Fact 1: Moles are loners
Anyone who thinks that the many mounds in the garden are the work of a whole group of moles is mistaken. Moles are solitary animals and only come together to mate. Even the young leave their mothers after about 10 weeks and find their own territories.
Fact 2: The name mole translates as “earth thrower”
A name couldn't be more fitting. The mole has truly earned the name "Earth Thrower," as it can shovel away up to 6 kg of earth in 20 minutes.
Fact 3: Moles have a good nose
It's well known that moles have poor eyesight and can only distinguish between light and dark. There's a saying, "Blind as a mole," for good reason. They're also poorly hearing; the animals are hard of hearing and only react sensitively to noise due to sound waves and vibrations. However, they have a particularly good sense of smell, capable of detecting different odors with each nostril.
Fact 4: Moles have a great appetite for insects
In the wild, moles primarily eat earthworms and insects. They consume around 70 to 90 g per day, which corresponds to approximately 73–85% of the body weight of an adult mole, which weighs 85–108 g. Over a year, this means that a mole consumes approximately 30 kg of insects and worms. A mole can survive without food for about 24 hours.
Fact 5: good swimmer
Its home is underground and its element is the earth, but when it comes down to it, a mole can swim well and escape from its burrow during floods, for example.
Fact 6: large territory and long corridors
A mole's territory is approximately 2000 m² in size, and its burrows can be up to 200 m long. The surface burrows serve as a foraging ground for the mole, while the deeper burrows, up to 1 m deep, are used as living and sleeping quarters.
Fact 7: a life in 3-phase rhythm
Moles don't live according to our day-night rhythm. They live according to a three-phase rhythm consisting of two waking phases and one sleeping phase. Each phase lasts 4 hours. During the first waking phase, the mole digs; during the second, it searches for food; and during the sleeping phase, it rests before continuing to dig.
Fact 8: Moles move at a rapid pace
Moles dig at a speed of 7 m per hour and can reach speeds of up to 4 kilometers per hour when running in their tunnels.
Fact 9: Small mole, big hill
Typical molehills form when a mole digs deeper tunnels and is unable to flatten the excess soil against the walls. It then presses soil weighing between 200 and 800 g through its tunnels to the surface. This corresponds to ten to twelve times its own body weight. The hills usually have a diameter of 30 to 50 cm and are about 15 cm high. Special molehills are the so-called "castles". These form in swampy areas and areas that are more prone to flooding. There it is difficult for moles to dig underground tunnels. Therefore they build castles. They have a diameter of up to 140 cm, are around 70 cm high and contain 50 kg of soil. Inside there is a complex system of tunnels.
You can find out how to protect your garden from molehills and encourage the little earth-throwers to find a new territory in an animal-friendly way in our blog post “ Effective and animal-friendly mole protection ”.
Sources: Wikipedia , Petakids , Rodent Help
