Moles in themselves are pretty cute creatures that don't bother anyone while living in the wild. However, climbing to your summer cottage, they can cause great damage. Destroying moles can be a daunting task, especially in large areas. Sometimes it is not possible to lime the underground inhabitants on their own, then you have to turn to special services that deal with rodents professionally.
Have you seen moles
The enemy must be known in person. Sometimes a gardener digs new burrows day after day and at the same time he will never meet nocturnal animals. Outwardly, they resemble rats, but somewhat larger. They dig the earth and damage the roots, and they can also take root crops under the ground. This sometimes leads to the complete death of the crop. On the territory of Russia there lives an ordinary mole, Caucasian and small. They live in gardens, meadows and fields. Almost all life is spent underground, and on the surface appear only at night. Gray, with powerful clawed legs and a pink nose, it is completely blind. Moles feed on worms and grubs, bugs and various insects.
What attracts them to the summer cottage
The destruction of moles is not a necessity in the meadows. Here they quite calmly maintain the optimal number of insects and loosen the earth. Every spring, moles breed, and the kids grow very quickly. In just a month they reach the size of their parents. Why do they come to human territory? The garden is a real paradise. The earth is loose, fertilized, watered. With this food - more than enough. To those where there are many plants, there are insects, larvae, worms and various insects.
By the way, thinking about the destruction of moles, do not forget that they are happy to devour mice that come to the site for carrots and other root crops and grain. At the same time, in the summer cottage, moles are not afraid of their natural enemies - forest predators. Now it’s clear that moles will definitely try to settle on a summer cottage if they get in the way. In this case, a person begins to notice the convex, loosened earth above the tunnels.
When to start a fight
A novice gardener, having noticed the first molehill, may decide that this creature will work as a nurse in his garden. This is a big mistake. The destruction of moles should be carried out as quickly as possible. They lay their moves shallow, and multiply very quickly. Soon the entire surface of the earth will be covered with mounds, which will lead to the death of landings.
It will be harder to get rid of a whole family than one or two animals, so do not pull. Each gardener decides independently what to do with mole rats. They drive them away and poison, set traps, fill holes with toxic smoke. Let's look at which method is the most effective.
Prevention
Not such a harmful creature is the mole. The destruction of them by physical methods is not an urgent need, so it is best to simply prevent their penetration into the site. Contrary to the opinion of many gardeners, they do not eat root vegetables, although a course dug under a bed with carrots can lead to the death of plants. So, even before the mole rats wandered into the area, you need to install sound repellers. For this, home-made turntables (noisers) made from plastic bottles or cans are well suited. A metal pipe is dug into the ground, and a can is put on top. Spinning in the wind, she knocks on metal, which scares moles.
A more advanced way is digging cans into the ground into which inexpensive alarms are placed. They are set at different times and periodically checked to replace the batteries. Along the perimeter of the site, you can install glass bottles that are buried in the ground at about an angle of 45 degrees, leaving the neck outside so that the wind blows in them. In addition, it is recommended to plant a strip of legumes around the perimeter of the site and arrange timely measures to combat mice. It is considered to be a very effective way to enclose the entire perimeter with a metal mesh, which is dug to a depth of 50-80 cm. Its top can act as a fence or just rise by 10-20 cm.
If the mole is already on the site
All of these methods involve scaring away those animals that just pass near your site. If they seem convincing to him, then the mole will turn past and settle down somewhere else. And if you already see the dug moves? Do not forget that it is best to do so to avoid destruction. The mole can leave by itself, or, removing it from the ground, a humane gardener should just take the animal away to the meadow, where to leave it.
Today, some summer residents use firecrackers. To do this, they are set on fire and thrown into the passages throughout the site. Not the best way, because the animal can get a strong concussion and as a result die within a day. Therefore, it is better to adopt folk methods.
Mole is very sensitive to odors.
On this you can play well and completely painlessly scare away the animals. The destruction of moles in the area is an extreme measure. So, to scare insectivorous animals, you need to buy the simplest fish, such as herring, and keep it in a warm place. When the fish is rotten, it is recommended to arrange it in small tin jars with holes and bury it in different places in the garden where there are molehills.
In a similar way, garlic and camphor work. Few animals can withstand such a sharp aroma. Garlic is cut into small pieces, mixed with camphor, after which this mixture is placed directly in the mole hole. The destruction of moles in the suburban area may be more radical in nature. For example, carbide is laid in holes, which during irrigation will emit acetylene.
Physical violence
Molehills, molehills and traps are a sure means of destroying moles, but you can argue about its humanity. Someone makes home traps from fishing hooks, using a worm as bait. Others simply install them in the aisles so that the animal stumbles on hooks. In this case, you provide him with a slow and painful death. This also applies to traps. It is much better to set a trap with a bait. In this case, you can take the captured animal and release it into the wild.
Chemistry in our house
To date, there are many drugs that guarantee the destruction of moles on the site. Prices are very reasonable, so summer residents often choose this method as one of the simplest and most effective. There are drugs that are recommended to be mixed with minced meat, while others themselves have an attractive aroma.
- The bait "Anticrot". This is a very powerful poison. You only need to carefully break the course and put 15 g of bait in it. Now carefully cover the hole with earth. A sign of the eaten bait will be the lack of new activity, that is, the hole. Cost - from 20 rubles per 30 g.
- Granules "Hammerboy". This is an effective tool that is readily eaten by pests. Moles usually find and eat it in two hours. Cost - about 25 rubles for 60 g.
If you entrust the matter to professionals
Not always listed methods lead to positive results. If you tried everything, but the animals continue to walk around the site, it is worth inviting a special team. In this case, you are guaranteed to receive a full cleaning of the site. Professionals are well aware of the habits of animals, they can evaluate abandoned and used burrows and use special compounds that cause them to feel panic. I must say that this is also a humane "destruction" of moles. The price will, of course, be higher than for standard poisons. So, processing a plot of 5 acres will cost 6500 p., Up to 10 acres - 8500 p. After deratization, the animals will bypass the site side. Moreover, the effect persists for years.
Instead of a conclusion
The mole is not the most pleasant neighbor, but, on the other hand, is not such a malicious pest. Therefore, I would like to turn to summer residents so that they do not adopt such methods as the use of traps and fishing hooks. Moles are not so guilty that it is under your lawn that many tasty larvae live. And if you notice the first mole, you will go to the site on the morning dawn. At this time, the animal can be found at the exit of the mink. Then you can simply pry it off with a quick movement of the shovel, take it away and let it go.