Cardiff Mole Control

For same day call out for mole control call us now on 02920 552243

Mole (Talpa europaea)

If you can tolerate the odd molehill or minor mole activity, then leave the mole alone, mole control is only necessary when they are causing problems.
We use the word control, as the aim is not to totally exterminate, but to reduce the numbers to a level that is acceptable to each client.

Reasons for mole control in domestic gardens maybe because of unsightly molehills on a lawn, on farmland the reasons are far more important and varied.
The biggest problem for farmers requiring mole control is the contamination of of silage and haylage by soil from molehills. This results in poor quality fodder for farm animals and horses. Bacteria in the soil affects the fermentation of the cut grass and reduces its nutritional value. Other types of bacteria in the soil can cause listeriosis in sheep and cattle.
The soil and stones from the molehills also blunt and damage the grass-cutting equipment.
Moles tunnelling under newly planted seed crops cause poor crop yields; anything up to a 15% reduction.
This is because the delicate roots of the seedlings are displaced either to the surface and die or are deprived of soil nutrients and water because of the mole’s tunnel.
Molehills and tunnels can be dangerous to livestock’s legs and feet, especially horses if they trip or stumble on the disturbed ground conditions.
Other reasons are for safety of the public in recreational/utility areas and may include the need to reduce the risk of bird strikes on airports and airfields.

Mole Control Pricing

For Homeowners  with gardens or small areas of land with mole activity we charge a setup fee that covers the time for placing traps correctly and a price per mole with a minimum visit charge. so if we catch one mole and it is less than the minimum visit charge you will be charged the minimum visit charge, if we catch several moles you will be charged for the number of moles caught not the minimum visit charge. 

For Farmers and Landowners with larger areas of land with mole activity, we can offer 3 different pricing structures to suit each individual client’s budget and mole control requirements.

Moles are subterranean animals related to shrews. They tunnel below the soil surface feeding on worms and other soil invertebrates.
Damage is done by the moles extruding the soil dug out of the tunnels into mole hills,these are often considered unsightly.
Moles are solitary for most of the year coming together for copulation in the spring.

Your land/garden provides everything the mole needs to survive, plenty of food (worms and grubs), water and a resting place that is not affected by sudden weather changes.

Moles are members of the insectivore family; they eat insects and grubs, typically worms.

If your soil has a good worm population then you are likely to encounter moles at some time or other.
If you have plenty of worms you will also have good soil conditions, so if you try to reduce the worm population, your soil quality will deteriorate.
In a typical garden situation, if you water your lawn in summer and your neighbours don’t, moles activity will be more visible in your garden because the worms will be closer to the surface in the moist soil as will the moles.  

In dry spells during the summer months the worms retreat to deeper levels and the moles will stay deep too. 
If you have a natural or man-made water source in your garden it will also be popular with moles in dry spells.
Moles will also retreat and keep to their natural habitat, which are woods and established hedgerows. These areas hold on to the moisture content much longer and always have good worm numbers.

Moles prefer loose workable soils compared to hard compacted ground, it’s easier for them to dig. So a newly landscaped, reseeded or turfed lawn will always be very attractive to a mole. Keeping your compost bin and grass clippings close to your lawn is not a good idea; it will remain moist and have a massive population of the small red litter dwelling worms.

A mole may be using your garden and lawn just for the food or the water or both, it may even be living there as well.

Mole control is carried out in one of two ways these days, moles can be trapped or gassed using aluminium phosphide tablets ( always ask to see full training records). A minimum of two operators should be present when gassing for moles, and the mole runs must be more than 10 metres from any building structures. There is a serious amount of Health and Safety involved in this these days; rightly so.
At Vale Pest Control we only control using trapping methods, remember in the garden often or not there may only be a couple of moles and out in the fields traps are more than adequate at getting control fast.

Mole control operations are most easily carried out between October and April when the grass growth is restricted, allowing clear views and access to their burrow system.

A non chemical method of mole control should always be considered first with the placement of mole traps within the mole tunnel system, these are inspected at regular intervals and dead moles removed and the traps re-set.

We suggest that in order to find out which moles hills are active in which area, you knock down all of the existing hills the day before the pest control treatment is carried out.

 

Live catch traps

Live catch traps are available and legal, but are considered inhumane because of the following reasons:
Moles have a very high metabolic rate and need to eat 60 to 75% of their body weight in worms and grubs each day. 
They eat and rest on roughly 4-hour cycles, 4 hours feeding then 4 hours resting. Moles are very territorial of their feeding areas and will fight off another mole; they are only tolerant of another during the breeding season. 
So if you set your live catch trap, which is like a toilet roll tube with a flap at each end and check it 8 hours later you’ve possibly got a dead mole. It’s either died of starvation or stress at being held captive in the tube. 
Even if you check the trap after 4 hrs and find a live mole, how long has it been there? And what do you do with it now? 
If you are thinking of releasing it in a nice field, think again unless its your field. It is an offence to relocate a pest onto another person’s land without permission. 
Is the mole still strong enough to dig and find food? 
Or if it finds another mole tunnel, is it strong enough to fight off the current occupant?

The Abandonment of Animals Act 1960 section 1 makes it an offence to release an animal into the environment if it does not have a reasonable chance of survival. 

Live catch traps, if used, should be inspected every couple of hours, and even if you do have somewhere to legally release it, it’s not humane due to the stress the mole has already gone through. So why use a live catch trap in the first place?
A humane kill trap is the only real option to control excess numbers of moles.

Legislation

• Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 : Prohibits the cruel treatment of all wild mammals, but allows legitimate pest control by humane means
• Pests Act 1954 : Prohibits the use of spring traps that have not been approved.
• Small Ground Vermin Traps Order 1958 : Exempts spring traps commonly used for catching moles in their runs
• Protection of Animals Act 1911 : requires spring traps to be inspected at least once a day between sunrise and sunset
• Animal Welfare Act 2006 : requires all captive animals to be treated humanely
• Agricultural Act 1947
• Hunting Act 2004