Moles, Badgers, Woodchucks... River Eels?

Before your domain is intruded upon by pesky rodents, get familiar with the signs of and distinctions between these various varmints.  Your yard, garden, and taming-of-the-wild impulse will al be equally well served.

If your ground looks like this, be on the look out for the eastern mole, Scalopus aquaticus.

Lot's more info on these species at Animal Diversity Web. 

 

SMALL CRITTER CONTROL

• Try multiple techniques with minimal impact on habitat (environment).
• Practice soil management well in advance of planting, even more than a year.  Assess your site carefully before investing in a new land use.
• Leave no food waste or over-ripe fruits of your garden.
• Disturb pests sight, smell, and sense of touch in addition to providing physical barriers as necessary.
• Plan for some loss to critters.  For non-aggressive species like rabbits, incorporate marigolds, onions, and other repellents in border plantings.
• Trap or call a pro when marauders are persistent.

and...

Don't miss The NEW Embody Blog.  Anna's river adventure made me think of the the surprising wildlife to be seen along our plentiful local rivers and tributaries.  Anybody heard about an enormous (eel?) creature 'bout as large as a truck, 'fished' from the Grand River over a century ago?  Other mega-faunal points of interest?

Comments

[cklimen]

There are a couple sure-fire differences between gopher and mole mounds - mole mounds are typically volcano shaped without any apparent opening. The mole pushes the dirt up and out from underneith without ever exposing its body to the outside world. The gopher mound is typically fan shaped with the dirt radiating out and away from an obvious opening.
Your readers also may be interested in the products found at CrittergetterOnline.Com which have been proven (both through customer feedback and testing performed by the University of Nebraska) to be 90% effective for gopher control. We realize that a gopher is a different animal than a mole; however, the living arrangements of these two animals have a great deal in common which is what makes the Crittergetter a useful tool for mole control as well.
The Crittergetter uses a proactive rather than reactive abatement technique that folks have employed successfully for decades.
http://www.crittergetteronline.com/
Link to chipmunk facts: http://www.crittergetteronline.com/Moles/moles.html

[commercial pest control corona]

If you have ever had problems with moles you will be aware just how hard it is to control them.Trapping is often the best method for young inexperienced moles.