Moles

Latin Name: Talpa europea

Months of Activity: January - December

The mole population been dramatically increasing across many parts of the UK in recent years, partly due to exceptionally wet and mild winters.

This, coupled with abundant food supplies and little in the way of pest control taking place, has enabled the humble mole to freely multiply to almost plague proportions. Moles have been reported appearing in places that previously had never had a mole problem – gardens, grass verges, playing fields, bowling greens – all have been invaded.

Appearance

• Both adult male and female moles are approximately 15cm long and weigh around 4oz. They are covered by dark grey hair, which is velvety in texture.

Lifecycle

Moles are solitary animals, and only come together in February when male moles are sometimes allowed to get close to female moles. They remain together for only a few hours, after which they once again go their seperate ways.

During April and May the young are born in an extra-large molehill, built by the mother and known as a fortress. There are usually 4 baby moles in a litter, and they are both naked and blind. At 14 days the young have fur and their eyes open after 22 days. After 5 or 6 weeks they leave the nest and move above ground in order to find their own territories.

The average life span of a mole is around four years.

Pest Control

Moles are notoriously difficult to catch: something which is largely due to their complex underground labyrinth of tunnels. There exists many varying depths of tunnels, some very shallow, almost on the surface, whilst others are quite deep. The moment the mole detects a strange smell or sudden vibration, he retreats at remarkable speed, to the safety of the deeper runs, blocking the tunnel behind him as he goes.

Apart from using carefully regulated gas techniques, the only method for successfully catching moles, is to trap them using a variety of different traps. Once you have located a mole run, a trap can be placed inside the tunnel, which will trigger the closing mechanism when movement is felt inside the trap.

Traps can be purchased from garden centres, but must be weathered before use in order to remove any trace of scent or oil acquired during manufacture. When using traps, success cannot be guaranteed and many people opt for professional assistance in order to control their local mole population.

Mole Pest Control News

New Chief Executive For BPCA
The British Pest Control Association (BPCA) this week welcomed its new chief executive, Simon Forrester. For the last five years Simon has been chief executive at the Association of Interior Specialists (AIS) based in Solihull. With 480 contractor a... [more]

Eco-Friendly Pest Control
Summer is typically the height of pesky insect season, but if the thought of using pesticides is "bugging" you, you'll be happy to know more pest control companies are adopting the environmentally friendly approach. If you do find you have pests the... [more]

Mole Numbers Soar
Mole populations are soaring across Britain and the explosion in numbers has left traditional molecatchers struggling to keep up. Experts say exact numbers for Britain's moles are difficult to calculate but the most recent estimate is 33 million. How... [more]

7 Tips For Chemical-Free Pest Control
The weather's heating up, and that means all sorts of creepy crawlies are about in force. Conventional pesticides are full of nasty chemicals linked to health concerns from ADHD in children to Parkinson's Disease in adults. Why spray harmful toxins w... [more]

5 Ways To Reduce Children's Exposure
There's no question many children are routinely exposed to trace amounts of pesticides. Typical exposures aren't enough to cause known problems such as poisoning or cancer, but a new-found link between pesticide exposure and ADHD does raise the troub... [more]

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