What kind of mole is this? Is it an Eastern Mole?
For the next few weeks, I will be blogging about all 7 species of moles in North America. One of the first questions that people have upon finding a mole in their lawn or garden is "What kind of mole is this"? Thankfully, depending upon what state you live in, you can usually narrow it down between two to three species. In some cases, your state might not have any moles!
Looking over the list, you will find that the most widespread mole species is the Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus).
Of course, let's make sure that you even have a mole to start with. Moles are small, cylindrically shaped mammals with dark gray, brown, silver, or black velvet fur. Their eyes are tiny and depending on the species, can be mostly concealed with fur. They are not rodents, such as gophers or voles. Rodents, belonging to order Rodentia, have eternally growing long incisors that they use to crack hard seeds or nuts, or chew on tough foods such as tubers. The constant chewing wears down their teeth. Moles belong to an older order of mammals known as Eulipotyphla. This ancient order of mammals has fairly simple peg teeth, adapted to eating softer foods such as insects and worms.
And it is certainly worms and insects that moles eat. Moles are in the family Talpidae and are distinguished from shrews (known as Soricidae) by their generally larger size, and most of all, by their spade feet that are adapted for digging. No shrew, or rodent has this adaptation. Shrews may eat the same foods, and utilize mole tunnels to travel in, and have the same velvety fur, but they do not dig as efficiently or quickly as a mole, nor make the same noticeable tunnel runs that moles do.
Back to the Eastern Mole. You may notice that the species name for this mole is aquaticus. This means "swimming", but these moles spend virtually no time in the water. According to John O Whitaker et al. in their book, Mammals of the Eastern United States, Charles Linnaeus, the great taxonomer, named the mole from an individual supposedly found in water. The spade, webbed-looking feet also gave the false impression that these animals swim.
Well, the Eastern Mole may not swim, but it certainly swims in the soil. These moles prefer soft, moist, loamy dirt in pastures, lawns, open fields, open woods, and meadows. And your garden! Prior to European colonization, the bulk of their diet would have been beetle grubs, but since the introduction of invasive earthworms, worms now make up the bulk of the diet.
Eastern moles are about 110 to 170 mm in length from snout to tail tip. Their tail is short and naked, unlike the hairy-tailed mole or star-nosed mole. Like most moles, and unlike the star-nosed mole, their nose is simple and pointed. Like all moles, it is covered in Eimer's Organs, that help them sense their prey.
Like all other moles, they are fiercely territorial. According to Indiana's DNR page, 1 acre of good soil habitat will support 3 to 5 moles. Male moles have larger territories than female moles. They are solitary, and outside of breeding, will fight each other. They breed between February to June, having 2 to 5 pups. After 44 days, they are weaned and driven out by their mother. It is usually in April when you will most likely see young moles above ground, rapidly dispersing to find new territories.
It is also best to ensure any mole repellent products, such as Vekibee sonic mole repellers are set down. It is easier to prevent young new moles from settling than evacuating established moles.
Overall, you will be able to distinguish the Eastern mole from other species by geographical range and the lack of hair on the tail. It is the most common mole, but being small, it is also not as likely to cause noticeable mole runs and tunnels as the large Townsend's mole on the west coast.
If you need to humanely remove moles, including the Eastern Mole, be sure to check out the shopping page to find the pest mole repellent product for you.
