The mole

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The mole

All about the mole

Omnipresent in our environment, the mole remains mysterious, however: many misconceptions are still circulating about him. Remember:

You only get rid of the one you know best!

  • Burrowing mammal capable of lifting twenty times its own weight
  • Not present in Corsica, Ouessant and Ré
  • Oversized, backhoe-like front legs
  • A subtle sense of smell
  • Myopic, but sensitive to light intensity
  • Highly developed hearing, but invisible ears
  • A tail always in contact with the top of the gallery
  • A fine, velvet-like coat for progressing through narrow galleries
  • Lungs twice as large as normal, for breathing underground
  • She’s not a hemophiliac
  • You can’t drown it, because it swims underwater
  • It hates draughts, a fault we’re going to use to trap it.

Mole’s nest, located under the molehill / Taup’Green

The Mole in Figures

A 12-hour fast kills it, which is why the mole stocks up on worms and stores them in a gallery near its nest.
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The average length of the gallery network varies from 200 to 250m, for a single mole!
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Depending on the amount of earthworms in your soil, there can be from 5 to 50 moles per hectare.
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Mole litters consist of 3 to 5 young Moles give birth in spring The young stay with their mother for about 1 month to nurse.
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The mole lives from 4 to 6 years, dying when its teeth are worn down by the abrasive sand in the soil.
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The enlarged shape of its forelimbs enables it to dig up to 20 metres of tunnels per day!
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The Mole in pictures

The mole, although often omnipresent in our environment, remains a creature surrounded by mysteries and misunderstandings. An impressive burrowing mammal, it is capable of lifting up to twenty times its weight thanks to its powerful, excavator-like front legs, and its velvet-thin coat allows it to move easily through narrow galleries. It is absent from the islands of Corsica, Ouessant and Ré, and despite its myopia, its sensitivity to light, its highly developed sense of smell and its sharp hearing allow it to navigate with precision. Its lungs, twice as large as those of other mammals, are adapted to breathing underground, while its ability to swim underwater belies the myth that it can be drowned. Sensitive to air currents, this characteristic can be exploited for effective trapping methods. Knowing these peculiarities is crucial to manage the presence of the mole appropriately.