Some people think that a cute little animal dressed in a beautiful velvety coat is a harmless animal. Actually this is not true. Of course, one should not argue that these mammals bring certain benefits to farms and summer cottages. They destroy many insects and their larvae, which are pests of gardens and orchards. Having appeared on the site, he begins to make moves in the ground with increased strength, getting food for himself, which violates the root system of all plants, shrubs and trees that come across in his path. How to deal with moles in a summer cottage will be discussed in this article.
The appearance of the animal
Moles belong to the class of mammals, belong to the genus Insectivora of the Mole family. Animals of small and medium sizes from 5 to 21 cm, weighing up to 100 g. There are 6 main species and 11 varieties. All of them differ in size, weight, structurejaw and skeleton. The body of the mole is cylindrical, dense. The coat grows perpendicular to the surface of the skin, allowing it to move freely underground back and forth. Fur color from black to dark gray. On the triangular head is a proboscis with vibrissae (hairs) that help find food.
The animal has 44 teeth. Sight and hearing are poorly developed, but he has an excellent sense of smell and touch. Eyes without lens and retina. The forelimbs are well developed, stronger than the hind limbs, have the shape of a shovel, on the feet there are five fingers connected by a web, the claws are long and strong.
Lifestyle
In order to find out how to deal with moles, and whether it should be done, you should familiarize yourself with their lifestyle. They do not hibernate, they dig tunnels all year round. In winter, they do not make new moves, but deepen the old ones. The main nesting chamber of the mole is up to two meters deep. Pulling it out and the annular galleries around, the mole does not throw the earth out, but squeezes into the soil. The hole is covered with dry leaves and grass. In addition, there are feeding passages that serve to obtain food, the earth from which is thrown to the surface. They can reach a length of up to one and a half kilometers. Animals lead a solitary lifestyle, pairing up only during the mating season. They have up to eight cubs, ready for independent life in two months.
Mole food
In order to understand how to deal with moles, you need to know what they eat and what harm they do to gardeners. Moles are alsoto predatory animals and only occasionally can eat the roots of some plants. The main food is underground and consists of:
- earthworms;
- bear;
- insect larvae;
- beetles;
- wireworm;
- slugs;
- woodlice.
The diet of moles consists of garden pests. The only exceptions are earthworms, which loosen the earth, saturating it with oxygen. On the one hand, moles are useful animals for a personal plot. And on the other hand, why gardeners do not like them, they, breaking through passages, damage the roots of plants. Moles are voracious animals, and in a day they can eat food a little less than their own weight. Moreover, they feed constantly, 17 hours of fasting leads to the death of the animal. In winter, moles feed mainly on earthworms. To do this, they make stocks: they bite off heads, and immobilized bodies are stored in special pantries.
Mole habitats
They live in any soil, but they prefer light and moist soil that is easy to dig. These are underground inhabitants, they only occasionally, more often at night, get out to the surface. You need to know the device of a wormhole in order to decide how to deal with moles in a summer cottage without harming the plants. The dwelling looks like this:
- The main nest (bedroom) is located in the center of the mole system, often under the roots of trees and shrubs, stumps and buildings at a depth of up to two meters.
- The main chamber is surrounded by passages consistingfrom rings, for rest and rearing offspring. They have a connection both with the main nest and with each other.
- At a depth of 20 to 50 cm from the surface layer of the earth there are permanent passages from which it pushes the soil to the surface. On them the animal goes to a watering place and to feeding areas.
- Stern passages are located shallow, horizontal to the surface, forming earthen ridges, there are a lot of them.
The mole digs its moves all year round. In the spring, the fruits of his life are noticed on the site.
Reasons for the appearance of moles in the area
When pests occur on the site, before looking for various ways to deal with a mole in the garden, you need to find out the reason for their appearance. They can be as follows:
- Loose soil. Well fertilized soil, with frequent watering and timely digging, has a crumbly structure, contains a large number of earthworms and attracts moles.
- The presence of insects. Agricultural plants attract many insects, which in winter burrow themselves into the ground or lay their larvae there, which is food for animals.
- No enemies. There are no predators near human habitation that can attack moles.
- The presence of rodents. Mice that live in houses and on plots are a delicacy for animals.
- Fight against moles in neighboring areas. Underground inhabitants dig new passages and move to their neighbors.
