Mole

Moles are rarely seen as these blackish-brown mammals live mostly underground. They dig out a system of tunnels and chambers, and dispose of the excavated soil by throwing up molehills. Apart from the spring breeding season, moles lead largely solitary lives, so all the activity in a small garden could be due to a single animal. Moles feed on earthworms and other soil-dwelling creatures which fall into their tunnels. Moles constantly patrol their tunnels looking for these trapped invertebrates. Moles high metabolic rate means they have to eat at least every four hours. We do not advise live traps for moles because of their need to eat very frequently.

Where are they found?

Moles are originally deciduos woodland creatures and are still found extensively in woodland but go unnoticed because of the nature of the ground.

Habitat:

Moles have moved into our fields and gardens where they are able to find an abundance of worms. Their excavations can cause problems. In an agricultural context, if the soil from their excavations is picked up whilst making silage, it can damage machinery and cause the bagged silage to deteriotate. In a garden situation the molehills can cause damage to machinery and are regarded as unsightly.
Moles prefer deep rich soils with an abundance of food. they are not found in peaty, acidic soils or in sandy soils.
A tunnel system usually consists of an extensive network of several hundred metres of deep (20-60cm) and shallow (2-20cm) tunnels. The deeper tunnels are used constantly, but especially during times of drought.The shallow tunnels are the principle feeding tunnels because it is within the top 20cm of soil that the majority of worms, grubs and insects are active.

Habits:

Moles spend most of their lives underground
they are solitary animals, only coming together for breeding
a mole of average weight of 80g needs 50g of earthworms per day to survive
moles tend to feed in alternate 3-4 hour cycles throughout a 24 hour cycle (because of this constant need for food, we regard so called 'humane live catch traps' as inhumane because they are rarely inspected frequently enough and may be forgotten for days at a time, resulting in starvation for the captive mole)
the idea of the long mole tunnels is that burrowing insects and worms fall into the smooth tunnels and become easy prey for the mole that spends it's time travelling the tunnels looking for a hapless victim
if its current system of tunnels is not producing enough food, the mole easily and quickly extends the network
moles can store earthworm in times of plenty, immobilising them with a bite to the head segment. Over 400 alive but immobilised worms have been found in one chamber