By Bill Amos for Northern Woodlands’ “The Outside Story“
Illustration by Adelaide Tyrol
Two months ago a predictable eruption began on the lawn surrounding our house. Rough clumps of rich, dark subsoil appeared upon the still barren ground.
“Those **@#$&%** moles again,” my thoughts went. But moles do no lasting harm to a lawn despite making an unsightly seasonal mess.
Nevertheless these eruptions invite human attention. When our children were small, we did our mole dance, jumping up and down in an attempt to flatten the dark mounds and ridges thrust above the ground. Our ineffectual efforts never had any effect upon moles off somewhere else in their labyrinthine tunnels.
Moles are prolific. A female bears four or five young every spring in a deep nesting chamber. When only a month old the youngsters leave home and forage on their own, so youthful exuberance may contribute to what is abundantly noticeable on lawns in early summer. Read this article in its entirety and learn about Vermont’s hairy-nose mole here.