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COLUMN: Reclaiming Property From Moles

Moles are hairless, beady-eyed, web-footed animals about 4 to 7 inches long that leave visible tunnels running just under the soil.

Moles prefer loose, moist soil full of grubs and earthworms, which can be problematic for landowners and gardeners. Moles are extremely beneficial animals as they remove many damaging insects and grubs from lawns and gardens, as well as aerate the soil. However, their burrowing habits can disfigure lawns and parks, loosen the soil around shallow rooted plants, and create havoc in small garden plots. For small areas, such as flowerbeds or small gardens, a metal or hardware cloth fence should be installed and buried to a depth of at least one foot and bent out at a 90-degree angle. This will not be practical for large areas.

There are many techniques to rid the property of moles, including scaring them away with vibrational devices, using chemical products, toxic baits, or fumigants. Most of these are not highly effective.

The most successful and practical method of getting rid of moles is trapping. Traps are well suited to moles because the mole springs them when following its instinct to reopen obstructed passageways. Success or failure in the use of these devices depends largely on the operator's knowledge of the mole's habits and of the trap mechanism.

A popular style of mole trap is the harpoon or impaling-type trap. This style has sharp spikes that impale the mole when the spring-loaded spikes are driven into the ground. Select a place in the surface runway where there is evidence of fresh mole activity and where the burrow runs in a straight line.

Dig out a portion of the burrow, locate the tunnel, and replace the soil, packing it firmly where the trigger pan will rest. Once the location is determined, the trap is set by raising the spring, setting the safety catch, and pushing the supporting spikes into the ground, one on either side of the runway. The trigger pan should just touch the earth where the soil is packed down. Release the safety catch and allow the impaling spike to be forced into the ground, which will allow the spike to penetrate the burrow when the trap is sprung by the mole later. Now the trap is set and should not be disturbed. Also, there should be no disturbance to any other portion of the mole's runway.

If a trap fails to catch a mole after two days, it can mean the mole has changed its habits, the runway was disturbed too much, the trap was improperly set, or it was detected by the mole. In any event, move the trap to a new location and try again. Moles are very important animals and should only be trapped when they are creating a significant problem. Their benefits far outweigh the damage they cause under most circumstances.

Also, verify that moles are the cause of your damage and not gophers, which create conical shaped mounds rather than long visible runways in the lawn. Gophers are typically found in sandy soils.

Sherry Clark is the Cherokee County OSU Extension ag and 4-H educator.

Have You Seen This TERRIFYING Animal In TBay?

Our listener Mel told us that she saw this TERRIFYING looking creature in her backyard….Scroll down to the the photos…if you dare!

The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is one of nature's most fascinating and unique creatures. Native to North America, this small, burrowing mammal is easily recognizable by its distinctive star-shaped nose. Here are some fun and intriguing facts about this remarkable mole:

1. The Star-Nose: A Marvel of Evolution

The star-nosed mole gets its name from the 22 fleshy appendages that ring its snout, forming a star-like shape. These appendages are incredibly sensitive, containing over 25,000 minute sensory receptors known as Eimer's organs. This makes the mole's nose one of the most sensitive touch organs in the animal kingdom, allowing it to detect the smallest of prey in complete darkness.

2. Speedy Eater

The star-nosed mole is renowned for its eating speed. It holds the title for the world's fastest forager, taking as little as 120 milliseconds to identify and consume its prey. This rapid feeding behavior helps the mole survive in its competitive underground environment.

3. Exceptional Swimmers

Unlike most moles, the star-nosed mole is an excellent swimmer. It can paddle through water with ease and is often found hunting for aquatic insects, small fish, and crustaceans. This adaptability allows it to thrive in both terrestrial and aquatic environments, such as marshes and wetlands.

4. Burrowing Experts

These moles are skilled diggers, creating complex tunnel systems underground. Their powerful front claws allow them to excavate soil efficiently, creating networks of tunnels that can span up to 300 feet. These burrows provide safe havens from predators and access to their primary food sources.

5. Unique Respiratory Adaptations

The star-nosed mole has adapted to its low-oxygen environment by developing a high tolerance for carbon dioxide. This adaptation enables it to thrive in poorly ventilated burrows and underwater for extended periods.

