Common mole rat: description and photo. Do you know what kind of blind animal this is? Rodents mole rats
Appearance
Relatively large rodent- body length of adult individuals is 20-32 cm, weight up to 700 grams or more. The body is elongated, cylindrical, without a pronounced neck. The limbs are greatly shortened, the tail is reduced and hidden under the skin. The head is flattened, wide (wider than any part of the body), and shaped from above to the bayonet of a shovel. The eyes are largely reduced and hidden under the skin. The outer ear is presented in the form of a small cushion hidden under the fur. The nasal section is covered with a bare horny sheath and is usually colored black or brown. The front incisors are large, protruding far beyond the oral cavity and clearly visible. The general color of the fur is fawn-gray-brown; there is significant variability in color between individual individuals.
Spreading
Lifestyle
The animal leads an exclusively underground lifestyle, coming to the surface on rare occasions. Creates an extended, highly branched system of burrows, consisting, as a rule, of two tiers, of which the most extensive is the upper “feeding” one, lying at a depth of about 20-25 cm. In addition to the feeding tier, it creates a system of summer and winter nests, as well as food storage facilities, connected by a second, deeper (up to 3-4 meters) tier of passages. When digging tunnels, the mole rat loosens the soil with the help of incisors, then discards it with its paws and subsequently moves it to the soil surface, where characteristic so-called. “Mole rats” are heaps of discarded earth of significant size (about 50 cm in diameter, the weight of discarded earth in one mole rat is about 10 kg). The feeding area of one adult individual is 0.02-0.09 hectares, the length of feeding passages varies widely and can be up to 450 meters or more per individual.
Population densities also vary widely, reaching 20 or more individuals per hectare. In a long-term context, the population density is quite stable and is not subject to sharp fluctuations. The optimal population density is 3 individuals per hectare; if the population drops to 1.8-1.1 individuals per hectare, there is a high risk of population degradation. A change in population size is possible with a significant change in conditions external environment In particular, droughts, periods of increased moisture, and plowing of land have a negative impact. Common mole rat- a strictly herbivorous animal, the basis of its nutrition is made up of rhizomes, bulbs and tubers of plants. In spring and early summer, the above-ground parts of plants (stems and leaves) are also actively used for food. The range of forage plants consists of several dozen species, among which Compositae, Umbelliferae and legumes predominate. By winter, the animal makes large (more than 10 kg) reserves.
Mole rat active all year round, does not hibernate, although by winter its activity decreases sharply. On a daily basis, they are most active at night and in the afternoon. Adult individuals live separately, showing strong aggression towards relatives (if it is impossible to retreat, collisions usually end fatal). At the same time, the population has a certain social structure, consisting of family groups (male and 1-2 females), the burrows of which are connected or located nearby. Family groups are stable and disintegrate only with the death of one of the partners. About half of the males live outside family groups, thus being excluded from the breeding process. Mole rats live quite a long time for rodents, the average generation duration is 2.5-4 years, some individuals live up to 9 years. The survival rate of young animals is high, about half or more of the individuals.
Reproduction
Only one female breeds in a family group each year; if there are two females in the group, then in the spring the male leaves the area of the breeding female and forms a pair with the female who will breed next year. Cubs are born from late February to mid-May. There are 2-3 cubs in a litter. The main reproductive contribution is made by females aged 3-7 years. From the end of May, the settlement of young animals from broods begins, partly on the surface, partly underground, the settlement continues until autumn. Young males predominantly settle in the second year of life and mainly underground, females - in the first year and often on the surface, which leads to greater mortality of females in the first year of life. The dispersal range varies from several tens to several hundred meters.
Natural enemies
Relationships with a person
It can harm agricultural crops, especially in vegetable gardens and personal plots (potatoes, carrots, onions and bulbous flowers are most affected). Damages crops of corn, legumes, and woody plants (eats germinating seeds and young plants). Ground emissions can make it difficult to carry out field work(especially mechanized mowing of perennial grasses for hay), and also spoil field roads. Due to the underground way of life, the fight against the animal is difficult (mainly mechanical traps and repellent devices are used) and is often ineffective.
