[Urban Wildlife Control] Moles, Voles or Gophers?

The mole is most often the culprit when you find multiple burrows or mounds in lawns, golf courses, and parks. But voles or gophers can be responsible, too. While you may not find the animal during an inspection, certain characteristics of the burrows and runways can tell you which animal is the problem.

Moles. Moles spend almost all their time in underground burrows, rarely coming to the surface. They are loners occupying a large home range. Three to five moles/acre is considered a high population. Two to three is more common.
Moles like loose, moist soil with an abundance of worms and grubs. They are rarely problems where soil is hard, compact, and dry. A mole’s shallow “hunting” tunnels are usually in areas that are shady and cool. The deeper nest burrows are in higher, drier spots.

The twisting hunting runways are 5 to 8 inches beneath the surface of the ground and 1¼ to 1½ inches in diameter. The mole “swims” through the soil in these runways searching for worms, grubs, and other insects. The soil is usually pushed up in ridges so that the runway can be seen on the surface. These hunting tunnels tend to be shallower in spring and fall during wet weather, and deeper in summer and winter during dry or cold weather.

Since hunting tunnels are often used only once or twice and then abandoned, the number of tunnels in an area is not a good indicator of the number of moles present. To determine which runways are active, poke a hole in the runway with your finger. An active runway will be repaired, usually within a few hours.

The mole also digs deeper tunnels to connect hunting tunnels with nests. These deep runs are relatively straight and are marked not by ridges on the surface, but by “mole hills”…volcano-shaped mounds of pushed-up soil. Runways and nest burrows are often along edges of a fence, sidewalk, or other border.

Voles. Voles, or “meadow mice,” live in areas of heavy grass and weed cover. They use both above-ground runways and underground tunnels to move from place to place. The surface runways are 1 to 2 inches wide, vegetation may be clipped close to the ground and you may find pieces of vegetation and droppings in the runways. The extensive surface runway system will have numerous openings into underground tunnels below the surface. Nests are made of grass or other vegetation and are either on the surface or below ground.

Unlike moles, voles are rodents and vegetarians and can cause severe feeding damage to seedlings and crops. Voles often use mole runways as travel routes to reach seeds and roots, as do other mice and shrews.

Gophers. Pocket gophers are larger rodents found in the central and western United States. They thrive in light-textured, porous soils with good drainage where they spend most of their time in underground burrows.

Pocket gophers are also vegetarians, feeding on grasses, alfalfa, roots, seedling shrubs, and tree bark that they gather below ground or within a radius of a few inches from their burrow openings.

The burrow system consists of a main burrow 4 to 18 inches below the surface and about 3 inches wide, with a number of lateral burrows branching off. Some laterals are for gathering food and end at the surface with a fan-shaped soil mound and a plugged opening.

Pocket gophers usually construct one to three feeding mounds per day. Unlike moles, their burrowing does not leave a ridged tunnel at the surface. Other lateral burrows go deep (as much as six feet deep) and are used for nests and food storage.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from Techletter, a biweekly publication from Pinto & Associates, Mechanicsville, Md. To subscribe, visit www.techletter.com, or call 301/884-3020.

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Suffering from Snakes?
Having trouble with snakes? Here are some snake trapping tips from vertebrate pest expert Bobby Corrigan.

1. Air out the crawlspace using high-intensity fans and dehumidifiers and leave access panels open for snake or snakes to leave because they like it cool and damp during the day.
2. If the snake is trapped inside, you can place out about four pillowcases (one per wall) that are moistened but not wet. (Note that new pillowcases are inexpensive at any big box store.)
3. Place the case next to wall and prop one gap in the case open using a small rock to create about a 1-2 inch crevice. Sometimes the snakes are attracted to this because it simulates the conditions under rocks and logs. Check the case daily; you can usually see the bulge in the case. If snake is present, simply grab top of case twist and carry snake out to release a few miles from site. When used with fans, and if the snakes are making a home in the space, this often works. Note that these pillowcase “live-traps” work on essentially the same principle as do the commercial snake capture traps.
4. Some pest management professionals have found that wettable powder formulations of cypermethrin or pyrethroid insecticides, applied to the inner foundation walls of the crawl and out onto the crawl dirt for about 12-16 inches (when done for ants, and/or various occasional invaders), either repels the snakes out of the crawl, or may even be lethal to the snakes over a period of a few days.
5. Glue or rat traps placed along the interior foundation walls can sometimes capture snakes, the same way as is done for rodents. The wooden Victor snap traps with the expandable triggers probably work best. Try to look for the snake trails in the crawl dirt and place traps in those areas.
6. Glue traps also work, but snakes are often alive when found, and this can be messy. The snakes can be separated from the glue using ordinary cooking vegetable oil.
7. Assume the food source for the snakes (inside and around the home’s foundation area) has been considered, but this often is much harder to impact, i.e., wild mice, frogs, toads, large insects, small birds, etc.
8. Vegetation control around the home’s exterior perimeter as well as any items laying low to the ground must be controlled.
9. Any old cisterns, wells or tree stump holes (all areas that could be serving as a snake den) need to be identified and eliminated.
10. The new crawlspace must be tight. Sometimes the snakes are not living in the crawlspace, they are merely using it during the day to escape the summer heat. At night they go back out if the crawlspace has gaps or openings allowing them to do so. When remodelers, construction workers, etc., go into the spaces during the day, they see the snakes that came in from the outside the night before. — Bobby Corrigan

