The
Times: Monday March 3rd 2003
Mole numbers soar as poison stocks run out
By Valerie Elliot
Countryside Editor
A MOLE population explosion is wreaking havoc on lawns, golf links,
racecourses and farms – and the animals are colonising new
areas.
The outbreak was sparked by the foot-and-mouth epidemic two years
ago, when mole catchers were banned from farms. A shortage of strychnine,
the poison they use under licence has exacerbated the problem.
Moles also endanger racehorses and cattle, wreck farm machinery
and damage flood defences. Richard Strand, executive director of
the Pest Control Association, said he had complaints nation-wide
about the population boom. Mole catchers have been inundated with
calls but without poison they must resort to trapping, which is
more costly. Many farms cannot afford it.
“There are more of them and they seem to be extending their
area to where they haven’t been seen before, such as ornamental
gardens and parks,” Mr Strand said. “We are approaching
the main mole breeding season and it is the most cost effective
time to control them. But we don’t know when we are going
to get more stocks of the poison – certainly not before September
– so mole catchers will have to use other methods.”
Jack Kent, from Nottingham, has caught moles for nearly 30 years
and is amazed by the increase in their numbers. “I’ve
never had that many before,” he said. He added: “On
racecourses horses trip over their mounds; on farms the earth contaminates
the silage, and stones and earth damage the mowing machines. Moles
can also destroy food protection. One hole in a flood bank and the
pressure of water can rip it apart.”
He charges about £80 to rid moles from a four-acre plot using
poison, a minimum of £160 in the South East, and up to £40
if a gamekeeper or farmer does the job. Using traps adds £15
an hour because of the increased labour and travel time in laying
traps and checking them every 48 hours.
Thornton and Ross, a pharmaceutical company in Huddersfield, is
the only firm licensed to import and distribute strychnine. It scaled
down orders from India during foot-and-mouth but stocks have been
unable to renew supplies.
Homeowners can temporarily get rid of camphor-hating moles by putting
mothballs down their holes.
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