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moles

tap to call:  07533 915 640

Due to exceptionally wet and mild winters, the mole population has been increasing across Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Monmouth in recent years with the average life span of a mole at around four years, and very few natural predators.

MORE ABOUT MOLES AND THEIR BEHAVIOUR...

Moles:  Moles are 15 to 20cm long, with grey to black velvety fur, very powerful, shovel-like front limbs, used for burrowing underground.  Moles live most of their lives underground and exist on a diet of earthworms and other soil invertebrates. Moles are known to eat every four hours regardless of the time of day or night and can burrow up to 100 metres per night.  They scour their network of tunnels during each feeding session, searching for food sources that have dropped or entered into the tunnels, making repairs where necessary to the network.

An 80g mole consumes about 50g of worms a day.  Moles will also feed on soil-dwelling pests such as Garden Cock Chafer Beetle Larvae and Leatherjacket Larvae.  They have poor eyesight and use touch, hearing and smell to detect their prey and to help them sense danger.  Despite their poor eyesight, they are very light sensitive.  Moles dig two types of tunnel, both of which are 4cm or 5cm in diameter.  Those immediately beneath the surface are dug by males looking for females during the breeding season (February to June)...  deep holes, between 5cm and 20cm beneath the surface, are used for breeding and feeding.  Tunnels can be up to several hundred metres long and the molehills on the surface are their means of disposing of excavated soil.  Nest sites are marked by large molehills, where females produce litters of three to five young with an average lifespan of three years.  Apart from the breeding season, moles lead solitary lives...  so one animal could be responsible for visible activity over quite a large area. Vacant tunnel systems are often re-colonised by another mole from an adjacent area.

Symptoms of infestation - Raised ridges and mounds of loose, excavated earth commonly known as molehills indicate the presence of the pest.  They make the turf look unsightly and difficult to mow.

This burrowing can also lead to subsidence, especially on lighter soils and they can cause considerable damage to newly seeded lawns.  Their activities can destroy a lawn or playing surface, so time and effort is needed to replace or remove the soil that forms the molehills.

The main issue with moles is the tell-tale damage left in the wake of their excavations, which can be seen all over a lawn, orchard, paddocks, farmland etc.  These not only looks ugly, but can contribute to financial loss due to damage of machinery, loss and damage to crops, ruin golf courses, spoiled vegetable plots and, not least, by ruining manicured lawns.

It is well-known that moles are difficult to catch; they are well protected from predators in their complex underground tunnels.  They are effective at detecting smells and vibration and, once moles detect a potential threat, they retreat at remarkable speed to the safety of the deeper runs.

The mole's cylindrical body shape and powerful front claws make them effective diggers.  Moles use a 'swimming' action to propel themselves through dirt, creating a complex maze of interconnected tunnels and chambers below the surface in their search for food.

A mole can excavate up to 100 metres a day given the right soil conditions...  hence the need for mole control using the tried and tested traditional mole trapping techniques applied by the mole catching experts at ARD pest control.

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mole control options

ARD technicians are members of the Guild of British Mole Catchers and, whether in your garden or on a farm, the only legal means of controlling this elusive pest is specialised trapping.

ARD Pest Control do NOT use any form of chemical control of moles on either domestic or commercial sites.

 

rabbits

tap to call:  07533 915 640

Although once a staple food source, fewer are now being hunted for this purpose. . .  and natural predators simply cannot keep the numbers to a manageable level.

Rabbits can cause major damage to gardens and crops, hence the need for aggressive rabbit control.  Regarded primarily as an agricultural pest, they are increasingly to blame for damage to ornamental gardens, vegetable plots and allotments.

MORE ABOUT RABBIT HABITS. . .

These pests breed exponentially, producing as many as 30 to 40 offspring each year, so rabbit population explosions are inevitable if numbers are not controlled.  Their constant burrowing can strip young plants and crops, undermine roads, banks and gardens...  often causing widespread structural problems.

Rabbits live on heath land, open meadow, grassland, woodland, the fringes of agricultural land and dry sandy soil, including sand dunes, but they avoid coniferous forests.

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control options

The preferred, and most humane, rabbit pest control methods are shooting (by day or night) or trapping

Rabbit trapping using live catch traps can be an effective way to control rabbits and often preferred when shooting or gassing is inappropriate.  Cage traps are laid, baited and must be examined daily and a call made to Dave at ARD if any are caught.  By law, traps must be ‘unset’ if they can't be inspected during any 24 hour period.

Although legal, ARD rarely use gas as a means of rabbit pest control.  Call Dave for his professional advice, without obligation, on the best control methods in your situation.

 

 

mole or rabbit trapping

Initial visit and 2 x traps set:  from £60
Plus:  £15 per mole, whilst traps remain in the ground.

Please read:  The cost of fuel means that a surcharge of £10 may be payable for visits over 12 miles distant and ARD reserve the right to apply a consultation fee of £40 if no work is subsequently undertaken.   Remember,  all fees are subject to a 10% early settlement discount!

AM I WITHIN THE 12 MILE FOOTPRINT?

The following local towns and villages are all within 12 miles of ARD in Llancloudy;  HEREFORD : HOLME LACY : TRAM INN : DIDLEY : KILPECK : VOWCHURCH : HOARWITHY : MUCH DEWCHURCH : HOARWITHY : SYNONDS YAT : CLEHONGER : FOWNHOPE : BROCKHAMPTON : WITHINGTON : LITTLE DEWCHURCH : CREDENHILL : HOLMER : BARTESTREE : MORDIFORD : CREDENHILL : MONMOUTH : ROSS-ON-WYE : COLEFORD : RUARDEAN : LEE : LLANDOGO : TALY-COED : ORCOP : PETERSTOW : HOPE MANSELL : WORMELOW : HAREWOOD END : SKENFRITH : PANDY : LLANGARRON : LLANGROVE : GOODRICH : WHITCHURCH : REDBROOD : ST BRIAVIELS : TRELLECK : RAGLAN : THE NARTH : GROSMONT : EWYAS HAROLD : CROSS ASH : GARWAY : TILLINGTON : PETERCHURCH and BARTESTREE

ARD will also provide rabbit and mole trapping in locations slightly over 12 miles from Llancloudy, for which a fuel surcharge MAY be applied:  Gloucester, Cheltenham, Monmouth and Newent.

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