Notes
Links
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
See what “Common mole rat” is in other dictionaries: Common mole rat - Spalax mkrophtalmus see also 11.11.1. Genus Mole rat Spalax Common mole rat Spalax mkrophtalmus (Table 60) Body length 20–26 cm. Dark coloring. Lives in forest-steppes and tall grass steppes to the Volga to the east, to Tula and Penza to the north, in... ...
Animals of Russia. Directory common mole rat
Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas small-eyed mole rat common mole rat
- paprastasis aklys statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Spalax microphthalmus engl. greater mole rat; mole rat; Russian mole rat vok. Blindmouse; gemeine Blindmaus; große Blindmaus; Ost Blindmaus; Ost... ... small-eyed mole rat South Russian mole rat
Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas Wikipedia Due to the wide variety of conditions, both on land and in the seas, and the significant extent of the territory from north to south and from west to east. animal world The USSR is very diverse. However, due to the northern location of most of the territory... ...
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
What harm does a blind animal do?
The animal mole rat is a discovery for many of us. But for most gardeners, this is a harmful neighbor. Just like a mole, it digs underground passages, pushing out excess soil. However, the heaps in his lands are much larger than molehills.
Let's get to know the mole rat better The common mole rat resembles a mole in its lifestyle: it lives underground, digs numerous passages, forming sediment on the surface of the earth along its route.
And yet this is a completely different creature.
The animal digs large holes and throws up to 5 kg of soil out
Lifestyle and habits
The common mole rat differs from the mole not only in appearance, but also in its habits. He constructs his grounds much more sophisticatedly.
Mole rat grounds This animal small sizes
The mole rat, whose photo will help you not to confuse it with other rodents, is a long-liver.
It loosens the soil with powerful incisors, unlike the mole, which does this with its front paws. The mass of ejected soil can reach 10 kg and 50 cm at the base.
Systems of mole rat habitats are characterized by tiers.
One of the tiers is food, located at a depth of about 20 cm. The other contains nests, compartments for storing food supplies, and connecting tunnels. This tier is located at a depth of 3-4 m.
Molehills made by a blind man - photo.
Peculiarities in habits and preferences
These animals prefer to live separately. If a collision occurs, the males fight until one of them dies. Each male gets one or two females. An area of one hectare can be home to from three to twenty animals.
Life activity occurs from March to May. In summer and winter time it falls, but the animal does not hibernate.
Habitats
The animal feeds exclusively on plants, undermining roots and tubers
There are 4 known species of families of these animals. Each species lives in a specific zone, but they can mainly be seen in steppes, forest-steppes, deserts, semi-deserts and, less often, on the outskirts of forests.
These animals like soil of moderate to low density. They do not go into clay and sandy soils, excessively wet and saline soils.
Scale of harmfulness
The animal mole rat may differ from the mole not only in appearance, but also in the nature of the damage to humans.
The mole and the mole rat have differences in food preferences.
If the former feed on insects and worms, the latter feed on rhizomes and eat tubers and plant bulbs.
The animal drags garden plants into the hole by the rhizomes. Prefers legumes most of all, does not ignore umbelliferous plants, as well as Asteraceae.
These animals, breaking through passages, can damage residential buildings.
The mounds that have arisen as a result of their construction activities spoil the aesthetics of the parks and create difficulties during field and gardening work, and haymaking. Mole rats destroy plantings and flowers in flower beds.
Potatoes, carrots, beets, and corn are noticeably destroyed. In just one day, the animal can destroy from four to six bushes of root crops.
The giant subspecies is listed in the Red Book
The damage caused by mole rats is estimated at 10% to 20%. In the bins of one individual you can find 18 kg of agricultural crops.
How to expel mole rats from land plots
Gardeners are often concerned about the question: how to deal with mole rats? Methods of fighting this animal are similar to those methods that are effective against moles. But they require a lot of persistence. There is one more nuance. More often in nature there are two types of these animals: giant and ordinary.
The first one is listed in the Red Book and cannot be destroyed.
And the common mole rat is found in garden plots. Fighting an animal is possible in several ways:
- One way is to flood its tunnels with water. However, this method will require very a large number of water, because its tunnels are very branched. And if the soil absorbs moisture well, this option will have little effect.