6. Poor Eyesight, Incredible Sense of Touch

Star-nosed moles have very poor eyesight, but they more than compensate for this with their extraordinary sense of touch. Their star-shaped nose allows them to detect subtle vibrations and textures, enabling them to navigate and hunt effectively in complete darkness.

7. Social Creatures

Unlike many other mole species, star-nosed moles are somewhat social. They often share their burrows with other moles and have been observed engaging in social behaviors. This social structure may provide added protection and efficiency in hunting and tunneling.

8. Breeding and Lifecycle

Female star-nosed moles give birth to litters of 2 to 7 young after a gestation period of about 45 days. The young are born blind and hairless but develop quickly, becoming independent within a month. They reach sexual maturity at around 10 months old.

9. A Unique Foraging Technique

When hunting, star-nosed moles use a unique technique called "mole snapping." They rapidly tap their star-shaped nose on the ground, detecting prey with incredible speed and precision. This behavior allows them to consume a wide variety of small invertebrates and insects.

10. Ecosystem Role

Star-nosed moles play a crucial role in their ecosystems. By preying on insects and small invertebrates, they help control pest populations. Their burrowing activity also aerates the soil, promoting healthy plant growth and nutrient cycling.

The star-nosed mole is a testament to the wonders of evolution, showcasing how unique adaptations can lead to remarkable survival strategies. Whether it's their lightning-fast foraging skills, exceptional sensory capabilities, or their role in the ecosystem, these moles continue to intrigue and amaze scientists and nature enthusiasts alike.

Airborne DNA Could Help Scientists Find Elusive Animals

A UK-based team says they were able to pull genetic material from the air and correctly identify the species it belonged to, an exciting leap for the field of environmental DNA. The technique of sampling an environment for DNA to figure out what organisms inhabit it, known as environmental DNA or eDNA, is regularly used to study terrestrial and marine environments: Simply see what molecular fragments can be found on a forest floor or floating in the sea, and you'll know what creature recently passed through. Now, they've taken DNA directly from the air in an animal's burrow.

Published today in the journal PeerJ, the research describes a lab set-up in which they were able to detect airborne DNA. The test organisms were a group of naked mole rats, set up in a makeshift burrow of pipes and tanks at the Queen Mary University of London. The research team stuck a hose into the animals' tank and pulled air into it, which fed into a filter usually used for marine eDNA sampling. Then, the researchers ran genetic testing on the filter (which substitutes for the animal tissue that normally would be tested for genetic material) and, to their surprise, were able to identify the rats purely from genetic material that was floating around in the burrow's airspace.

"I tend to think of it a bit like soup," said lead author Elizabeth Clare, a molecular ecologist at Queen Mary University of London, in a video call. "We're in the soup, and it contains dust and pollen and bits of DNA floating around... It's one of those things where you have to have a leap of faith to even try it."

The team wasn't sure they'd get anything from the experiment. While eDNA is commonplace in the realms of land and sea research, things move differently in the air. Molecular fragments need to be filtered out of the medium they're floating in to be read, and things dissipate in air quickly if you're not in an enclosed space (hence why outdoor coronavirus transmission is less likely than indoors). That's why Clare's team started with the mole rats, an enigmatic species that scuttles about in networks of narrow subterranean tunnels. After they successfully detected mole rat DNA in the tunnel's air, they broadened their testing to the lab itself. They were able to pick up human DNA in the air—their own.

"The first question was pretty risky: Is there DNA in the air? The answer is yes, and we can capture it," Clare said. "The next question has to get more risky: Can we do it under more difficult circumstances?"

The implications for airborne DNA detection are large. Clare does fieldwork with bats, whose habit of staying in dark, cavernous spaces or tiny chambers often prevents researchers from accessing bat colonies. EDNA in the air (to be called airDNA or maybe eDNAir—they're working on it) would allow researchers to broaden their observational horizons. Wherever it's employed, the molecular detection method serves as a sort of biological roll call where species can phone in rather than needing to be directly observed.

eDNA is a source of optimism for conservationists desperate to get a pulse on endangered or elusive animals. It's useful for knowing all the characters in an ecological niche or understanding which animals survived disasters like the Australian wildfires. Down the road—way down it—Clare hopes that airborne DNA collection could help create a live map of biodiversity in a chosen area.

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