The status of the European Mole Talpa europaea L. as an agricultural pest and its management

Abstract

Although the pest status of the European Mole Talpa europaea L. in Britain has never been adequately assessed, it is perceived as being a pest of agricultural and amenity land and is widely persecuted. We review the Mole's pest status, and evaluate current and proposed control methods. While there has been a recent decline in the demand for strychnine, abuse of this poison leads annually to the death of many wild and domestic animals. The need remains for a humane, practical and safe alternative. If strychnine were banned without such an alternative being available, the use of mole‐traps would probably increase. Through post‐mortem examination of trapped Moles we evaluate the humaneness of these traps. Our returned questionnaires showed that, while most farmers perceive Moles as pests, the damage which is attributed to them is slight on the great majority of farms. Control of Moles was none the less common and widespread, and was undertaken by 49.5% of respondents in 1992. Perceived pest status and the favoured method of control varied regionally; these trends may be related to soil quality and cultivation type. Silage pollution was the most widely cited agricultural problem attributed to Moles. Practical measures to reduce silage pollution by Moles are discussed, particularly with regard to silage collection and treatment using bacteriophages. The efficiency of these additives merits detailed study because they have the potential, regardless of whether pollution has occurred or not, to improve the quality of the silage to an extent that killing Moles may be unnecessary; less than 1% of respondents reported that 10% or more of their silage was seriously affected by Mole activity.

Not in My Backyard: Public Perceptions of Wildlife and ‘Pest Control’ in and around UK Homes, and Local Authority ‘Pest Control’

“…This may be no surprise given that the welfare of pest animals has generally been undervalued [18,30]. It might seem inconsistent to value the life and welfare of one wild vertebrate so much less than that of another, but less humane treatment may be tolerated because of a perceived 'need' to control certain species [18,77]. Indeed, less humane control methods are allowed in the UK for certain species.…”

Mechanical Performance of Rat, Mouse and Mole Spring Traps, and Possible Implications for Welfare Performance

“…We measured impact momentum and clamping force in a range of break-back traps for rats and mice, and in several brands of three mole spring trap types. Without data relating mechanical trap performance to time to insensibility in trapped animals, or information regarding the possibility of different strike locations (except, in part, for moles (Baker et al, unpublished data, and [10] ), we are unable to make judgements about the absolute levels of welfare impact associated with the traps tested. However by demonstrating several-fold variation in mechanical performance among traps for use with either rats, mice or moles, and considerable overlap in performance between mouse and rat traps, we have highlighted the potential welfare threat associated with their exemption from the UK approval process.…”

“…The jig protected the dynamic load cell from non-axial strikes, which could cause incorrect measurements and damage to the load cells (non-axial strikes were possible when testing the three types of mole trap). We assumed the diameter of a mole to be 40 mm at the likely point of capture (thorax, thorax/abdomen or abdomen (Baker et al, unpublished data)), as reported by Atkinson et al [10] , and adapted the load-cells using the spacers described for testing rat traps. Clamping force was measured for all 20 mole traps of each trap type/manufacturer combination and impact momentum recorded for 10 of the 20 traps of each.…”

How moles contribute to colonization success of water voles in grassland: implications for control

“…The interactions between T. europaea populations and the environment can be highly beneficial, as emphasized by studies of their role in plot drainage (Lysikov 1982) and transport of chemicals from deep soil horizons towards the surface (Abaturov 1972;Watt 1974;Goszczynska & Goszczynski 1977) and their impact on plant biodiversity (Davies 1966;Jalloq 1975;Goszczynska & Goszczynski 1977;Skoczen, Szot & Dabrowska 1983), soil moisture (Skoczen et al 1976;Goszczynska & Goszczynski 1977) and the growth of forest species (Lysikov 1982). However, humane methods of pest control have been sought to combat the sporadic nuisances caused by T. europaea activity locally (Rudge 1963;Ennik 1967;Milner & Ball 1970;Davies 1966;Schaefer 1981;Gorman & Stone 1989;Stone 1989;Atkinson, Macdonald & Johnson 1994;Gorman & Lamb 1994;Edwards, Crawley & Heard 1999;Skorupska 2000). Current methods of pest control over large areas invariably involve chemical applications.…”