- You can smoke the animal. To do this, kerosene or other foul-smelling substance is poured into the hole. However, this method leads to soil pollution.
- You can use repellers that create vibrations that are perceived by the animal as a signal of danger.
- Very effective electronic Tornado repeller. The use of traps and mole traps is not effective method , according to those in the know. The animal somehow recognizes them and skillfully avoids them.
- Perhaps this is due to their excellent prudence and instinct.
- An alternative replacement for traps can be a pet such as a cat or dog. Experienced people say that this is an effective method. It consists of the following: you need to determine the location of the rodent’s tunnel, where the soil collapses. Use a shovel to dig up to half a meter of hole. The blind man cannot stand drafts, so he will soon hurry to arrive at the place of its source in order to throw earth into the passage. You need to dig a hole near this passage, about 50 cm by 50 cm, up to 40 cm deep. Then wait for the rodent with your pet.
- In a similar way, you can catch an animal with a hook, which replaces the four-legged animal. The hook is pre-inserted inside the open passage. And the other end is attached to the hole with a loop. The animal will fall for it. Any movement will aggravate his situation. The use of poisons for these purposes is effective method. . But in the garden beds there is often a wonderful food base
- Therefore, he can ignore the poison.
The mole rat is a territorial animal that leads a solitary lifestyle. Therefore, by expelling him from your site, you are guaranteed long-term peace of mind.
Today we will talk about a representative of the mole rat family. The mole rat, the photo of which will be presented below, is different from the mole appearance, food addictions. It happens that one fine day summer residents discover earthen mounds and dug underground tunnels in their garden. You walk along the site, and your leg suddenly sinks to your ankle or even lower. Often the first thought that comes to mind is moles! But it is not always the case. Let’s not downplay the mole’s “merits” in this case. But this is not about him. In different areas, the mole rat is called differently: Zinsky puppy, earthen puppy, earthen dog, blind man.
Photo of the mole rat:
What does a mole rat eat and what does it look like?
In fact, mole rats cause more significant damage to the garden than moles. Insectivorous diggers are a nuisance by digging hills and burrows in the area, but mole rats are real rodents.
What does a mole rat eat in the garden? They love to feast on root vegetables: potatoes, beets, carrots, they do not deprive stems and leaves of attention, they also like flowers with a bulbous root system. Closer to winter, the rodent makes significant reserves (about 10 kg). It is active all year round, does not hibernate, but before the cold weather approaches it becomes a little calmer.
Who is a mole rat? It is often confused with a mole, and is even often called the mole mole, but this is a misnomer. A mole is a mole, and a mole rat is a mole rat. He is much larger than his “colleague”. The mole digs the ground with its paws. But in the mole rat they are poorly developed (five-fingered, with small claws), so it digs tunnels up to 450 meters long with its powerful teeth. With its wide incisors, the animal seems to gnaw out the ground. The lips are located behind them and have many folds - this nuance helps prevent soil from getting into the animal’s mouth. His head is flat, spade-shaped, his eyes are reduced, and in their place there is a fold of skin. The ears and tail are also weakly defined, the entire body is covered with thick, dense hair.
Blind rodent, photo:
The rodent's habitat is steppes, fields, virgin areas, forest belts, and gullies. The common mole rat digs multi-tiered burrows with a complex system of passages. The so-called feeding passages are located at a depth of 10-30 cm. Deeper fragments branch off from them. These are nesting and storage compartments located at a depth of 80 cm to 3 meters. In the process of digging passages, the animal throws heaps of earth to the surface, which can reach impressive sizes. Getting rid of a mole rat is associated with certain difficulties, since most for a while he remains underground.
Traces of rodent activity, photo:
The mole rat, how to deal with it, methods, means, traps
An effective way to combat pests is strong poisons, similar to those used for baiting rats. But in this situation there is another side to the coin - pets or even children may suffer. Installing traps or live traps will require time and prudence from you, since mole rats are quite smart and often avoid dangerous places. Old, experienced rodents are distinguished by their instincts, they often bypass cunning traps, they can even show aggression - growling when they suspect a threat to life. Traps should be placed near the entrance to the burrows.
