Moles Facts Identification

Moles

Facts Identification and Control

Latin Name

Family Talpidae

Appearance

Generally, moles but more particularly eastern moles are huge, with round feet, thick and short claws, short, bare tail with a sharp edged snout. Having small, silky fur that is gray in color, they can stretch up to 17.6 cm long. Eyes, ears are usually covered by fur due to their smallish nature.

Behavior, Diet & Habits

Animals such as beetle grubs, earthworms and ants are the main source of food for moles. They do not feed on bulbs, roots of plants, but seeds and particles of vegetables could be included in their meals.

Reproduction

During spring, females give birth to three to five young ones.

Signs of a Mole Infestation

Being active during the entire year, moles known to be pests with their excessive hole digging. Complex subversive tunnels that run at different depth levels are created by them. Runways closer to the ground surface are the reason we see heaps and ridges on ground surface. These can be created 6 meters in an hour and are primarily for feeding. The runways that run deeper could be as much as 25 cm under the soil surface; they are primarily for transportation for the mole. The number of moles within a plot cannot be determined by the number of mounds in the ground. A range of seven to twelve moles can all be contained in one hectare of land.

More Information

Coming from the order Soricomorpha and family Talpidae, with the eastern mole (Scalopus Aquaticus) being the most common, moles have many species in the U.S. the eastern mole has a wide coverage and the highest number in the U.S.

Characteristics are not too different among the different species and they cause the most destruction to orchards and turfs. They are not insectivores, hence, cannot be categorized as rodents as some believe them to be.

With the many available ways to control mole infestation, setting accurate traps over the tunnels is the most reliable. Knowing active tunnels might be tricky because moles quickly move from one to another.