Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2007 | Page 61

COUNTRYSIDE, WILDLIFE & FARMING

Countryside

Mountain out of
a Mole Hill
By Tony Ridd

life

By Tony Ridd
their food supply, as different
insects become available at
different times of the year. If
disturbed, they may temporarily
leave an area only to return
later on. Their disappearance
may only last a week or two,
which can be why there are
many misconceptions about
the success of mole control.
Traps are probably the most
common and final method of
control, but a certain amount
of skill is required and the
creatures can suffer a slow and
painful death. I have heard of
many different ways to deter
moles; kid’s windmills, red
peppers, moth balls, and pickle
juice being just a few. There
are also reasonably priced
ultrasonic and vibrating devices
available. I find that moles
get used to a single deterrent,
and regularly swapping from
one to another tends to keep
them away for longer. If the

conditions are right and they are
determined enough, they will
come back to haunt you. But
you should be comforted in the
knowledge that you have good
workable soil and the mole is
helping control some insect and
unwanted lawn grub outbreaks.

For a creature that has only a few friends,
(and one of them is a rat), we seem,
as a nation to be somewhat harsh on
what at first sight is a rather cuddly and
fury animal. Tony Ridd unearths a little
background and suggests some different
ways to prevent your garden resembling
something from the Clangers...
Moles, as we all know, spend
the majority of their time
underground popping up to
frustrate gardeners and farmers
alike. This year they have been
particularly active near the
surface due to the wet summer
that we have experienced.
Although we tend to be
disturbed by moles between
spring and autumn, they are
never far away, just deeper.
Over many years, generations
of moles may create a labyrinth
of deep tunnels hundreds of
metres long, with the deepest
tunnels being used in periods of
drought and low temperatures.
They will travel through these
tunnels looking for insects and
earthworms that tend to fall

through the soil onto the tunnel
floor, they will actively dig out
food from the soil if required.
They are not greedy and never
eat more than is needed.
Surplus prey is immobilised
by a bite to the head and
stored in a special chamber.
They are solitary and very
territorial for most of the year,
the male seeking out the female
in February. Four weeks later
she will produce an average of
4-5 babies which are weaned
within five weeks of birth and
have left the nest 7-10 days
later. Departure takes place
above the ground, when they
are at their most vulnerable.
Moles respond to ground
moisture and changes in

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