Appearing on the site, they master all newsquares, breaking through underground passages throughout the site in search of food. Therefore, it is necessary to start fighting garden moles immediately after their discovery.
What is harmful garden mole on the site?
Daily voracious animal, working hard, eats a large amount of food. And in search of food, it digs many passages, throwing part of the soil out. Having met plants or root crops on his way, he will also throw them to the surface of the earth or damage them so that they will soon die. Summer residents often think about how to deal with moles in a country garden, and look for suitable ways to do this. After all, not only vegetable crops suffer from this animal, but trees and shrubs, when, as a result of excavations, it damages their root system. Earth thrown out of a hole, on lawns and lawns can ruin the mechanism of a lawn mower. And the grass after a while may turn yellow and die. It should be borne in mind that the land also becomes infertile over time, as the impoverished soil is thrown out of the depths.
Harm from a mole for animals and humans
The wormholes that they break through to hunt for food are located near the surface of the earth. There are cases of cattle falling into a hole and breaking or dislocating a leg. This is a great danger for the animal. Small mammals can carry some serious infections. Piroplasmosis and tularemia can be fatal for immunocompromised people. Such problems make people think more often about the question, but how to deal with moles on the site? Besides,the mole is a carrier of ticks, fleas and worms. Animals rarely come out of the ground, but when they appear on the surface, you do not need to pick up a fluffy animal. Such unwanted guests should be disposed of.
Biological methods of mole control
The fight against moles can begin with the elimination of food supplies for them. Their hourly need for food requires a large amount of feed. The destruction of insects, snails, small invertebrates, spiders, caterpillars will force moles to look for another place to live. What other methods to take and how to deal with moles on the site? One such method is the use of pets. Burrowing terrier and dachshund dogs are able to drive moles for training before hunting. Some gardeners claim that cats are also fond of hunting for animals. Such methods may not bring much effect, but it is worth a try. At the same time, it must be remembered that pets will dig up much more land in the garden than moles.
A shrew in the garden
This is a small insectivorous mammal very similar to a mouse. The difference is only in the elongated muzzle. The head is large, the nose is extended into a mobile proboscis, the eyes are small, the limbs are short, the fur is thick, short and velvety, the tail is long. For the garden, it is useful in that it destroys plant pests. And in search of food, like a mole, it makes many moves, damaging the roots of plants. Often uses the moves of moles and mice. Gardeners and gardeners are looking for more and more new means of dealing with both moles and shrews.
How to deal withmoles and shrews?
The appearance of small predators in their summer cottage forces the owners to fight them. There are many ways, here are a few of them:
- Use a variety of chemical defenses. It must be remembered that this method can damage human and animal he alth.
- Bury fish entrails and heads in minks. The spread of a strong smell forces the animals to leave the developed territory;
- domestic and wild cats.
- Pour a large amount of water into the hole from the hose.
- Use modern ultrasonic repellers.
We fight moles on the site on our own
The best way to get rid of moles is prevention. Such work should be done constantly to prevent pests from entering the summer cottage. To do this, use:
- Special fence. When neighbors have wormholes, you can make a fence on your site so that uninvited animals do not come to visit. Sheets of tin, slate, linoleum or metal mesh are used as fencing. Bury the material vertically into the ground along the perimeter of the site to a depth of one meter and leave a 10 cm protruding edge on top. This fence is used in conjunction with mechanical traps.
- Poles with unbalanced propellers. How to deal with moles in the garden with their help? To do this, you need to dig devices around the perimeter of the site. Under the influence of wind, the blades spin and create a vibration that is transmitted to the ground. Moles, feeling discomfort, leave this area.
- Various DIY weather vanes, turntables, bottles buried in the ground. All these devices, under the influence of the wind, create vibration of the earth, and underground inhabitants leave uncomfortable places.
Electronic Scarers
In addition to homemade mole repellent devices, you can purchase them at the store. And the problem of how to deal with moles will immediately disappear. They are placed around the perimeter of the site at a certain distance specified in the instructions. The repeller consists of a hollow metal or plastic cylinder.
Inside it is a battery and a motor that transmits vibration to the body, and it - to the ground. Moles start to get nervous, they leave the site, but not instantly, but after about 2-3 weeks. At first, their activity may even increase.
