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Moles are small, furry mammals which are practically blind. They are common across the United Kingdom and are often portrayed as cute, cuddly, friendly little creatures, particularly in children's literature such as "The Wind in the Willows". But the reality is, as anyone who has ever had one in their garden is aware, they are one of the most destructive and hard to control garden pests.
In very little time, without mole control one mole can turn a beautifully maintained and crafted lawn and garden into something closely resembling a First World War battlefield. Hundreds of pounds spent buying beautiful plants for the garden can be wasted in seconds, as although they do not actually eat or chew through the roots of plants, the mole often uproots or damages them as they build their tunnels. This is particularly destructive for young seedlings, which can have their roots irreparably damaged by moles digging, or can be left without any soil beneath them for nutrition due to moles tunnels. Also, other rodents that do eat roots often use their tunnels as a way of easily accessing them.
However, a far more common problem is that without mole catching or mole trapping moles create both ridges of soil and mole hills in the garden, and in particular the lawn. The ridges of soil are the result of a mole digging a network of shallow feeder tunnels just beneath lawns to enable them to easily hunt for food – grubs, insects, and in particular earthworms. Worms are most easily found in lawns, particularly in the spring and autumn when the ground is wet due to heavy rainfall. However, moles do not hibernate and so can be a problem all year round. This is why mole hills are most commonly found in areas of grassland, such as garden lawns, agricultural and sports fields, golf courses and parks. Mole hills are unsightly mounds of soil (often compared to volcanoes) which are the result of the moles excavating deeper tunnels. Moles have incredibly sensitive hearing as well as sense of smell, and as soon as they are aware of human presence they retreat to their deeper tunnels. Mole catching is notoriously difficult because their individual network of tunnels is so extensive – one mole alone can inhabit tunnels covering up to four acres! They are most active first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening.
Despite all of this, moles in the garden are largely an aesthetic problem, but can prove to be a more serious issue elsewhere. On a race course for an example, a network of shallow mole tunnels can be incredibly dangerous to the horse and to its rider. Mole hills and the mounds of soil and stones are not good for farm machinery as well as the ordinary garden mower, often causing great damage. They can also cause contamination of silage and damage to drainage systems.
Moles are generally solitary creatures, spending most of the year alone. However, they hunt for a mate in the spring from February onwards, when they briefly unite, and can tunnel across large areas in their search. They can dig up to 20 metres of new tunnels per day in their hunt for around 200 worms for sustenance. The mole population has dramatically soared in recent years. It is now estimated that there could be as many as 40 million moles across Great Britain, having tripled in the last two years. This is in part because each mole has a litter of around 4 moles, which are able to leave their mother and tunnel off alone within 2 months and live on average for four years. Other theories for their dramatic growth in recent years include the foot and mouth ban preventing mole pest control experts getting onto agricultural land, a government ban on using strychnine on moles in 2006, and particularly wet and warm spring and autumn periods.
Pestforce is currently the largest mole trapping company in the country. Every job is individually tailored to your specific wants and needs.
Paul Wilkinson, the founder of Pestforce, is one of the most accomplished and well known mole catchers in the country, capturing hundreds of moles each week. He has individually and uniquely trained and taught every technician in Pestforce.
Mole control | Mole catching | Mole trapping | Mole pest control