Before you grab all the means to combat furry pests, compare the harm they cause with the benefits they bring. For example, they loosen the soil and thereby improve its fertility. But if this is a weak argument, we are ready to suggest several effective ways to protect your garden from these uninvited guests.
Shrews, wild hamsters, mole rats and the like have quite a lot in common. For example, they have a well-developed sense of smell, as well as sensitivity to noise and vibration. They are also quite voracious. All these features of furry pests need to be turned to your advantage by using appropriate means of protection.
Mole rat
The mole rat does not appear in the garden as often as a mole, for example, or a shrew, but it can cause much more damage to the crop. This rodent is capable of digging long tunnels, where it arranges special places for storing crops grown in the garden.
Getting rid of such a pest is not so easy and fighting it does not always have a positive effect. Sometimes you have to use a whole range of tools.
Where does it live?
For its habitat, it most often chooses fields, steppes, forest belts, ravines, and virgin lands.
The mole rat's underground tunnel systems have two tiers. The first is located at a depth of no more than 25 cm from the surface and is food, the second is located at a depth of 3 - 4 meters. The second has nests for living in summer and winter, as well as storage for food supplies.
The mole digs the soil using its front paws, while the naked mole rat uses its strong incisors. The piles of earth are larger than those of moles. The mounds can have a diameter of up to 50 cm, and the earth thrown to the surface sometimes has a mass of no less, but about 10 kg.
A mole rat can cause a lot of damage in a dacha, and its destruction is very difficult, since the animal spends most of its life underground.
Reasons for appearance
This pest, like many others, is looking for something to profit from. Naturally, in their garden or summer cottage, the owners grow everything that is necessary to feed the mole rat. In addition to vegetables, there are worms and enough insects on the site. The higher the yield on the site, the greater the chance that this pest will appear here.
The mole rat does not hibernate during the winter, so it requires a lot of food. It is possible that the pest will definitely settle in the area where the crop is taken care of.
The activity of this pest leaves behind long, several-tiered passages in the garden, as well as underground storerooms in which the animal stores part of the crop grown by the owners in their gardens. As a rule, it eats the green mass first and stores the root crops for the winter. Even one mole rat is capable of taking away a considerable share of the harvest. If several individuals appear on the site, then you can forget about high yields of crops such as potatoes, onions, beets and carrots.
In addition, it digs quite large tunnels, with a diameter of 5 to 15 cm, due to which it damages some plants in the area. The lower tiers can be located at a depth of up to 3 meters, and the upper ones - at a depth of 10 cm. Such a system of underground passages often does not allow the normal development of many cultivated plants.
Homemade repellent devices
They are very easy to make with your own hands. Although this animal does not see, it is very sensitive to sound waves. He runs away from any rustle or noise. If in the area where it lives these noises are repeated regularly, then the animal usually tries to move to another, quieter place. Therefore, the entire summer cottage must be equipped with noisy devices powered by the wind.
- As such a repeller, you can drive ordinary pegs into the ground, to which tin cans are tied with ropes. They will hit each other in the wind, making noise. Instead of jars, you can use already unnecessary baby rattles. The main thing is that the thing should not be heavy, make noise or sway from the wind.
- Stick large empty bottles in several places. The main thing is that the neck rises 3-5 centimeters above the soil and is directed towards the wind. Thus, with the help of the wind, the bottle will make noise that is unpleasant for the animal.
In this way, you can come up with several designs that will constantly make noise, thereby scaring away unwanted guests from this summer cottage. You can even make a full-fledged garden scarecrow by hanging cans from its pegs.
How to get rid of mole rats on your property
Those who had to fight this rodent drew attention to the fact that the mole rat burrows quite deep into the ground, which complicates the fight against it. As already mentioned, the animal can burrow 3 meters deep, so in order to get it, you will have to dig up the entire area. In this regard, many owners are thinking about how to get rid of the animal in order to save the harvest. As you can see, the price of the issue is quite significant.
