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Moles that have settled on your site are always unwanted guests, as they bring great harm. The earth in the garden or in the garden is dug up, and the plants die. The owners of the plots enter into fierce battles with the animal, and try by all available methods to stop its harmful activity. What you should know about the underground pest, which methods of dealing with it are effective and which are useless, how to carry out prevention – this article will tell you about all this.
What is important to know about the mole
The mole is born underground and rarely comes to the surface. He is active regardless of the season. Moles mainly live in forests or meadows. In summer, when the top layer of the earth dries out, it becomes more difficult for the animals to dig passages and get food. They move to orchards and orchards. There, the ground remains loose all year round. This small gray animal with paws that have long sharp claws is a gloomy and isolated creature. It prefers to eat earthworms, larvae of beetles and insects, slugs, bears, scoop caterpillars.
It is not uncommon for a mole, having met its own kind on the way, to eat them. During the day, the animal can eat about 60 grams of food, which is slightly less than it weighs. Underground residents prefer to settle in families, so the fight against moles in the garden will mean confronting the owner of the site with 10 – 30 animals at once. Moles overwinter in a den. The length of branched underground passages can reach hundreds of meters.
The underground behavior of the mole is as follows – it moves along the main and aft passages. The speed of movement of the animal underground is up to 6 km per hour. They are laid by a workable animal in various horizons of the earth. The stern passages are located at a depth of up to 5 cm and visually represent the furrows of the raised earth. The mole does not visit these passages for the second time. Nest tunnels are made by him at a depth of 1 – 5 meters.
They are located in places of light buildings, under the roots of trees, woodsheds. When catching moles, the owners of the plots are interested in the main passages – along them the underground inhabitant moves from the nest to the feeding areas or a watering hole. Such passages are located at a depth of up to 20 cm, they are distinguished from the stern ones by the smoothness of dense walls. If one of the sites is destroyed, the mole will restore it. Deep passages under garden paths and other areas with dense soil are important for mole catchers – they place traps there. On one such transition, with the correct arrangement of traps, it is possible to catch up to 10 animals in a few days.
Methods of struggle
Moles are smart, quickly adapt to any conditions, and can bypass traps. It is recommended to use several methods at the same time in the fight against them. You can get rid of moles on the site if you find its holes as early as possible and apply effective methods to control underground pests. When the number of dug tunnels becomes significant, it will be more difficult to get rid of shrews.
Video “We get rid of moles and rodents in the garden”
Valid and proven
Experts divide effective methods of dealing with underground pests into warning, deterrent, setting traps and traps, hunting and extermination. Scaring and warning are considered more humane, but often they are not able to give a positive result. You can scare away a mole with a smell, but it should be quite strong. The smell of hazel grouse flower, which is considered effective among the people, will help only if the animal buries its nose into it. That is, hazel grouse should be planted throughout the site. Moles also do not tolerate the smell of legumes – feel free to plant peas, beans, beans, lupins on the site.
Castor bean fruits will also help – they should be laid out among vegetables in the cellar or on the basement floor. Moles will stop appearing there. To scare away underground inhabitants, modern devices are widely used, the principle of operation of which is associated with ultrasonic or vibrational effects on the senses of the pest. On sale there are models of repellers operating on conventional and solar batteries.
Various traps and traps are used, which do not work to scare or warn animals, but help to get rid of them radically. Traps can be made independently or bought ready-made in specialized stores. A simple, but proven and effective way is to bury an old pot or a glass jar in the place of the found passage. The mole passage can be found along the hills dug into the ground. Tunnels are located between the molehills at a shallow depth. Find the void by sticking a long knife into the ground.
In the place where the passage passes, a layer of earth is removed, a small hole is dug and a trap is set. The neck should remain at ground level. The pit with the trap must be covered with a sheet of metal or plywood. The mole, appearing to check the move, will fall into a buried container. Experienced fishermen have come up with a good way to get rid of the pest with the help of such a tool. A stick is placed in the hole, hooks are laid out on both sides of the tunnel. When checking the course, the animal falls for such a kind of bait.
