tunnel system.

Moles are difficult to control with poison baits such as treated peanuts because their diet of insects and worms causes them to avoid the usual poisoned baits. A few burrow fumigants are labeled for moles, but are usually not effective because the moles detect the gas. A serious mole problem generally indicates an abundant food source.

Try to identify the grubs or insects in the lawn that are attracting the moles. Check with your garden center and treat the lawn with an appropriate pesticide to remove the food source. This, of course, may be detrimental to some ground-feeding birds like robins.

Trapping works best. There are several traps designed especially for moles. These are available from most hardware stores, seed catalogs, or garden centers. Common types are the choker and harpoon traps. Both are set with the trigger hidden in a plug of dirt in a surface tunnel. When the mole attempts to clear the tunnel, it is quickly killed. Follow the traps' setting instructions very carefully to achieve best control.

If a trap has not caught a mole in 2 or 3 days, move it to a new tunnel. Remember, the surface runways are only temporary feeding areas. Be persistent. Under very dry conditions or when badly disturbed, moles may retreat to deeper tunnels for an extended period, giving a false impression of control.

A new product, Mole-Med, offers an alternative to trapping. Mole-Med is a castor oil-based repellent applied with a hose-end sprayer. When properly watered into the lawn, it will repel moles for up to one to two months. Mole-Med costs about $20 a pint, which will treat about 5000 square feet. Read and follow all directions on the label.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

Feel free to forward, post or reprint any of the "Solutions" in their entirely, but please credit http://www.solutions.psu.edu/ as the original source of information, and please do not change the content.