Don’t worry, you are not alone. I have had more calls over the last 2 weeks than I care to remember!

So why is this happening? Well actually we know very little about our little fury fiends – pest controllers know more than scientists in most cases as no real study has ever been made of moles.

In basic terms, It’s the same for all pest species – they need food, shelter and of course sex.

At this time of the year, the worms seem to come to the surface and there are many worm casts appearing on lawns. This is the main reason for the moles to follow them – its the food source they are looking for. Over the summer, they have been foraging deep underground where the soil is damp – the long hot summer has pushed the worms deep down.

Now, with the rain and dews appearing pretty much each day, the moles and filling up in readiness for the winter – mammals know the seasons very well. They will also be looking to find a territory for breeding in the spring at this time of year. The main thing is not to let them get too established.

I visited a customer over in Alton last week – it seems a long way off patch but he was desperate to get rid of the problem and I will always do what I can to help. Basically, the client had been trying to catch them himself, which is fair enough, but one thing you do need to have is experience to catch moles. My Granddad taught me many years ago, and to this day I remember just about every word. I also still have a few of his traps and they work so well to this day.

This particular job was big. I laid 22 traps on the first visit just on the lawn area, plus gassed the field area extensively as well. On my first return visit, I had a few false positive trips – very annoying, but always expected when the moles have been “educated” by the customer (moles are not stupid and they know danger when it appears. They use smell and touch to determine that there is something suspicious in their run, then they force dirt into the hole to block it – pretty clever eh?).

So after re-setting, laying a few more traps in the new workings and a bit of gassing, I left the traps until the next visit.

The next visit was very different. I had 3 moles and no new working. The client was completely amazed by this as he had not caught a single mole in a year of trying! I just used a few little tricks taught to me by Granddad, and hey presto, problem sorted.

So, rather than letting things get out of hand and wasting loads of money on “mole scarers” (I still don’t know if they work or not…but I have my doubts!), just call in the mole catcher experts from Rapid Pest Control.

By the way, If you’re up there watching down Granddad, I did listen to you and what you said still works today!