Well the pest season is off to a flying start and Moles seem to be the main problem. Pest Purge are a traditional pest control company trapping moles humanely underground. My first six calls this year were all mole jobs in Charing heath, Lenham Heath, Tunstall, Rodmersham, Bearsted and Wychling. It seems that our common garden pest the mole is digging up lawns everywhere. My preferred trapping method is the duffus trap.

Moles are on the increase with some estimated 35-40 million in the UK. Increasing due to the banned use of strychnine to poison them and also with foot and mouth disease, mole trappers were unable to move around the country to ply their trade. Gassing is an alternative solution using the highly dangerous phosphine gas to get rid of them.

Moles are pretty much blind, but move about using their acute smell and touch, moles also have excellent hearing, they are 12-18cm long and weigh c60-130g. They eat insects, grubs and worms. Solitary animals until the female comes on heat and they mate in the spring. The female mole has 3-6 young and young moles start tunnelling around 8 weeks when they disperse. Dispersal time is a dangerous time for moles as the young moles move away from their mothers above ground, they are sexually mature around one year. On average they live for three years, occasionally up to six.

It is estimated that moles can tunnel up to three miles a day! Keep an eye on your lawns and keep the moles away by calling Pest Purge.