Moles live almost entirely underground in a vast network of interconnecting tunnels. They frequently create shallow tunnels just below the surface where they capture worms, insects, and other invertebrates. They can eat some roots, bulbs, and other plant material, but generally the greatest problem caused by moles is their burrowing, which dislodges plants and dries out their roots. In lawn areas, the mounds and ridges resulting from their burrowing are unsightly and disfiguring.

BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR

Moles have cylindrical bodies with slender, pointed snouts, and short, bare, or sparsely haired tails. Their limbs are short and spadelike. Their eyes are poorly developed and their ears are not visible. The fur is short, dense, and velvety. Moles have one litter of three or four young during early spring.

Mole mounds

Mounds and surface runways are obvious indicators of the presence of moles. The mounds are formed when moles push soil up to the surface from underground runways. The excavated soil may be in small chunks, and single mounds often appear in a line over the runway connecting them.

Surface feeding burrows appear as ridges that the mole pushes up by forcing its way through the soil. Some of the surface runways are temporary. More permanent tunnels are deeper underground and are usually about 2 inches in diameter and 8 to 12 inches below the surface. Moles are active throughout the year, although surface activity slows or is absent during periods of extreme cold, heat, or drought.

MANAGEMENT

Moles can cause significant problems in landscape or garden areas, especially in turf. Because mole damage can be unsightly, makes lawn maintenance difficult, and destroys valuable plants, the number of moles that can be tolerated is usually quite low, sometimes even zero. As soon as you see an active mound or surface runway, initiate appropriate control actions. Once you have controlled damage, establish a system to monitor for reinfestation.

Several methods of control are available, but no simple method has proven fail-proof, so it may be necessary to use a combination of techniques.

Trapping is the most universally applicable and dependable method of mole control. Several different kinds of mole traps are available at hardware stores, nurseries, or directly from the manufacturer. Keep in mind that the best mole traps differ from those for pocket gophers; very few traps are effective for both animals.

Understanding mole behavior helps improve the way you set your traps. To be effective, the trap must be set to catch the mole underground.