Mole density varies according to the composition and structure of the soil and the environment of your property (proximity to forest, meadows, etc.). Depending on your region, there can be from 5 to 30 moles per hectare in a lawn.
One mole can make up to 30 molehills.
The first intervention consists of mass mole removal (up to 100 mole traps per hectare).
Two successive operations are generally required.
Caution: PH3 (Hydrogen Phosphide) gas trapping is highly toxic and classified R40 (mutagenic and carcinogenic).
This technique is comparable to “pomegranate fishing”!
In fact, why kill all the life in the soil (earthworms, micro-organisms…. and only some of the moles) when a small mechanical trap (harmless to children and animals) is effective!
The molekeeper who uses PH3 gas must notify the prefecture 48 hours before each operation and prohibit access for 48 hours, signposted “highly toxic treatments”, which is rarely the case!
ATTENTION, BE VERY CAREFUL, even if the gas mole-keeper insists and tells you that it’s his business to deal with the prefecture, you’re not supposed to be unaware of the law (make sure you mention this on the estimate).
Since the beginning of 2006, due to the lack of flexibility in the use of gas and for safety reasons(following the death of animals and people – see press article here), local authorities have no longer been using the gas technique, which is now mainly reused for agricultural purposes.
This gas is banned in Germany and recently in Belgium.
This is the common name for the vole, which is a rodent that, unlike moles, feeds only on roots. Lazy by nature, it often squats in mole tunnels.
But rest assured, the presence of voles is very regional, with a strong presence in Auvergne and south-eastern France (there are no voles in Ile de France).
Traditional trapping is also very effective against voles.
The mole digs tunnels, weaves a spider’s web underground, and spends the whole day in these tunnels, which it has dug to eat earthworms.
When you dig a tunnel and then remove the earth, the mole does the same, forming molehills.
The other factor in the increase in the number of moles is that they have few, if any, predators left, apart from a few good country cats.
Quite simply because, after several years’ experience, I’ve come to realize that most trapping methods are either ineffective or dangerous for biodiversity. However, there are a multitude of products on the market to rid your garden of moles: repellents, ultrasound emitters, firecrackers, noxious gases… In general, private individuals buy an average of 2.5 products before getting rid of the mole.
Yes, there are gardens where cohabitation with a mole can be achieved without too many problems.
After the damage caused by the first molehills (mounds of earth), it can happen that once these have been razed, no molehills reappear.
The mole’s diet is made up of 90% earthworms. If the mole doesn’t persist in your garden, it’s probably because it’s not very fertile (so there aren’t many earthworms) and the mole will look for other land on its own, at your favorite neighbor’s perhaps?
Don’t store grass clippings at the bottom of your garden, as this is a veritable food reserve and increases the risk of moles by a factor of 10. You’ll also need a mesh screen at the bottom of your composter.
Yes, in Europe we mainly have the common mole “talpa Europaea”. but the most astonishing is the starry mole “condylure étoilé”. This strange mole is the fastest-eating mammal, thanks to the 22 tentacles that form its unrivalled nose (found in Canada).
The expression myopic as a mole is inaccurate. She does have small eyes, which make her vulnerable outside her galleries, but she can detect movement perfectly.
No, the best proof is that females give birth by placental delivery, which often causes severe hemorrhaging, but is not fatal. Placing brambles or crushed glass in their galleries is therefore ineffective.
(Sources: Traditional mole trapping, Ulmer Editions)
The mole is active every day, does not hibernate and must feed every 4 hours.
(Source: Jérôme Dormion Taupier of Taupe Green)