A Mole in one By Jeff Nicholls molecatcher

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Golf courses do not just happen, they are planned, designed, landscaped and nurtured to provide the perfect surroundings and surfaces. Often they create the perfect habitat for many species of wildlife and this includes the Mole.

New courses are dependant on a substantial area of land which more often than most was previously of agricultural use. Land that had been fertilised either naturally by livestock or mechanically. This feeding of the land to increase fertility provided the ideal environment for moles which they are quick to exploit. The change of use makes little change to affect the moles and provides probably a better residence for them with the term lawn care. Cutting, rolling, feeding and more importantly especially in dry months watering helps to provide a haven for them. So what is the best method to control these unwanted guests from our areas of pleasure?

Currently there are three acceptable methods for control,

But which is the most economical, and which provides the best results?

Poison - the use of strychnine applied to runs administered on worms will soon be with-drawn from use, it is still permitted to use it on golf courses under licence but its indiscriminate secondary poisoning risk has to be a consideration.

Gas - Powder or pellet form it is placed in the runs to create an atmosphere that will not support life. Percolating through the ground it removes the life of the soil and any mole not alarmed by the odour that it emits.

Trapping- an honest and respectful method of control?

Trapping to many, may not seem a method of control that busy green keepers could spare or find the time to commit to. It is however a quick and effective form of controlling moles that requires only a few minutes a day to achieve the results.

Once the traps of your choice are placed it is an easy task to check them, something that can be carried out whilst undertaking other everyday jobs. So if you have not thought that you could control your moles by trap use consider it again.

So green keepers can provide a mole control service but what if the golf course is new? Then the work should be carried out by a molecatcher with guidance for the green keeper to take over when a level and balance has been achieved.

I have carried out mole removal from golf courses under construction, the main problem is the fact that the construction takes place prior to mole consideration. Large heavy earth moving machines tear the land to shape the ideal combination of fairways. Drainage and irrigation pipes form arteries for the control of water. The whole balance of the natural habitat is changed for mans pleasure. It actually has little impact on the resilient mole who will adapt to all that is thrown at it, unlike many other creatures affected by the change.

If you are to control moles when a course is established there is little difference to controlling moles in other locations. Under construction often provides a challenge, the damage the landscaping has executed to the area will be revealed by the moles. Molehills containing dead grass is evidence that the soil was piled over the original land. There will be a large amount of stones present also as the dragging and scraping of the land to shape the new course brings them to the surface before they are rolled ,seeded and hidden under the new grass. Then just when you feel you are getting on top of things the construction calls for the planting of new groups of trees which changes the water table, even worst the removal of hedgerows and the cleaning and bottoming of ditches will cause the mole to star burst. The breeding season will become a cat and mouse event for the first season as the already disturbed moles seek a mate. The network of territories that they knew so well now require extra effort to link to that willing partner to ensure the future of the species. Do not let all this put you off the task in hand. To undertake a golf course under construction will enable a conservation approach to mole control. It will enable a mapping of the area to assist in the movement of moles as they replenish the areas made vacant. The changes in the habitat can be calculated to the effects on the moles to provide a knowledge for the future control program. It is to any molecatchers advantage to have the knowledge of what the environment has and will throw at them and mole.

So whether you are a green keeper or molecatcher the control of moles on golf courses is a regular occupation that is required to prevent damage. How do you go about it?

It is best to simply start at one point and walk a designated path around the course without any traps but a plan of the course. Mark on the locations of mole damage with any features that may influence that location, water, woodlands, changes in levels or hedgerows. Note the direction of travel of the mole. Trap lines will need marking for the operators of machinery to keep away from them. There is no point in trying to control moles to reduce mole hill damage to machinery, only to have a trap mangle the very machine you are there to assist.

Having caught a mole mark it on the plan and you will build up a mole location map. Bucks and does can be noted if required but as the work continues and more moles move into the areas it will help to create a history of the location. The history then can be referred to later should further works be needed.

It is important to remember how many traps you have out when working large areas so you can ensure that you check them every day and retrieve them all. I use a simple hazel stick, if I have twenty traps out I have twenty sticks to retrieve. Not exactly rocket science but it works.

The whole repertoire in a molecatchers knowledge will be tested on the larger locations. The numbers will come down quick to begin with. The moles then finding larger areas vacant that was once frequented by moles often move through just cleaning out occasionally.

It may take awhile for the moles to appear on a new course if their territory had been buried under the new course. The mole hills of dead grass will show this. Look slightly deeper to find the original runs and tunnels.

Large areas will also be influenced by the sun, especially in the winter months when its path is lower in the sky. Areas of cold ground may not be warmed by the sun , whose rays may be shaded by the trees. This will create areas of moles at different depths. Watch the path of the sun in the sky as it passes over the areas.

The summer months will be influenced by the need to play golf on grass that is green, so the arteries of pipes will be showering the areas and providing the moisture to again dictate to the movement of mole.

It takes years for a golf course to establish and it will be a constant battle to ensure that the mole does not provide an alternative 19^th hole.