Moles are a significant risk to agriculture in rural areas as they dig tunnels and create molehills, destabilising soil and making it difficult for crops to grow. Moles also damage crops by exposing the roots to the air, destroying the soil structure and targeting crop roots. While removing molehills can cause significant damage, there are several ways to prevent mole damage, including traps, repellents, maintaining soil moisture, and implementing integrated pest management programs. These methods can help reduce mole damage significantly, protecting crops and profits. Poison should never be used to eliminate moles due to its significant health risks.
Mole Infestation Causing Damage to Crops in Rural Areas
Moles are small burrowing animals that are common in many rural areas. These furry creatures can cause significant damage to crops when they infest agricultural land. They are often regarded as agricultural pests due to their ability to dig tunnels and create molehills that destabilize the soil, making it difficult for plants to grow. Farmers often struggle with mole infestation problems that could cause farmers to lose significant amounts of money. In this article, we discuss mole infestation and how it causes damage to crops in rural areas.
Mole Infestation and Damage Caused to Crops
A mole’s primary activity is creating tunnels that run beneath the soil surface. These tunnels provide moles with an easy way to burrow through their territories, search for food, and create dens. However, as they dig underground, they expose crop roots to air and break down the soil structure. This damage causes crop plants to dry out and generally reduces crop yields. Additionally, when the tunnels collapse or become too extensive, the soil’s stability is impacted, making it difficult for crops to grow.
Moles are also known for their love of insects like worms and grubs. They burrow through the soil and unearth these insects, which often feed on crop roots. Hence, they actively target crop roots, leading to a considerable loss of crops.
Another significant problem that mole infestations can wreak on agricultural land is their creation of molehills, which can number up to 20 per day per mole. These hills are created when a mole pushes the soil out of its tunnels, causing extensive damage to turf or crops. When farmers attempt to remove the hills by raking, plowing, or leveling, the damage could become even greater, leading to significant losses.
How to Prevent Mole Infestation Damage to Crops
There are several ways to prevent mole damage in rural areas. The first method is to use mole traps. These traps are used to capture the rodents and eliminate them. Mole traps work best when placed along mole tunnels to ensure the most effective results. The traps should be placed at least 18 inches deep into the ground, and two traps should be set per tunnel. It’s essential to check the traps regularly and remove any moles that have been captured.
Another method is to use repellents. There are various organic mole repellents in the market that produce scents, sounds, or vibrations to deter moles from invading crops. These repellents come in various forms, including liquid, granules, and sprays.
An effective way to prevent mole damage is to keep the soil moist. Moles prefer dry soil, and by maintaining soil moisture through irrigation or rain, they will find it difficult to dig tunnels, and their burrowing efforts will be defeated.
Lastly, farmers can choose to implement an integrated pest management program (IPM), which can help control mole populations from infiltrating the agricultural landscape. The IPM method of integrating various control methods like cultural, physical, and biological control can help achieve measurable goals while keeping costs down.
FAQs
1. How do I know if my crops are infested with moles?
You can look for signs like molehills, dying plants and exposed roots, and tunnels on your land.
2. How often should I check mole traps?
It’s crucial to check mole traps at least once a day for the best results.
3. Can I use poison to eliminate moles?
We do not recommend using poison as it is a significant health risk to the ecosystem and humans.
4. Is it possible to prevent mole damage entirely?
It may be challenging to eliminate mole damage entirely, but the above discussed methods can help reduce mole damage significantly.
Conclusion
Moles pose a significant risk to crops in rural areas. These small creatures dig tunnels and create molehills, causing extensive damage to crops, leading to a loss of profits. Farmers can use different methods like traps or repellents to control mole populations. Moreover, maintaining soil moisture, implementation of integrated pest management programs can help prevent mole infestation and protect your crops.