Traps for mole rats, photo:
If you have an active cat or a cat that has previously successfully caught rats, you can try introducing them to mole rat hunting. This method has been successfully and tested more than once by summer residents.
This is done like this: the location of the rodent’s underground passage is determined (the soil collapses underfoot), and with the help of a shovel, about half a meter of the hole is torn off. Since the mole rat is sensitive to changes in temperature and drafts, it soon appears to fill the open entrance with earth. After this, do not waste time, in the area of the exit from the hole, dig a wide hole (50 cm), approximately 30-40 cm deep, then take a tailed partner and wait for the rodent to appear. Young individuals are less agile and easier to catch. By the way, dogs are no less reliable helpers in this matter.
Experienced mole rats can be caught using the hook method. To do this, again, the entrance to the hole is excavated, a long wire with a hook at the end is inserted inside (two or three hooks are possible). At the other end of the wire there is a loop with which the hook is secured in the hole (so that the mole rat does not inadvertently drag away the trap). Having reacted to a draft, the rodent will rush to the exit and get hooked; any movements to the sides will only aggravate its situation. When you come to inspect the holes, you can remove the animal, remove the hook - then decide its fate at your own discretion.
How to catch a mole rat using water? In this case, you will not get by with one or two buckets. It's good if you have a long irrigation hose, otherwise you will need about 10 buckets of water. First, you need to determine the tunnel leading exactly to the hole. Ordinary moves can be calculated by the type of land, which is dug in the form of mounds. The passage leading into the hole will be distinguished by the presence of clay in the hill. The nests of mole rats are located at great depths, where clay is present.
You need to dig a hole near the clay embankment and direct a continuous flow of water deep into the passage. Such holes usually have a screw-shaped depression; if you generously pour water into them, the mole rat will sooner or later float out. Grab the animal and follow at your own discretion.
Crossbows, traps, poison are methods that lead to the death of a rodent; water and an electronic repeller (for example, “Tornado”) are more humane. Sometimes on forums you can see recommendations regarding “smoking” a mole rat out of a hole using a hose connected to the exhaust pipe of a car. This method helps to drive animals away from the site for a couple of months, but due to significant soil contamination, I would not recommend it.
The electronic repeller of moles and mole rats gives a very good effect - rodents cannot tolerate vibrations and try to get out of the area as quickly as possible. The main thing in this matter is not to skimp on the repellers themselves (it’s better to have a lot of them) and on high-power batteries for them.
The mole rat, the photo of which now will not allow you to confuse it with another animal, is a voracious pest, and it is also a long-liver. To protect your harvest, choose the method that suits you best.
Watch the video of a mole rat digging a hole in the wild:
Mole rat. For some, this animal is a discovery, but for others, it is a harmful neighbor with whom they have to constantly fight. Either he destroys the tulips, or he tends to the potato patch - it’s spring, but he spoils the mood!
Mole rat. © Ian Steadman
Content:(Spalax) is a genus of mammals of the mole rat family of the order of Rodents, leading an underground lifestyle. There are about 4 types in it.
What kind of animal is this, a mole rat?
The mole rat's lifestyle is similar to that of a mole: it lives exclusively underground, digs long systems of passages, and pushes excess soil to the surface, forming unsightly mounds. But in general, this is a completely different animal, differing in appearance, body structure, behavioral characteristics, and even the nature of its harmfulness...
Mole rats are small animals, only up to 30-32 cm long, without ears, without a pronounced neck, with atrophied eyes hidden under the skin, a very small inconspicuous tail and short gray fur. Unlike moles, which feed on insects, animals feed on plant foods - they eat rhizomes, roots, tubers, and bulbs. To get to the above-ground parts of plants, they are dragged into a hole by the root. They especially love legumes, umbelliferae, and asteraceae. The stems and leaves are eaten mainly in spring and early summer.
The burrow systems of mole rats are distinguished by tiers. The first tier is food, located at a depth of 20-25 cm from the soil surface. The second, includes connecting tunnels, summer and winter nests, supply storage, is located at a depth of 3-4 m.
