Moles are widespread throughout Britain but absent from Ireland. They are a protected species in Germany. Moles are from the animal family Talpa europea. They are solitary creatures that live in a system of tunnels, feeding on earthworms and insects that fall into their tunnels.
To the majority of Gardeners, they are a real pest, especially in lawns!
Appearance & Biology - Moles are 15 to 20cm long with grey to black velvety fur. They have very powerful, shovel-like front limbs, used for burrowing underground. Moles, live most of their lives underground and exist on a diet of earthworms and other soil invertebrates. Moles are known to eat every four hours regardless of the time of day or night.
They can burrow up to 100 metres per night. They scour their network of tunnels during each feeding session, searching for food sources that have dropped or entered into the tunnels, making repairs where necessary to the network.
An 80g mole consumes about 50g of worms a day. Moles will also feed on soil-dwelling pests such as Garden Cock Chafer Beetle Larvae and Leatherjacket Larvae . They have poor eyesight and use touch, hearing and smell to detect their prey and to help them sense danger. Despite their poor eyesight, they are very light sensitive. They dig two types of tunnel, both of which are 4cm or 5cm in diameter. Those immediately beneath the surface are dug by males looking for females during the breeding season (February to June). Deep holes, between 5cm and 20cm beneath the surface, are used for breeding and feeding. Tunnels can be up to several hundred metres long. Molehills on the surface are the means of disposing of excavated soil. Nest sites are marked by large molehills. Females produce litters of three to five young. Their average lifespan is three years. Apart from the breeding season, moles lead solitary lives so one animal could be responsible for the visible activity over quite a large area. Vacant tunnel systems are often re-colonised by another mole from an adjacent area.
Symptoms of infestation - Raised ridges and mounds of loose, excavated earth commonly known as mole hills indicate the presence of moles. They make the turf look unsightly and difficult to mow.Their burrowing can lead to subsidence, especially on lighter soils and they can cause considerable damage to newly seeded lawns. Their activities can destroy a lawn or playing surface, so time and effort is needed to replace or remove the soil that forms the molehills. The amount of soil moved by one mole has been calculated to be the equivalent of a person moving 4 tonnes in 10 minutes from a depth of half a metre!
Occurence - Moles can thrive in a variety of situations, but attacks are more likely in sandy, free-draining soils and in turf areas that are poorly maintained and have little use. Activity is greatest in gardens in late winter and early spring, although new tunnels can appear at any time of the year.Turf areas provide a food source for moles, in the form of earthworms; there is evidence of a direct link between the worm population and the amount of mole activity.
Damage threshold - Moles do not feed on the turf grasses, but they undermine the root system of the plants, which can affect growth. Even small populations of moles can do considerable damage to sports turf, playing surfaces and amenity lawns but control may not be necessary in less intensively used or managed areas. The damage is a side-effect of moles’ subterranean lifestyle — they live on a diet of worms and other soil invertebrates and, although they do not eat plant material, they could damage roots during their tunnelling activities.
Life Cycle - The main breeding season is from February to June, each female rearing about 4 young in an underground nest. The young leave the parental home after a few months and establish their own tunnel systems.
Cultural Control Measures
- Eliminating the food source of worms and grubs can control mole activity. Controls are divided between deterrents, traps and poisons. Use traps to capture the moles or repellent devices like sonic devices that omit a sound audible to Moles but not Humans.
Controlling earthworm populations and a number of proprietary pesticides are available - Earthworm and Worm Cast Control will reduce the moles’ food supply but it is important to remember that earthworms are also very important for soil aeration, health and fertility. There are two types of traps; the Duffus trap for surface tunnels and the calliper trap for deeper ones. The best time for this is in the late winter and early spring when they are most active.
Chemical Control Measures - The use of a fumitory pellet via an enclosed applicator manufactured by Luxan called 'Talunex' based on Aluminum Phosphide – a hydrogen phosphide gas that is released in contact with moisture. Only trained operators, trained by the Manufacturer or it’s Agents can purchase and use this product. .
Failing this, go to an internet directory and search for Pest Control Services or visit our friend Jeff Nicholls otherwise known as The Mole Catcher
We know a little song about a Mole, sung by The Southlanders
I water an area of lawn in the early evening and then wait. The little paskies come to the area to eat where you can pick them up and transport them to the countryside. Works every time....try it.
