Unpopular moles can be popular topic

There is a list of top questions I get in the office via email or phone call. "How do I take a soil sample?" is easily No. 1.

No. 3 or 4 has to be "What do I do about moles?" And it’s a question I really don’t have a great answer for unfortunately.

What we have in our area is the eastern mole (Scalopus aquaticus). The mole is not a rodent, but an insectivore and is related more to shrews and bats. They have a hairless, pointed snout extending nearly 1/2 inch in front of the mouth opening. They have small eyes and no external ears with the opening of the ear canal concealed in the fur. The mole’s forefeet are very large and broad, with palms wider than they are long. The toes are webbed to the base of the claws. The hind feet are small and narrow, with slender, sharp claws. Funny looking little guys.

Moles lives in the seclusion of underground burrows only coming to the surface rarely and then often by accident. Researchers believe that the mole is a loner. Networks of runways are made independently and only occasionally join otherwise separate burrows.

Because of their food requirements, moles must cover a larger amount of area than do most animals that live underground. Three to five moles per acre is considered a high population for most areas.

Most of a mole’s runway system is made up of shallow tunnels ranging over its hunting ground. These tunnels may not be used again or they may be re-traversed at irregular intervals. These subterranean hunting paths are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. In wet weather, runways are very shallow; during a dry period they range somewhat deeper, following the course of earthworms.

Moles make their home burrows in high, dry spots, but they prefer to hunt in soil that is shaded, cool, moist, and populated by worms and grubs. This preference accounts for the mole’s attraction to lawns, parks, neglected orchards and natural woodlands. Moles most commonly make their den areas under portions of large trees, buildings, or sidewalks.

The maze of passages that thread the soil provides protective cover and traffic for several species of small mammals. Voles (meadow mice) and house mice live in and move through mole runways, helping themselves to exposed grains, seeds, and tubers. The mole often gets unfairly blamed for damaging these plants.

Moles are most active in the early morning and late evening on cloudy days during the spring and fall. There are many methods advertised for removing moles, such as mothballs, chewing gum, and vibration and ultrasonic devices that are advertised to deter them. These methods are not very effective.

One moderate control method for moles is to cut off some of the food supply. Using a grub treatment for a lawn is one method. Systemic grub treatments that contain imidacloprid as an active ingredient can be applied to the lawn area in May. These are available in ready-to-spray, hose-end sprayers or granular formulations. Granular products are easier to apply, but be sure to irrigate with at least a half inch of water immediately after application. Because these products are systemic within the turfgrass, they will last the entire growing season. Granular grub killers that contain trichlorfon (Bayer Advanced) or carbaryl (Sevin) are contact insecticides that should be applied in early July and are spread over the lawn and watered in well.

Moles are more annoying because of the mounds they make. Step on the tunnels or ride your lawnmower over the exposed tunnels to compact them. If you have to get rid of them, cats love to catch them. If you don’t want a cat, borrow your neighbor's.

Reach Campbell Vaughn, the UGA Agriculture and Natural Resource agent for Richmond County, by e-mailing augusta@uga.edu.