Poisons

In addition to the fact that many poisons are now banned or tightly controlled in the EU, the main problem with poisons is getting the mole to ingest them. Moles eat live earthworms and insect grubs. They will not eat grain, powder, or any of the other variety of delivery forms dreamed up by the manufacturers.  

 

One promising option was to capture earthworms, poison them, and then place them in the mole run.  However, there are two problems. Firstly, unless it is very recently dead the mole will be less than enthusiastic. Secondly, is the way in which moles feed; they do this be squeezing the worm between their front claws and slowly drawing it between them.

This unusual feeding habit squeezes any earth (and poison!) from the worm’s stomach as well as wiping the surface clean. Thus it is unlikely that enough poison will be ingested. The reason for this habit is to reduce the amount of soil ingested and the wear on the moles teeth.

 

You should also remember that any poison put down is susceptible to contaminate the food sources of other animals and may cause the unintended deaths of other non-target species. Maybe this is ok if it’s just a vole, rat, or squirrel that gets caught in the ‘crossfire’. Your children will be upset if it is the family cat though!