|
|
 Home  Xml
Feed  Submit Articles  Editor Login  Contact us |
 |
 |
|
|
As sweet and cute as moles may seem in story books, they can be the bane to your existence when they make their presence know by ruining turf, crops and drainage systems. In this article we will learn a few interesting mole facts and the treatment measures that are available to control them. Wikipedia has a few interesting mole facts that you may not have known: A mole's diet primarily consists of earthworms and other small invertebrates found in the soil and also a variety of nuts. Because their saliva contains a toxin that can paralyze earthworms, moles are able to store their still living prey for later consumption. They construct special underground "larders" for just this purpose—researchers have discovered such larders with over a thousand earthworms in them. Before eating earthworms, moles pull them between their squeezed paws to force the collected earth and dirt out of the worm's gut. Moles have been found to tolerate higher levels of carbon dioxide than other mammals. This is because their blood has a special and unique sort of hemoglobin protein found in their blood cells. Moles are able to re-use the oxygen it has inhaled when above ground and as a result are able to survive in low-oxygen environments such as underground burrows. Moles are ready and well suited to eat, live and work in their underground hideaways, which is why often times you may not see them until severe damage is done. There are two common methods of lawn insect control , Physical / mechanical control and chemical control. Included in physical and mechanical control is: • habitat modification,during which we treat the turf with insecticide to remove the moles primary food source, insects. This often fails because moles also eat earth worms which will not be effected by the professional insecticide. • Exclusion of moles by using a barrier fence can be effective, but the time and cost to install barrier fencing may not be a feasible option for homeowners or large businesses.If this is a viable option for your situation, ˝ inch mesh hardware cloth or sheet metal buried to a depth of 12 to 18 inches is recommended. • Live trapping of moles using pit fall traps can be constructed of large coffee cans or other similar containers and buried in planting beds along frequently used surface runs. The traps must be deep and steep-sided to prevent the mole from escaping once inside. But once you have trapped the mole, you had better know what to do with it. There are commercial lethal mole traps available to order from most pest control supplies. Chemical control of moles: • The use of toxic baits can be very effective in mole control. New earth wormshaped productshave reached the market and are very effective mole control. The baits would be placed in mole active runs. Be certain that they are not in reach of domestic animals. This may be the most straight forward and simple option for the DIY pest controller.
About the Author:
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mole control
