The "Holey Moley" Story

It was an ordinary day. I just finished repairing my lawn. Seems the snow finally melted in my yard last week. As I walked around my yard I noticed that there were numerous tunnels running up and down the lawn. These are tunnels made by moles. Moles are insectivores, meaning they eat insects, earthworms and grubs. Moles live a solitary life, constantly digging tunnels in search for food. Large front claws distinguish this small animal from a vole or mouse. A mole can dig up to 15 feet per hour, so it doesn't take more than a few to tunnel all over your yard. An adult mole is colored gray to brown, attaining a size of 6 to 8 inches. They do not hibernate, and will tunnel under the frost line in winter. Moles reproduce once a year, in the spring, and will only produce 3 or 4 offspring. Spring tunneling is most noticeable. And boy, did I notice it. What a mess. They are beneficial since they eat insects and grubs and aerate the ground with the tunnels, but really make a mess of the yard. A few years ago I purchased three devices that are supposed to scare them off, that is if the stray cats don't do it. They are metal tubes about 18" long and house 4 "D" size batteries. The unit makes a noise and also causes a vibration. I dug a hole in the ground and placed most of the tube in the hole. The vibration and sound travel in the ground for quite a distance and scare the moles. They really do work and you can tell when the batteries are bad by the arrival of the tunnels in the lawn. I'm hoping that the replacement batteries will scare the the moles across the street to my neighbors yard. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.