Mechanical means of combat
How to deal with moles in the country garden? For this, various traps are often used. They can be purchased at the store and made by hand. Consider several options:
- Ready mole catcher. It consists of a plastic hollow tube. At the ends, there are shutters made of galvanized metal, which easily let the animal inside and prevent it from getting out. The trap must be placed in the earthen passage along which the mole runs, cover it from above with a board from the sun's rays.
- Homemade trap. To do this, you can take a small pot or jar. Below the level of the underground passage, dig into the ground. A running animal will simply fall into a trap.
- Mechanical homemade repeller from a plastic bottle. Moles have a well-developed sense of touch, so they feel vibration well. The simplest noise device is made from a water pipe and a plastic bottle. Bury the pipe in the ground below the path of the animal and insert a metal pin. At the bottom of the bottle, make a hole larger than the diameter of the pin. Cut four holes in the sides and bend the valves. In the wind, it will spin and, hitting the pin, create a vibration that scares away moles.
- Noise installation made of reeds. Take long stalks of reeds up to 2 m. Insert them into the ground so that 80 cm rise above the surface. A howl occurs in the hollow stem during the wind, which causes the earth to vibrate. Moles are leaving their homes.
When using such control measures, it becomes possible to get rid of moles in the garden without harming the animals. For the effective destruction of pests, it is necessary to simultaneously apply several ways to get rid of the unwanted neighborhood, not excluding prevention. In the event that all the measures taken do not give the proper result, it is necessary to turn to professionals. Special service workers will determine the necessary countermeasures and help to cope with the problem.
Folk remedies to fight moles
Moles appeared on the site? How to deal with folk remedies with these animals? There are simple, natural ways to get rid of moles that do not require drastic measures. The best method is to force pests to change their place of residence. Forthis is required:
- Reduce soil moisture. Frequent watering greatly moistens the soil, and the moles begin to dig passages close to the surface. Get rid of this problem simply.
- Destroy the insects and their larvae that the animals feed on.
- Plant onions, garlic, marigolds, daffodils, imperial hazel grouse around the perimeter of the site. Animals do not like the smell of these plants.
- Black beans planted around the perimeter of the plot at a distance of 30 cm from each other will help scare away the animals.
- Spread rags soaked in kerosene, antifreeze or gasoline on the land.
- Chop gooseberry branches, mix with manure and bury.
- Acetic essence repels well, but evaporates quickly loses its properties.
- Castor oil, its persistent smell is not liked by animals. Small containers filled with this substance are distributed along the length of the stroke.
- Dig up the earth periodically.
When choosing the appropriate option, how to deal with moles with folk remedies, we must remember that not a single method gives a 100% guarantee of getting rid of them. Poorly seeing animals from birth have a very developed sense of smell. The use of folk remedies is just basically designed for this feature of moles. With the help of various unpleasant odors, affecting the sense of smell of animals, the owners are trying to simply force the underground inhabitants to leave their site.
Chemical control methods
How to deal with moles in the garden, if you have tried all the methods andnothing helps? In this case, it remains to turn to a chemical preparation. Such specific means of control are used infrequently, exclusively with a large concentration of animals. These funds include:
- Various poisons. They are also used to kill rats and mice. Often, earthworms, the favorite food of animals, are taken for bait, sprinkled with rat poison and laid out in mole passages. Birds and pets may be harmed if the poison is handled incorrectly.
- Smoke bombs. They are lit and placed in the running hole, tightly closed with a bucket, a sheet of linoleum, plywood or roofing felts. Spreading smoke along the moves scares or kills the mole. This is, of course, an inhumane way of dealing with animals. In addition, smoke bombs adversely affect soil microorganisms.
- Tear gas. The spray can is sprayed into the open passage, the animal may die. Safety precautions must be followed when using.
When using chemicals, keep in mind that moles have an excellent sense of smell and may not eat suspicious foods. Plus, it's a very inhumane way to fight.
In conclusion
How to deal with moles? This question often worries the owners of suburban areas. The fight against these animals, which can spoil the earth with their presence throughout the garden area, is being fought by more than one generation of people. A large arsenal of means of getting rid of the uninvited inhabitants of country plantations has been accumulated. Often multiple methods have to be used.at the same time to get a good effect. Which of them to apply and how to use is described in the article, so it remains only to try.