If moles loosen the soil with their front paws, mole rats use powerful incisors. And the heaps of earth in the “blind rats’ lands” are larger than those of moles. The soil thrown to the surface reaches a mass of up to 10 kg and forms mounds with a diameter of about 50 cm.
Mole rats prefer isolation. When confronted, males fight until only one remains alive. But at the same time, for each male there are 1-2 females, with whom they coexist during the breeding season. An area of 1 hectare can be simultaneously inhabited by 3 to 20 (and sometimes more) animals.
The most active periods in the life of animals are March, April and May. By summer, and then in winter, their vital activity decreases significantly, but they do not hibernate.
Mole rat habitat
The mole rat family includes four species. Each of them has its own habitat, but in general animals are found in the zone of steppes, forest-steppes, semi-deserts, deserts, and very rarely on the outskirts of forests. They prefer soils of moderate density, avoiding clay soils and sands. They do not live in particularly wet places or on salt marshes.
Common mole rat. © Kudinov Harm from mole rats
The harmfulness of mole rats is quite high. It is connected with their habits: mounds of earth disrupt the aesthetic appearance of park areas, complicate work in fields, hayfields and in garden plots. Eating plants destroys plantings and destroys flower beds.
Potatoes, corn, onions, legumes, carrots, fodder and sugar beets suffer the most from the animal. During the day, one animal damages from 4 to 6 root crop bushes.
In some regions, animals destroy about 20% of the beet crop, 10% of the corn crop and about 15% of the potato crop. The reserves of one mole rat contain up to 18 kg of these valuable crops.
Surface network of mole rat tunnels. © naturgucker Measures to combat mole rats
Measures to combat mole rats coincide with measures to combat moles. However, as in the second case, they are often ineffective and require persistence.
In particular, repeated deep digging of the soil, which destroys the feeding systems of their passages, helps get rid of pests. Repelling with unpleasant odors. Using commercial repellers.
You can also catch a mole rat by hand. To do this, you need to identify a freshly dug hole, find another entrance and excavate it. The animal cannot stand drafts and therefore, most likely, will try to fix the destroyed passage, at which point it will be possible to catch it.
They drive the animal out of the hole with the help of water. To do this, they find a mole rat mound of earth mixed with clay, this is the entrance to a hole with a nest, and fill it.
Gardeners and summer residents of the central part of Russia, the western regions of the Caucasus and Left Bank Ukraine are well aware of who the mole rat is and what problems it can create.
Who is a mole rat
– this is a fairly large rodent (its weight is approximately 700 g, and its body length can reach 30 cm). The animal has no tail, the ears are not developed, the body is cylindrical, and the head is large and flattened. True to its name, the animal is not just blind, it has no eyes at all (in the place where they should be, there are dense folds of skin).
The mole rat's fur is hard, more like bristles, and long hairs protruding from the fur act as the animal's sense organs. The lips of the mole rat are also covered with folds, they protect the oral cavity from the entry of soil; only a pair of huge incisors stick out, giving the rodent a far from attractive appearance.
The mole rat's legs are short and weak; these organs do not take part in the work; the digging process occurs with the help of teeth.
The habitat of the common mole rat is steppe and forest-steppe areas near ravines, forest plantations and forests, as well as adjacent cultural crops. This rodent has close relatives: the Pontic, Bukovinian, Podolsk and Sandy mole rats. All of them are considered rare animals and are even listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.
However, the common mole rat is also last years does not increase its numbers. It is interesting that this rodent is practically absent from the territories located on the right bank of the Dnieper. Apparently, for many years the animal was unable to overcome this natural barrier during the migration process.
The mole rat digs underground complex multi-pass “two-story” burrows with a total length of 0.25–0.35 km: the upper tier is in the fertile soil layer (10-25 cm below the surface of the earth), the lower one is at a depth of one to four meters.
On the top floor of the rodent there is a “dining room” - it is at this level that there are roots, tubers and other underground parts of plants that the animal eats as it moves. Below there is, in fact, a dwelling (nest), as well as “storage chambers” for food stored for the winter.
When digging a hole, the mole rat pushes a rather impressive pile of earth to the surface with its head, which betrays its presence on the site.
