Wildlife watch: moles
Moles can often be thought of as a bit of a nuisance in the garden, but they do valuable work beneath the soil. Kate Bradbury shares more about why gardeners should embrace these underground creatures
Rarely seen, the mole (Talpa europaea) has the most gorgeous crushed-velvet fur, huge shovel-like paws, a bright pink snout, and tiny eyes. It lives underground, using its paws to dig tunnels and hunt for earthworms and other soil invertebrates, such as carrot fly larvae. You’re most likely to see molehills than the moles themselves. These are heaps of soil which moles push to the surface from shallow tunnels. However, most mole tunnels are deeper underground. They vary in depth, with the deepest tunnels used in times of drought. Each tunnel system has at least one nest chamber, used for sleeping and breeding.
Moles are solitary but in late winter males expand their territories, in search of females. Females give birth to three or four pups in spring. The young become independent after four weeks and leave to set up their own territories after five to six weeks. They tend to come above ground to disperse, which is when you’re most likely to see them. They are sexually active the following year.
How to help moles
The best thing to do for moles is to let them get on with being moles. It may be frustrating when they create molehills in your borders, but recognising the valuable work they do beneath the surface of the soil, and using the friable soil from their molehills to sow seeds should help compensate for any disruption in the garden.
It should go without saying that you should avoid using any pesticides in the garden, that includes weedkillers and insecticide, which leach into the soil and can harm earthworms and other invertebrates that moles eat.
More wildlife inspiration:
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