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Scientific classification

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Soricomorpha
• Family: Talpidae

Three species of moles occur in Pennsylvania; the eastern mole, the hairy-tailed mole, and the star-nosed mole. All Pennsylvania moles have a hairless, pointed snout extending nearly 1/2 inch in front of the mouth and are approximately 5 to 7 inches in body length. Moles are specialized for life underground. Their small eyes and the openings of the ears are concealed in the fur, and there are no external ears. The paddle-like forefeet are very large and broad with pronounced claws for digging. The hind feet are small and narrow, with slender, sharp claws. Mole fur is short, soft, velvety, and when brushed offers no resistance in either direction. This adaptation allows moles to travel both forward and backward through the soil.

Moles are solitary animals that come together only to breed. The gestation period of moles is approximately 42 days. Three to five young are born in March or early April. Moles live in the seclusion of underground burrows, coming to the surface only rarely, and then often by accident. Moles have only a few predators because of their secluded life underground and may live for three to four years. Spring floods are probably the greatest danger facing adult moles and their young. Moles are insectivores, not rodents, and are related to shrews. Their diet consists mainly of grubs, beetles, beetle larvae, and worms found in the soil. Moles eat from 70 to 100 percent of their weight each day. The tremendous amount of energy expended in plowing through soil requires a correspondingly large amount of food to supply that energy. Moles do not hibernate but are more or less active all seasons of the year. They are busiest finding and storing foods during rainy periods in summer. Because of their food requirements, moles must cover a larger area than do most animals that live underground. Three to five moles per acre are considered a high population for most areas. Moles prefer to hunt in loose, moist soil that is rich in grubs and earthworms. This preference accounts for the mole’s attraction to lawns and parks.

Moles are often blamed for the destruction of bulbs, seeds, and garden plants. However, moles rarely consume plants or plant parts. Plant damage is often an indirect result of the protective cover that mole passages provide for other species of small mammals. Voles, white-footed mice, and house mice live in and move through mole runways, eating and gnawing on grains, seeds, and tubers. Moles may, however, damage plants by disrupting their roots as they tunnel underneath.

It is important to properly identify the kind of animal causing damage before setting out to control the problem. Moles are most often confused with shrews and voles. Shrews are much smaller than moles (3 to 4 inches in body length) and are mouse-like in appearance with a long, pointed snout, a short dense coat of fur, and small eyes. Shrews do not create surface tunnels but may feed in runways or tunnels of other small mammals. Voles, also called meadow mice, are about the same size as moles (4 to 6 inches in body length), with relatively large black eyes, small ears, a blunt face, and prominent orange front teeth for gnawing. Meadow voles, the most common voles in Pennsylvania, are herbivores and eat a variety of grasses, seeds, and roots. Rather than digging, voles clip grass at the base to form above-ground tunnels or bare runways through the grass. These are especially noticeable in spring, when melting snow reveals the network of runways that voles used to move under the snow surface. Chipmunks may also excavate tunnels in lawns, but they do not create molehills and their deep tunnels are not visible at the surface.

Moles play a beneficial role in the management of soil and the control of undesirable grubs and insects. By tunneling and shifting soil particles, moles permit better aeration of the soil, help dry out sod, and enable humus (organic matter) to travel deeper into the soil. Their tunneling also allows subsoil material to be moved closer to the surface, where nutrients may be more available to plant roots. Mole damage that is most objectionable to homeowners includes molehills and shallow tunnels. Molehills are circular mounds of dirt surrounding a vertical shaft. Molehills often exhibit round “ripple marks” made by each new load of soil that is pushed to the surface. Shallow tunnels create a heaved surface that makes lawn mowing difficult and may cause brown traces in a lawn as grass roots are damaged by burrowing activity or by exposure to air. A mole’s den area consists of irregular chambers, about the size of a quart jar, connected with deep runways located from 12 to 18 inches beneath the soil surface. Deep runways also lead from the mole’s den to its hunting grounds. Often, the only evidence of these deep tunnels is the molehills formed as the mole excavates deep underground. At the hunting grounds, most of a mole’s runway system is made up of shallow tunnels ranging over the hunting area. These underground hunting paths are about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Once dug, these shallow tunnels may not be used again or they may be re-traversed at irregular intervals. Eventually, they become filled by settling soil, especially after heavy rains.

Damage control

A serious mole problem indicates that moles have an abundant food supply. If the food supply can be eliminated or reduced, the moles will be forced to leave the area. There are several pesticides available that will kill white grubs (June beetle larvae), other insects, and even earthworms. Inquire at your local cooperative extension office or garden center for information about an appropriate pesticide.

the use of pesticides to kill organisms in the lawn can have serious disadvantages. When the food supply is eliminated, moles may increase their digging in search of food before leaving the area, possibly increasing damage to turf or garden areas. Also, the necessary chemicals may be expensive relative to other methods, and there is usually a delay of several weeks before any effect on moles can be expected. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, chemical control of lawn insects and earthworms may be harmful to ground-feeding birds and other wildlife. Milky-spore disease is a satisfactory natural control for certain white grubs. It may take several years, however, for the milky-spore disease to become established. Because moles may range over several lawns, treatments are most effective when they are made on a neighborhood-wide basis. The spore dust can be applied at a rate of 2 pounds per acre and in spots 5 to 10 feet apart (1 level teaspoon per spot). If you wish to try discouraging moles by beginning a control program for white grubs, contact your local extension office for recommended procedures.

Some electronic, magnetic, and vibration devices have been promoted as being effective in frightening or repelling moles. None, however, have been proven effective.

Nearly everyone has heard of a sure-fire home remedy for controlling moles. In theory, various materials placed in mole tunnels may cause moles to die or at least leave the area. Such “cures” suggest placing broken bottles, ground glass, razor blades, thorny rose branches, bleaches, various petroleum products, sheep dip, household lye, chewing gum, Ex-Lax, and even human hair in the tunnel. Other remedies include mole wheels, pop bottles, windmills, bleach bottles with wind vents placed on sticks, and similar gadgets. Though colorful and sometimes decorative, these gadgets add nothing to the arsenal of effective mole control methods. Several electromagnetic devices have been marketed for the control of rats, mice, gophers, moles, ants, termites, and various other pests. Laboratory tests have not proven these devices to be effective. Unfortunately, there are no short cuts or magic wands when controlling moles.

Moles are unprotected in Pennsylvania. Consult local laws for types of traps, toxicants, and other methods of damage control that can be used. It is illegal to use a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.

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