Posted by: Valerie | August 06, 2022 at 15:09
The mole frequented my lawn and left mole hills, which made my wife angry and threatened to kill him with mole trap. But was stopped by my 6 year old son and the cartoon image of the mole saved him.
We have now found a way to live peacefully with the mole by using anti moles net. although this method may take some time and physical strength to complete, the process we enjoy.
It is more important for people and animals to live together in peace than to kill moles, not to mention that moles maintain the ecological balance of the subsoil.
To get useful tips and advice about anti moles netting visit
https://pnbos.com/product/anti-moles-net/
Posted by: Chris Power | April 26, 2022 at 20:09
So far and crossing fingers I am wining the lawn warfare with a mole by using water, castor oil and good glug of Oregano oil which is incredibly strong, just try putting one tiny drop on your tongue and will see what I mean!
Posted by: Hummels | February 21, 2021 at 08:33
In the past I have soaked pieces of old towels cut up with white spirit and put down the tunnels and then tightly covered with the dirt and flattened, they don’t like that because of the strong persistence smell and have cleared off and never come back 😊
Reply - unusual remedy but if it works, go for it!
Posted by: Yvonne | January 01, 2021 at 09:12
We have a sloping embankment and a stream at the end of our garden. We had a retaining wall build and top-soil and turf laid to raise the embankment (to make it easier to mow) and since we have been pestered by moles (must be the nice soft soil). We had a mole catcher who caught some but we now have a replacement mole or two! We have bought some traps (reluctant but they seem to be spreading onto the main lawn now. We are waiting for more mole activity before we do anything. We have considered laying mesh and re-turfing - has anyone tried this?
Also, some of the holes on the slope are open where the soil has been washed away by rain I think and I have noticed one or two bees hovering around them. I have researched this and I think they are solitary miner bees.
Reply: Response sent via email.
Posted by: Barbara Smith | February 26, 2019 at 17:00
Try as I might, I cannot bring myself to kill a mole..live and let live!! I have found that deterrents do work, but you you have to keep at it. There's no "quick fix'. (..and neither should there be!) but I have good success in my modest garden with garlic. Morrisons do a brilliant product..frozen crushed garlic ( brand name "TAJ" , found near the frozen veg. cabinet). I find that by pushing a frozen lump into surface runs and tunnels as soon as they appear, I can displace the mole before too much damage occurs. The garlic lasts a couple of weeks before decomposing. And yes, you may just displace Moley to a different part of the garden, but providing he/she isn't damaging my veg., lawn or flowers, I can live with that. Many of you won't be so tolerant. So go ahead, nuke the poor little bugger and have done!
Posted by: Greenman. | April 24, 2018 at 07:57
It's all very well catching a mole but another mole will soon come along and find the wonderful, ready-made run and take over. I have caught many moles over the years but my garden has deep, worm filled soil. As soon as I catch the resident mole there is a brief respite and then another mole takes over. The current resident is very cunning and won't go near the traps, just stuffs them with soil. It's a losing battle. There is a 7 acre field beside the garden but no moles are interested in that. If they want to be safe they can go there.
Reply: We feel for you...
Posted by: Will | January 15, 2018 at 16:44
Your lawn is the first thing that people see when they come to your place. This is the main reason why you have spent your time and money, It would be a shame to see it get destroyed by little pricks called Moles. Moles aren’t pretty at all whether they are mammals that mess your backyard or the in the shape of keels on your face. Everybody wants to get rid of moles at the earliest. So lets figure out how we can get rid of these destructive moles. http://starpestcontrol.ca/pest_control_service/mole/
Posted by: Bilal Khan | July 25, 2017 at 12:37
Mole's don't like vibration, it must sound akin to other moles digging, being a solitary type then move on. When my children were small they loved hand held 'windmills'. I don't like flimsy 'shipped-in tatt' so we bought chunky, sturdy wooden stemmed mill's found in garden centres. I poked a bamboo stake into the turf to make a 'hole', tapped two tacks,cross ways one third of the post up (panel pins 40mm) work great. Plant them into the pre-made hole near/on mole's hill.Crossed pins help with balance and allow the windmills vibration to travel down through the stem of the mill into the ground. We still see 'hills', now and again in the surrounding field's but NOT in our garden ! Rural England, Genie x
Posted by: Genie | May 29, 2017 at 15:18
mash up some worms in a plastic bottle.
