Moles are small mammals, often confused with rodents, but they’re more related to hedgehogs and shrews. These nuisance animals spend most of their lives burrowing underground with their clawed broad front feet eating slugs and worms. They find their way into homeowner lawns because they prefer the moist, loose conditions of lawns, gardens, and pastures. Worst of all, they are active throughout the year, so their damage is ongoing.
How to Identify a Mole Problem
Moles are rarely seen but leave indelible signs of their presence in the way of damaged lawns. Remember the adage, making a mountain out of a molehill? In the process of creating their extensive tunnels, moles pile dirt at the entrance of their tunnel. In addition to these mounds in your lawn, their tunnels rip apart the root systems of your grass, leaving dead patches.
Wildlife Management Services will confirm whether your lawn problems are caused by moles or other burrowing critters like gophers. Then you will receive a reliable plan to get rid of moles. Our technicians will look for the telltale signs of moles like:
- Raised mounds of dirt at tunnel entrances
- Raised ridges crisscrossing lawn and garden beds
- Areas of your lawn where the soil is spongy beneath your feet
- Discolored grass where moles have dug through roots
- Weed growth where lawn is dying
Mole Removal
Because moles are predominantly underground creatures, eliminating them is tricky and best left to professionals. This is a tedious and difficult process that WMS is fully experienced to accomplish. The experts at Wildlife Management Services has the right tools, skills, and knowledge to efficiently eliminate your mole problem.
Mole Prevention
Once the moles are eliminated, certain parts of your yard can benefit from exclusionary methods. Garden beds can be surrounded by wire mesh, for example, but unfortunately, doing this around an entire yard is impractical.
What does a mole look like?
- Normally do not exceed 6 inches in length
- On average weigh about 3 oz
- Have webbed front claws for digging
- Silk-like fur
- Fur color usually brown
- Small eyes and ears
Where do moles live?
Moles like to live underground for protection from predators, to rear young, and to overwinter in regions of cold weather. These diggers prefer loose soils, and stay away from clay and stony soils. Because of this, moles are highly found in meadows, grasslands, and woodlands. They particularly love to orient themselves in human landscaping, as the tailored and damp ground is ideal for digging.
Are moles known to enter homes or yards?
Given their preferred habitats and activities, moles are rarely seen inside buildings. Land owners who use mole-preferred soils on their plots are at highest risk of attracting tiny mammals. Expanses of property used for growing crops and golf courses are also favored sites for mole burrowing. Soils high in acidity, on the other hand, repel the pests.
Do moles harm people or property?
Since they tunnel so close to ground surfaces, moles often leave behind unsightly mounds of upturned dirt and kill grass and other plants when they burrow into the ground. As infestations of moles grow, they are capable of more destruction and can totally ruin otherwise aesthetically pleasing fields, as well as destroy crop yields for farmers. Additionally, the mammals inhabit sports fields, rendering them unusable.
How does WMS control moles in the yard?
Mole control can be tedious and expensive! Special specialized services should be called unless you have time to monitor traps and plant boundaries to exclude the moles from the area. Wildlife Management Services knows the most effective way to eliminate mole infestations. Flooding mole hills is one way, however, adult moles are usually smart enough to flee and come back later.
How does WMS trap moles?
Moles are difficult to trap and pest populations are hard to control. Individuals dealing with mole infestations should call Wildlife Management Services, as we maintain experienced workforces that specialize in mole removal. Let our trained technicians use their expertise to eradicate mole problems quickly and efficiently.
We can help you get rid of mole problems! Call today: 763.233.6895.
Additional Information
Wildlife Management of Minneapolis Service Area
Minneapolis, St. Paul, Maple Grove, Champlin, Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids, Apple Valley, Eagan, St. Louis Park, Stillwater, Woodbury, Mound, Eden Prairie, Edina, Minnetonka, White Bear Lake, Plymouth, Wayzata, Burnsville, and Their Surrounding Areas
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