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Mole Traps and Control UK (page 2)

 

If you are using live catch or barrel type traps follow the same procedure but make the hole bigger. It is important to be as clean as possible, if you have a sandy crumbly soil type follow the above instruction but use a piece of slate or flat stone to exclude the light. The picture on the left is a barrel type.


 

I have had good results with sonic control. In the old days I would not recommend or indeed sell them but I have used them in the past 18 months with a good degree of success. Once again it is important to get the best you can afford, there are cheap versions on the market but the good ones are worth the money. It most important that the probe goes through the mole run there is no point in sticking it in the mole hill.
 

Back to the old wives tales. First and commonest is placing moth balls in the run. I can see this working but I assume the mole would either turn right or left and put soil between it and the smell. I have seen moth balls used for all manner of pest control from mice to squirrels, without any prolonged success. My advice is that they don't work and that's why I don't sell them.

Another common one is crushed egg shell in the run. If you consider that a  mole has a tunnel system of between � and 4 acres, surely it will come up against sandy, chalky, stony soil, so what is the difference with egg shells? I assume if it did not like it, it will just turn right or left and continue on its merry way! Moles are not daft you know.

Bottles with the neck just out of the ground causing an irritating noise, if that works why do we get moles on the aprons of airports?

Kiddies windmill with the stick in the run causing vibration and noise. We see moles living quite happily on motorway verges and indeed in the central reservation, I'm quite sure that the vibration and noise of a constant stream of 10 ton jugernaught lorries is far in excess of a kiddies windmill.

Remember that the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 forbid the use of items such as diesel, sump oil, disinfectant etc in the control of pests. Any control of pests must be done in a humane manner.

A few mole facts to get the brain cells going:

  • Talpa europaea is the scientific name
  • There are no moles in Ireland
  • An 80g mole has to eat up to 50g of worms a day
  • Moles store worms in a fortress after biting the heads off, one chamber had a reported 450 worms in the larder.
  • Moles patrol a run system at regular intervals until all the food has been taken then they move to a new area to start a new run
  • Usually live about 3 years but have been known to live for 6 years.
  • Litter of 3 or 4 in spring, move to find own territory after 5 or 6 weeks, this is done above ground, this is when they are most at risk from predation.
  • My mentor told me a male mole moves in a straighter line than a female, I cannot confirm this though.

There are some benefits of the mole in the garden, but they are few - soil aeration and removal of garden pests, they will eat cockchafer grubs etc.

Article Written by:
Pest Control expert Owen W of The GREEN PEST CONTROL Co

Owen W.
E-mail: owen.w@btinternet.com 
Internet Site: www.greenpestco.com
Telephone: 01729 830133

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