Cut some juicy fruit chewing gum into strips, longways,
Shake the chewing gum strips in the "Worm gutsludge" bottle.
Carefully expose the mole holes, by digging back the mole hill with a trowel.
Handle the gum with latex gloves on to avoid leaving your human smell on them. In fact use the same gloves you mashed the worms up with!
Place a strip of gum in each of the excavated holes, and then cover the holes with a large flat stone, to block out the light.
The Moles will eat the gum.... they like juicy fruit worm gum for some reason.... and the gum kills them by blocking them up.
Some people might not like killing them like this, so just keep shovelling the mole hills away, and re-seeding the bald lawn areas to keep your little chums happy!
Reply: Your method is a bit unusual but ho hum.
Posted by: Johnny rotten | November 07, 2016 at 16:51
In the last week, I have caught two moles in my yard by looking for movement and then taking a shovel and flipping out the area where the movement was. I get the mole into a bucket and take it to a wooded area and release it. Takes patience to wait for the movement but when you do get it in a bucket, you know you didn't harm it and it won't be bothering any lawns once released in the woods.
Reply: You are good at catching them! Totally agree with your actions if you can catch them and move them to a new site but they are very territorial.
Posted by: jfnva | October 05, 2016 at 11:35
I caught my mole today by hand from a shallow run in bark clippings laid over dense clay. We have quite a big area like that. Took him a few miles down the road. He has created some nice soil out of the clay though.
Posted by: Joe | September 24, 2016 at 23:11
Have to agree with some of the comments before. I much prefer to hear people using humane mole trapping rather than poison or unsafe nets.
After all they don't realise they are causing harm
Posted by: Tom | September 20, 2016 at 13:56
I have a Japanese themed area 40ft x 20ft covered in weed membrane and 2 inches depth of gravel. (4000 kg)
I also have moles constantly changing the vista. I doubt that laying mesh under your lawn
will work!!
Posted by: keith | September 03, 2016 at 15:15
Can I lay a fine chicken wire mesh then soil over then grass to stop moles?
Reply: It sounds like a good idea but we do not know the definitive answer to this proposed pest control concept!
Posted by: David McBride | December 24, 2015 at 13:01
I love this stuff
Posted by: Cedar Hill locksmith | December 24, 2015 at 11:31
Does anyone have a contact for a mole catcher in the Warwickshire area please?
Reply - go onto www.molecatcher.co.uk as he trains them and may know of a catcher near you.
Posted by: Sandra Rutter | July 08, 2015 at 13:32
Great article! Thank you James I've never thought about wire net before and we've tryed every thing we could think of. We bought 300m and it's all set up now. No more molehills!
Posted by: Lynda | March 22, 2015 at 14:19
If you don't want to harm little mole probably the best way is to use plastic net placed under your lawn really well explained here http://www.antimolesnetting.com/how-to-use/ it will definitely stop mole hills from reappearing but it does require little bit of work to set it up.
Posted by: James | February 27, 2015 at 22:23
I would never harm any animal'' and moles are lovely' but 3 mole hills have appeared on my lawn' wondering what i can do to stop anymore' i would never hurt or kill them' so trapping is out the question!!
Posted by: Josaphine | January 17, 2015 at 12:31
Great post and interesting article. I used a mole catcher for the first time this year, very friendly and a bit of an expert. I would highly recommend Craig Parkinson, for anybody in the Lancashire area looking to get rid of their garden mole
www.lancashiremolecatcher.com
Posted by: Justin | December 04, 2014 at 21:10
For get tip about how to set mole traps visit www.dkgpestcontrol.co.uk/2012/02/23/how-to-set-a-mole-trap
Posted by: Dean | August 12, 2014 at 19:07
To get useful tips and advice about how to set a mole trap visit http://www.dkgpestcontrol.co.uk/2012/02/23/how-to-set-a-mole-trap/
Posted by: Dean | August 10, 2014 at 19:03
I use bleach it soaks in and the moles don't like it they move elsewhere or you can use dog poo that certainly gets rid of them
Posted by: David banks | May 13, 2014 at 09:14
why would you want to kill something just to keep your lawn pretty? Moles harm no one and are good for controlling pests and helpful to soil structure.The old way of " it annoys me so I will kill it" is outdated, or should be.
