Moles are animals that live in a subterranean environment. (That's a fancy way of saying they live underground!) Because they have subterranean habits, their eyes have become practically unnecessary to them. One of their most recognized features is that, on first glance, one may believe them to not have eyes at all! However, they do have eyes, very small eyes that are often covered with fur.
Other physical characteristics of the mole include a very small tail and fur that is omni-directional, like velvet. This is useful because it does not constrict them from moving either forward or backward in their tunnels. Moles do not hibernate - they are active 365 days a years. Although they are active all year, it's only when their food supply is near the surface of the ground that we see their tunnels below. Moles go for protein, making meals out of just about any type of bug, worm, or insect. (There is a misnomer that moles eat the roots of plants, but that is simply not true. They DO, however, sometimes uproot plants with their tunnels, and for this they are often considered pests.)
When it comes to controlling moles, All Wildlife Removal Service does it the old-fashioned way... Through trapping. There is poison bait that can be used but our experience has taught us that it's limited and therefore, the only time we use poison bait is if, for example, your moles are tunneling under brick pavers and there is no other way to reach them. At All Wildlife Removal Service we've found that it's very difficult to get results with poison because moles sense the presence of something foreign in their tunnel and it often takes a long time for them to access the bait. Remember, moles do not normally eat inanimate objects.
The All Wildlife Removal Service mole-trapping program is commonly a three- to four-week long program, during which time we get control of the property. Once there are no new tunnels and we see no activity in the yard, we will consider the pest animals trapped and the area controlled. You will see the damage begin to recede along the middle of your property first. As control continues, you'll see more and more damage go away towards the fringe of your property.
Unfortunately, once we gain control, there is no guarantee that new moles won't move in and take over. Or how quickly that may happen. In some cases, there will be no re-infestation that year. And in some cases, there may be re-infestation within just a few weeks. If there are minimal amounts of new moles, we will remove them for a fee. If it looks like re-infestation will continue through migration from other areas, the only way to keep control is through a maintenance program.
The general rule of thumb when dealing with moles is if your property backs up to woods or your neighbors have moles, you can anticipate an influx from outside properties and you should anticipate that you will need a maintenance program. If your property does not have surrounding mole areas, it is possible that a simple trapping program will be effective in getting and keeping control of the problem moles. The unfortunate truth is that, when it comes to mole control, nothing is definite.
For example, here at All Wildlife Removal Service, we've had situations where there was no evidence of any other mole activity outside the perimeter of the property. Yet after we controlled and removed the first moles, others still moved in. We've performed other jobs where the property backed up to woods - and yet there was never a re-infestation. Then there was the mole removal job were the home owner's had neighbors on all surrounding sides with mole infestations of their own... But (you guessed it) the property where we ran a trapping program never had a re-infestation!
Mole behavior is, as you can see, very difficult to predict. Most pest control and wildlife removal companies do not handle "mole work" at all. Those companies that do will often not offer any guarantee that they'll catch even a few moles.
As for the "how's and whys" of a mole trapping program, there is some information that many homeowners who are in need of this type of service find useful. For example, mole traps are difficult to use because they are run half in the ground, half out. Heavy rains can cause the earth to solidify around traps, making them inoperable. When you get colder weather and the ground is freezing and thawing, this can cause traps to trigger on their own. Generally, All Wildlife Removal Service shies away from doing any kind of mole work during the colder months of the year. For the sake of the homeowner, we prefer not to trap moles during autumn as well. In the past we've gotten control of a mole situation during the fall months - and then an influx of new moles arrives during the winter. We believe these homeowners are wasting their money. After all, they wouldn't have had new mole activity during the winter if we hadn't removed the first ones during the fall.
During a trapping program, we tend to run mole work once a week. Geographically, All Wildlife Removal Service concentrates in two sections of New Jersey - Princeton and Monmouth County - and we often run "specials" in those areas.
The only warranty we can provide for moles is a maintenance contract. In a maintenance program, All Wildlife Removal Service will get control and keep control. We run as many traps as possible when the program begins in order to gain control as quickly as possible. During a maintenance program, we run traps every two to three weeks and/or whenever the homeowner calls for action.
For a regular (non-maintenance contract) three- to four-week program on an average-size property in our special areas of Princeton and Monmouth County, you can expect a mole trapping program to be approximately $950.00. A maintenance contract for one year would be approximately $2500 - $6500+, depending on the size of your property. Be aware, these prices are only rough general guidelines and they are not in any way set in stone.