To make it easier to move forward, the mole rat hits its head against the upper wall of the hole and, based on the strength of the reflection of the sound wave, determines the direction in which it is more convenient to continue moving. In a similar way, rodents communicate with each other by detecting a partner based on the wave signals they send.
What harm does a mole rat do?
Both in appearance and lifestyle, the mole rat is similar to a mole, and yet they are completely different animals. They build similar burrows, and the entrances to such underground tunnels look the same in appearance, but these rodents feed on different foods: The mole is a predator, its food consists of worms and larvae, while the mole rat is herbivorous and, as was said, not only eats all sorts of roots and roots on its way, but also creates their impressive reserves for the winter.
So, if you want to know what kind of animal left you without a harvest of carrots, beets or potatoes, you can be sure: it’s a mole rat! In addition, this animal happily feeds on bulbous plants, so it is just as dangerous for a flower garden as it is for a vegetable garden. The animal does not disdain the green parts of plants (it likes legumes, umbelliferous and asteraceae crops most of all), pulling them underground and eating them, while the roots and tubers are used mainly as reserves.
In the bins of the mole rat, up to 18 kg of potatoes were found in one chamber, while in the neighboring ones there were reserves of roots, acorns and other delicacies almost similar in weight. It has been noted that the mass of food that a mole rat eats per day is approximately comparable to the weight of its body, therefore, taking into account the animal’s active preparation for winter, one can imagine what harm a single mole rat can cause to crops, flowers and other lovingly planted plants. plants on the site!
If such a disaster has befallen you, and your green spaces have been literally tormented by a mole rat with its terror, a reasonable question arises: what to do. In fact, there are many ways to get a blind man out of the garden. These include traps, repellers, toxic substances, and various folk techniques. The choice depends on your humanity, ingenuity and finances.
Setting traps
Many people think that the most in an effective way getting rid of a mole rat is physical destruction of an animal. There are various designs of traps and other mechanical traps for mole rats; they can be purchased or made with your own hands according to the drawing offered on the Internet.
The main problem is not getting a trap, but setting it correctly. The technology is quite troublesome and the result is by no means guaranteed. So, the first thing you need to do is find the freshest pile of earth pushed out by the mole rat, and hope that the animal is somewhere nearby.
The principle of catching is based on the fact that the mole rat really does not like a draft, and if one forms in its hole, there is a chance that the rodent will go to eliminate the “mess” and fall into a trap.
We tear up the hole, find the main passage and clear it until we reach the earthen plug. This is what needs to be removed so that fresh air can begin to flow into the hole. The trap for the mole rat is installed at a depth of approximately 5 cm from the beginning of the move, its chain is brought to the surface, and the hole is sprinkled with earth or covered with plywood so as not to frighten off the pest. It is believed that you can check whether the event was a success within half an hour.
If you are lucky enough to have a hunting dog, it can help locate the rodent and save the owner from digging useless holes.
Both for the household and for the pet – excellent training in conditions close to combat!
In the same way, you can catch a mole rat using a hook or several hooks to which a loop is attached - the installation principle is the same, the hooks are dug into the ground near the exit of the hole, so that the animal will cling to one of them when it comes to fill the entrance. 
It should be noted that the method under consideration for catching mole rats is not considered effective. Firstly, its success directly depends on correct definition location of the animal in this moment, and taking into account the total duration of the hole and the number of numerous “exits” this is not always possible.
Secondly, experienced gardeners note the extraordinary cunning of these rodents. Only a very young and stupid animal can get caught in a trap; in addition, if one mole rat has already been caught in this way, others begin to show double caution, and one cannot count on repeated success.
Surprisingly, sometimes pets - cats or dogs - help to cope with the problem. Of course, it’s unlikely that a neat and melancholy Persian cat will catch a mole rat; we’re more likely talking about a yard cat, preferably one with experience in catching mice, and even better, rats (admittedly, the latter is very rare).
True, some cat lovers note that a cat that feeds kittens in order to protect its offspring from a potential threat can simply work wonders! Representatives of the dog breed are also not suitable, since only a “professional”, specially trained in hunting underground animals, such as a dachshund or spaniel, can catch a mole rat.