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A Squirrel in the House! Alternatives to Trapping
Squirrels get into buildings in a variety of ways: they drop down the chimney, they chew through an area of weak wood, they squeeze through unscreened vents. But once inside, it’s pandemonium for your client…a panicked squirrel ripping through the house, often chased by the dog or cat.

Of course, you can try to live-trap the squirrel, but that may not be necessary. With a little skill and luck, you might be able to herd him outside or net him.

Your customer can help you by first isolating the squirrel in a room. For instance, if he knows that the squirrel is in an upstairs bedroom, have him shut the door to that room. Conversely, if he’s not sure where the squirrel is, but he knows where it isn’t, ask him to close off those rooms that he thinks are “squirrel-free.” Try to confine the squirrel to one closed-off area of the home.

Your tools should include 1) a flashlight, 2) an animal catch pole, broomstick or other 4- to 6-foot pole, 3) a large fishing net and 4) animal handling gloves, welding gloves, or other extra heavy gloves.

If the squirrel hasn’t been located, you will have to search each room methodically. Close the door behind you and use the pole to prod in closets and under furniture. Be sure to close off each room after you’ve checked it.

Once you have the squirrel isolated in a room, if you’re lucky, you can simply open an outside door or windows and herd him in that direction. Like other rodents, squirrels like to follow the same pathways around a room. By placing objects to block its usual path, you might be able to funnel it towards a door or window, into your net, or even into a live trap.

If you net a squirrel, take it outside before trying to untangle it from the net. Grab it by the back of the neck with a gloved hand and work it out of the net. Be careful. Squirrels have a nasty bite and strong claws.

State or local laws may not allow you to release the squirrel. It may have to be killed. You may also need a special license to catch and release squirrels. Therefore, it’s important that pest management professionals check with their local regulators to ensure they are properly following all regulations prior to offering wildlife control services.
Source: Techletter

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Using Live Traps the Right Way
Live traps can be used to capture anything from mice to cougars. Most technicians that do trapping will be using live traps for squirrels, raccoons, opossums, skunks, ground hogs and animals of similar size.

1. Make sure you know your state’s trapping regulations and that you have any needed permits. Also know the rules regarding release of live, trapped animals. By law, some animals might have to be killed in a humane manner, rather than released.
2. Make sure you’re using the right size and type of trap for the animal you’re after. A trap needs to be large enough for the target animal to enter and turn around. The animal will be reluctant to enter if it can only move backwards.
3. Make sure you are using the right bait for the animal you are after. Trap manufacturers can recommend several baits for the animal you are trapping. Choose a bait that is attractive to your target animal but that is not attractive to nearby nontargets. In other words, for an opossum, it’s best to choose apple slices over canned pet food if there are cats in the area. Bait is usually placed at the far end of the trap. Small pieces of bait can be placed at the entrance to the trap to entice the animal to go inside.
4. Set the trap properly. Spring the trap a few times before you set it to make sure it works as it should. Place the trap in an area where the animal will feel secure, like under a deck, rather than out in the open. Place traps along fence lines or other boundaries where animals tend to travel. Depending on the animal you’re trapping, you may need to secure the bait in the trap and secure the trap itself. Because some animals are wary of a new trap, trap catch tends to improve as the trap is used more often. It’s a good idea to bait the trap, set it in the intended place and then prop the doors open for a couple days. When you’ve had activity and the bait has been taken, then set the trap. It’s also useful to camouflage the trap by covering it with leaves, twigs and even some dirt.
5. Maintain the trap properly. Wash and disinfect traps after each capture with a bleach solution. The idea behind using a live trap is that the animal is not killed during the trapping process. Be sure to trap humanely. Check traps often. Don’t leave stressed animals without food and water, or out in the rain and cold. 
   Source: Techletter