Posted by: morag stewart | May 09, 2014 at 13:39
I have had moles in my lawn and I was told by a friend to put the playing gadget from a birthday card into the hole and they will go away - it works- the must only be able to stand Happy Birthday to you so many times !
Reply - thank you for this funny tip!
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Posted by: Mike Rodgers | July 25, 2013 at 08:38
Moles can be persuaded to move on by dropping cedar wood moth balls down the run, won't harm them but they hate the smell. Go to this site and enter 70670 in search box http://www.kleenezeshop.com?AffiliateId=1312
Reply - Super stuff!!
Posted by: John Horsman | March 02, 2013 at 11:43
There is also the brand new EasySet mole trap made by Beagle. It can be set in both deep and shallow runs and in any soil type. It is easy to set - avoiding bruised / broken finders, and highly sensitive for a reliable catch. It also incorporates powerful springs for a fast and humane kill.
Posted by: George Savell | February 18, 2013 at 15:24
Humane mole trapping is the only 100% way of controlling moles. I can normally cure a garden in 2/3 visits, 1 setting traps. 2 revisit to check and reset ,remove traps tidy site and remove caught moles. I am a north midlands based mole controller.
Posted by: christopher milnes | February 05, 2013 at 08:45
Mr Mole Man has caught many moles in Shropshire as a professional mole catcher, the surface runs are also feeding runs and not just put up in the mating season by males. The sonic deterrents are short lived with the only way to rid a mole from your lawn, is by humanely trapping, since the use of strychnine is banned.
Posted by: Mr Mole Man | January 07, 2013 at 19:40
If moles are not controlled (humanely) they will destroy a lawn quickly. Even seen a garden that had collapsed due to years of moles tunnelling underneath the soil.
Posted by: Mole Catcher | December 20, 2012 at 11:13
Moles are pest to our lawn, they must be taken out but not in a brutal way.
Posted by: Mole Pole | November 24, 2012 at 06:12
Unlike traditional mole killer traps poses a real hazard to family pets and larger animals or birds will be unaffected by the frequency which travels beneath the ground.
Posted by: Mole Pole | November 24, 2012 at 06:11
Mole Pole is not a dangerous mole killer and poses no threat to children at all and is the Safest Mole Trap and Mole Catcher only totally safe option on the market.
Posted by: Mole Pole | November 24, 2012 at 06:09
Mole Pole Stop Mole Hills Instantly Before They Ruin Your Lawn
Posted by: Mole Catcher | November 24, 2012 at 06:06
I used to have a terrible problem with garden moles and tried everything but was always aware of the ethical dilemma (I was a veggy for many years) anyway I would highly recommend Justin Lake who has a certificate in 'Traditional Mole Control' (this training is provided by Jeff Nicholls mentioned in the article) & deals with moles humanely. He does all aspects of pest control for South Wales,Swansea & Carmarthenshire - www.gowermolecatcher.co.uk Hope that helps others!
Reply - thank you Will. Also see www.castclear.co.uk on a worm cast deterrent
Posted by: Will Piercey | January 12, 2011 at 18:08
Moles are a real problem for us. This might sound like us being "big headed" but we have a bowl's green at work - however we have never been able to use it as one due to the fact there are so many mole hills.
We had them "sorted" and the mole holes levelled out, only for us to come back after the weekend to around 20-30 mole hills again!
Reply - okay, thanks for the tip on the electric mouse traps!
Posted by: victor electric mouse trap | October 25, 2010 at 06:39
After years of rescuing moles from the clutches of the feral cats in the garden I have been repaid with some serious subsidence of my new turf. I'm still not minded to damage the moles but how do I fix my lawn?
Glyn - call your local Mole Catcher. Rake the soil off the lawn and over seed with new grass seed, seeding a little wider than the actual soil circle.
Posted by: Glyn | July 01, 2010 at 19:50