Installation of ringing, rattling and vibrating homemade devices
The second way to get rid of a mole rat is scaring. For this purpose, you can use various devices, but the principle of their operation is usually the same: to create a vibration or noise effect using the wind. Having no eyes, the mole rat is very sensitive to sound waves. When the ground shakes, the rodent perceives this as a signal of danger. If strange vibrations or noises are repeated frequently, the mole rat will be constantly in a state of discomfort and will eventually prefer to leave the unpleasant place.
As a sound repeller, a system of wooden pegs driven into the ground is sometimes used, to which any impellers, for example, from children's toys, are attached. When there is a gust of wind, the blades begin to spin, and a hum occurs, which is heard underground and greatly irritates mole rats and moles. Tin cans can be secured on the same pegs.
For the same purpose, you can bury it in the ground in different places. empty bottles, preferably large ones, for example, champagne bottles. The neck of the bottle should rise several centimeters above the ground, making it equal to sharp corner. If you take into account the most frequent wind direction when digging in a bottle, the created noise effect will occur much more often, and accordingly, the likelihood of scaring off an underground builder will increase.
Sometimes more complex designs are used, for example based on plastic bottles, which are cut and bent in a certain way, after which a wire is passed through the bottle, which goes deep into the ground, and a metal ball is placed in the bottle, creating an additional noise effect when there is a gust of wind. Based on this principle, you can come up with many other “noise makers” and “rattles”.
Did you know? The mole rat, like other rodents, does not like the aroma of some plants. In particular, it was noted that this animal absolutely cannot tolerate the parsnips that we love. Therefore, they say that if you sow this spice along the perimeter of the plot, preferably in several rows, you can forget about the problem of the presence of mole rats in the garden. It is only important to use long-rooted varieties so that the rodent encounters the plant as it moves. In any case, this method is much simpler than digging around the area with a metal mesh half a meter deep, and this type of pest control advice is also often found.
Fighting mole rats with water
A separate way to get rid of mole rats is flood it, or rather, his hole. Considering the length and complexity of the underground structures built by the rodent, this method cannot be called simple. And it’s absolutely certain that you won’t get away with just a bucket of water here.
Important! Water should get not just into the hole, but into the nest of the mole rat, which, as we know, is located in the lower tiers of the underground passage. A certain clue can be obtained by carefully examining the clods of earth thrown to the surface by the animal. You need to pour into the entrance around which the clay will be visible along with the soil - it is located deeper in the ground, and there is a chance that in front of you is the right exit!
The hole must first be cleared to reveal the entrance to the hole. It is into this entrance that you should pour water, and it is better to stock up on a hose for this purpose, and not run around with buckets. How more water will be poured, the more likely it is that it will eventually reach the animal and it will float to the surface.
What to do with a caught animal is up to everyone to decide for themselves (and this is an additional drawback of the method under consideration: the rodent will either need to be killed, which not everyone is capable of, or taken somewhere, and this is also not the most promising option). 
They use an even more sophisticated method of getting rid of mole rats using water. A trench 30 cm deep is dug along the perimeter of the site. Its edges must be strengthened in such a way that, once in it, the animal cannot get out (for example, by covering it with slate). At some distance from each other, grooves are dug inside the trench, which are filled with water so that the mole rat, moving along the trench, eventually falls into one of the holes and drowns.
The effectiveness of this method, however, raises strong doubts due to excessive labor intensity and the absence of any guaranteed success. And pulling a drowned man out of a ditch is not a pleasure for the faint of heart.
Use of poisons
Poison is another dubious method of getting rid of mole rats. In general, these rodents can be killed by the same drugs that are used against rats, but we must not forget that country cottage area- not a basement or a city dump, there are people here, children play and pets frolic. And plants treated with rat poison should not be subsequently used for food (even if you put the poison directly into the hole, it is still unsafe). 
Important! The ineffectiveness of the poison in the fight against mole rats is also due to the fact that, as has been said, this rodent is very cunning. In addition, given that there is plenty of food for the animal on the site, the likelihood that the bait with poison will be chosen by the animal for the next lunch is very low.
