Nottingham Evening Post: Wednesday 5th March 2003

Golfers’ misery as population of pests soars

By Sean Kirby
Environmental Correspondent

Golfers and gardeners are facing a mountain of molehills after an upsurge in the mole population.

Veteran mole exterminator Jack Kent of Barton in Fabis reckons mole numbers in Notts have tripled after a national explosion of their population.

Now molehills up to 18in high are being found on golf course fairways – and increased flooding at a country racecourse is being laid at the moles door as well.

Explained Mr Kent: “During the foot-and-mouth crisis there were large areas of land which pest controllers couldn’t go on to. This boosted the mole numbers”

He says that in addition to damaging golf courses and racetracks, the molehills could harm farmland, crops mowers and other machinery as well as breeding earlier as a result of milder winters brought on by global warming. And to make matters worse, the most effective mole poison – strychnine – is in short supply. Mr Kent is now lobbying the national pest control association to find alternative sources of the toxin.

There were almost 20 million moles in England in 1995, the latest national estimate. A Mammal Society spokeswoman said current methods of killing moles such as gassing or poisoning caused too much suffering. And she said the organisation backed current research into making grasslands less prone to molehills, reducing the need to kill moles.

“Grazed grasslands have been shown to have less molehills than those left alone,” she said. But Notts sports grounds are backing the push to reduce mole numbers.

Alan Beckett, course manager at Ruddington Grange Golf Club said: “ We’ve seen a tremendous increase in problems with moles especially in the last year”

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