Mole Facts!
Mole activity can also cause considerable damage to lawns, gardens, property and underground utilities. They create massive tunnel systems that destroy landscaping, weaken tree roots, sprinkler systems and much more. Moles can quickly colonize and spread through adjacent residential properties if not dealt with. Because they need a well-established tunnel network to survive, control will be more difficult the longer they are allowed to tunnel and become habituated.
A 5 ounce mole will consume 45-50 lbs of worms and insects each year.
They consume up to 100% of their body weight in food a day!
They consume up to 100% of their body weight in food a day!
Moles do no bite and carry almost no disease. Only of the lowest disease carrying mammals on earth. Nothing seems to wipe them out.
Moles have to eat every three to four hours. Worms/Grubs/Seeds/Bulbs/Roots
Moles do not hibernate!
Moles do not hibernate!
In just 20 minutes, a mole can excavate 10 pounds of soil or an amount equivalent to nearly 50 times its own body weight! There are three types of moles in the NW. (Townsend, Pacific, California).
A mole can tunnel at the rate of 18 feet per hour and can construct 150 ft of tunnels in a single day. It can speed through an established tunnel at 80 feet per minute.
Moles contain twice as much blood and twice as much red hemoglobin as other mammals of similar size, allowing the mole to breath easily in its underground environment of low oxygen and high carbon dioxide. Trying to smoke them out is a waste of time.
Moles can move backwards almost as rapidly as forwards, and can swim faster than they can dig! Moles have been seen swimming through creeks.
Moles mate from January to February depending on temperature, producing young only once a year. The young, averaging three to a litter, are born from late March to early May and live for 3 years and longer.
The mounds you see are only a fraction of the damage these creatures are causing. Less than 10% of activity results in mounds.