If the desire to fight mole rats with radical methods is still not lost, for this purpose you can use, for example, the drug “Nutcracker” (the active ingredient is bromadiolone). Still, it is better to use products like “Krotomet”, “Anti-Krot” or “Detia”, their action is based on repellent aromatic substances, they are not toxic, although perhaps not so effective.
Installation of an ultrasonic repeller
Finally, there is a modern and humane way to solve the problem of how to get rid of mole rats in the garden - an electronic sound repeller powered by charger or on regular batteries. More expensive devices use solar energy to charge. 
The principle of operation of the device is similar to sound repellers: it is aimed at the auditory sensitivity of the mole rat, but in this case the waves are transmitted not through the air, but through the soil. It is known that the mole rat, like other underground animals, has low-frequency sound reception; it is precisely such sounds that travel best underground, especially if there are air pockets there, that is, in underground passages.
The sound produced by the repeller is in the frequency range from 35 to 65 kHz. I would really like to say that the human ear cannot detect it, but in fact this is not the case. However, manufacturers of repellers claim that the device can cause a certain amount of anxiety, even ringing in the ears and headaches, to a person only if he remains in close proximity (up to half a meter) to the sound source for a long time.
Therefore, to avoid negative impact It is enough not to point the device directly at yourself if you are going to relax on the terrace for a couple of hours. It is also recommended to take children a little further to the side. Otherwise, the device is completely safe. 
So, the repeller produces permanent or short-interval ultrasonic vibrations, which are almost not perceived by humans, but are perfectly recognized by underground inhabitants. The range of such vibrations depends on the device model - from several tens to several thousand square meters, however, it should be remembered that in the presence of obstacles, the coverage area decreases.
Therefore, if the area is too uneven, there are elevations, structures, basements, wells, etc., it is better to use several repellers. The irritating power of the sound wave on the hearing system of moles and mole rats is such that the animals prefer to find a quieter place to live.
Important! No one wants to leave a house that is carefully built and complex in design, so device manufacturers warn that the repeller does not provide an immediate effect: only after making sure that the problem is not being solved does the mole rat make the difficult decision to move away from the source of concern. Sometimes it takes up to one and a half months from installing the device to obtaining the desired effect.
The repeller must be installed directly into the ground - in no case into a hole, since the vibrations produced by the device are transmitted in the ground, and not through the air, so its effectiveness directly depends on the density of contact of the device with the soil.
The device is dug into the ground, about 5 cm should remain on the surface, then the earth around it is well compacted. The lid of the device must be tightly closed to prevent moisture from entering, which can damage the batteries.
If after a long time the mole rat has not left the area, you can try to move the repeller to another place - perhaps the animal managed to find a corner in its corridors that the waves do not reach, and then a simple procedure can correct the situation.
It is quite obvious that such an electronic device has a number of advantages compared to almost all of the methods of rodent control described above.
Firstly, it is environmentally safe and acts specifically on underground pests, without causing any harm to people, pets, birds, bees and other welcome guests on the site.
Secondly, this is an absolutely humane method of fighting a generally innocent animal; the device does not kill the animal, but simply makes it leave.
Third, the device is not an expensive device, does not take up much space in the garden and does not turn your plot into a branch of a “skillful hands” circle with various ringing sounds. tin cans tied on strings.
Another advantage The advantage of the device is that it can be used for several years (you just need to change the batteries on time or charge the battery, and if you purchased a device that runs on solar batteries, you don’t need to do anything at all, the device recharges itself).
Well last good news: The mole rat is a solitary animal. If he leaves your site, the problem will indeed be solved for a long time.
If we talk about the disadvantages of this method of fighting mole rats, then, perhaps, only one can be highlighted: the animal is not exterminated, but simply leaves.
And considering that it has to move underground, it will most likely not move too far.
Therefore, if around your site there are not virgin lands, but neighboring dachas, it is likely that, having solved your problem, you will simply shift it onto the heads of those who live nearby. In any case, kill or drive away - the choice is yours!
Was this article helpful?
Thank you for your opinion!
Write in the comments what questions you have not received an answer to, we will definitely respond!
226
once already
helped