Another trap that will help get rid of the pest is to attach doors to the galvanized iron cylinder that will open inward. The trap is placed in a hole, and the mole, moving from any direction, inevitably falls into it.
You can dig a fresh mound in the old fashioned way and wait for the owner to appear. When you see him approaching by the movement of the earth, quickly place the animal on a shovel and throw it into a bucket. But you can get rid of shrews faster and easier by installing up to ten store-bought traps on the site. If they do not come across underground inhabitants for a long time, change the location of the traps. It is necessary to arrange them in rubber gloves, so as not to frighten away the mole with their own smell.
Mole hunting is suitable for those who are able to stay in one place for a long time, while not moving. To hunt animals in order to get rid of them forever, such means as a mole catcher and a mole slaughterer will help. They are sold in markets and shops. To install the device, the owner of the site will first need to dig a working hole. Experienced mole-catchers advise to boil it in juniper water before installing the device, in which you also wash your hands. This will help eliminate the metallic smell and aroma of grease. Because if the animal smells them, it will dig a new move, and it will not be possible to catch it in the old place. Be sure to secure the structure with a rod so that the mole does not move it.
There are products on sale, mixing which with the potential food of the animal will be a deadly poison for him. This is an inhumane, but effective way that will help get rid of the underground pest dramatically.
Inefficient Methods
Not very effective means of getting rid of annoying shrews include sticks stuck into the ground, on which metal cans are placed, rods with plastic bottles put on them, home-made turntables. Moles have almost no vision, but hearing organs are highly developed. These devices are designed for this, the subsequent noise from which on the site will be able to scare away the owner of the garden or vegetable garden rather than the animals. Turntables are made from a metal pipe and a tin can. The pipe is dug into the ground to a depth of 1 – 5 meters, a jar with notches in the form of blades is attached to it. Similarly, a spinner is made from plastic bottles. The desire to dig plastic or glass bottles at the entrances to the holes at an angle of 2 degrees so that they create noise when the wind blows into the neck, most often turns out to be ineffective.
Since the sense of smell of underground inhabitants is developed no less than hearing, minks are filled with various means in order to get rid of moles forever. Apply ammonia and kerosene. Pieces of material impregnated with liquids are placed on the surface near the exits from the tunnels. Even if such rags are laid out near all the passages, the moles will quickly begin to build new underground structures, bypassing the unpleasantly smelling repellers. It is also ineffective to fill them in a hole, and to put spoiled food there, such as rotten herring heads. They are kept for several days in the sun, then laid out in holes.
Imagine what kind of smell will stand on the site. Pouring gasoline into holes and igniting it is dangerous for humans. Falling asleep in the mink of broken glass, red pepper, razor blades, mothballs will not help either. The use of firecrackers and smoke bombs will not only be ineffective, but will become an unsafe activity that is best avoided. The mole, even if frightened for a while, will definitely return.
Prevention
Preventive measures to prevent the appearance of underground inhabitants on the site involve the use of effective methods. These include modern electronic scarers, which can be purchased at a special store. Even for prevention, it is necessary to place propellers around the perimeter of the garden or garden, which will create vibration. She can scare away the moles. The creation of small and compacted earth shafts at the border of a garden plot or vegetable garden using sand and crushed stone will help prevent shrews from appearing on the site.
To prevent the appearance of moles on the site, digging a fine metal galvanized mesh into the ground will help. It is permissible to use a plastic mesh instead. It should be dug to a depth of 2 meters. On the surface, leave about 15 cm of the net, which you attach to the fence. When installing the mesh, be extremely careful – if you get into an undesirable place, you can damage the structure.
Video “How to protect your site from moles”
If you are tired of these annoying rodents that are trying to spoil your garden or vegetable garden, then be sure to watch the following video, which contains the best recommendations for solving this problem.
