A Look at the Star-Nosed Mole
Since moles spend most of their time underground, they are rarely seen by the average homeowner. The average homeowner, however, really dislikes the evidence of their presence in the form of mounding and sub-surface tunnels.
Many people recognize mole damage in a yard, yet many people are unfamiliar with moles themselves.
We have three types of moles in Ohio: the eastern mole, the hairy-tailed mole, and the star-nosed mole. All of them are about the size of a chipmunk and gray in color. Their most prominent feature is large front paws with digging claws. These front paws look disproportionate to their body size.
Moles eat all kinds of worms, grubs, etc that live in the soil. They are eating machines. But, in order to eat, they travel around a yard moving dirt and sifting through it to find tasty treats.
This post deals primarily with star-nosed moles: perhaps the most intersting and weird to look at of our three species.
Below you can watch as Jeff explains some of the star-nosed mole habits and habitat. He also shows how he catches them
Star-Nosed Mole Trapping
This recent video is a great place to learn about the the star-nosed mole and how to trap them.
As pointed out, it is a good bet that star-nosed moles are in the area if the yard is exceptionally wet.
You’ll definitely recognize one when you see ithe 22 little tentacles on its nose.
Here is the picture from the video which shows a star-nosed mole next to an eastern mole. The nose is unmistakable.
For more on the star-nosed, this is a pretty cool (and short) video from the CBC which calls them the fastest eaters among mammals.
And here is a link to an article from the Ohio State Univeristy’s Agriculture Extension page on dealing with moles:
Mole Control via Trapping | Akron, Canton, Kent
If you have a lot of mole damage in your yard and would like to talk about our services to remove moles and minimie damage, give us a call.
We offer trapping services of moles which helpds decrease the problems their digging creates.