Experienced gardeners have tried a lot of methods and figured out how to get rid of such an unnecessary neighborhood. And here the most important thing is not to show excessive humanity, since several individuals with their cubs can deprive the owner of the harvest, especially since mole rats reproduce quite quickly.
Using traps
Traps are used to combat many rodents, including mole rats. But first, it’s better to determine who is spoiling the crop so that the effect of installing traps is maximum.
To fight effectively, the following steps should be taken:
Some owners tear up the soil and place containers with water inside multi-tiered passages, as a result of which the mole rats cannot get out. This is a rather labor-intensive process, since you have to dig deep into the ground. In addition, it is not always possible to obtain the desired result.
On a note! There is one, but effective way to get rid of such a neighborhood. To do this, you need to take a rag, soak it in gasoline, kerosene and other foul-smelling substances, and bury this rag in the ground at various depths. In addition, animals react negatively to essential oils of plants such as eucalyptus, cedar, lavender and others.
Ultrasonic repellers
Thanks to the rapid development of electronics, science and technology, it has been possible to create modern devices that emit ultrasonic waves of various frequencies. Humans do not perceive these waves, but many animals and rodents react negatively to ultrasound. Sound waves in this range cause a feeling of fear in rodents, as a result of which they begin to panic and try to leave the uncomfortable area as quickly as possible. Not much time passes, and the rodents leave this area in search of more comfortable conditions for their life.
For effective control it is necessary to install several such devices. In this case, it makes no sense to install any additional traps. Ultrasonic repellers will operate throughout the entire area. They will help get rid of pests even if a good, promising crop for rodents is ripening on the site. Such devices will help the owner get rid of other pests, not just mole rats. Moles, shrews, mole crickets and other pests cannot tolerate ultrasound. The main thing is to choose the right devices in terms of power so that they protect the entire area.
Source
How to quickly get rid of mole rats in your summer cottage
Let's start with the fact that mole rats and moles are different animals, but they cause almost the same damage to a summer cottage.
The mole rat belongs to the category of rodents and feeds exclusively on root vegetables. For him, carrots, beets, and potatoes are delicacies.
You can find animals in your garden through earthen mounds and deep tunnels into which you can even fall. Initially, many people think that moles are to blame, but there are other pests that are very similar to moles, since they do not see anything.
Let's find out what a mole rat looks like and how it differs from a mole. And also the question that interests us: “How to get rid of mole rats in the garden and summer cottage?”
Introducing cats to hunting
How to get rid of harmful animals using animals? You must first find the places under which underground animal communications are located. Next, they dig out about half a meter of the tunnel with a shovel. As mentioned above, the naked mole rat reacts sharply to a draft. Therefore, having made a hole, you need to wait with the cat for the appearance of a naked animal. It will be especially easy for your pet to catch a young and inexperienced pest. You can also involve a dog with the necessary skills in catching animals on the site.
Description of an adult mole rat
The mole rat is a rodent and a fairly large one of its relatives. Its weight often reaches about 1 kg, and its body length is 30 cm. The animal has a large and flattened head, the ears are very small, and there is no tail at all.
The hairline is very tough, since long hairs sticking out in different directions act as organs of touch. Instead of eyes, individuals have dense skin folds that resemble closed eyes, but they are not there at all.
The rodent's lips are tightly compressed, thereby protecting the mouth from the entry of soil, but two incisors, which are very massive and long, protrude out. With their help, the mole rat does all the work underground in search of food, digs holes, and gnaws root crops.
The paws are very small and poorly developed.
The mole rat practically never goes outside and spends its entire life underground.
Habitat
Mole rats live in forest-steppe and steppe zones, not far from forest plantations and cereal crops. All subspecies of the mole rat, namely Bukovinian, Podolian, sandy and Pontic, are exhibits of the Red Book of Ukraine.
Therefore, it is generally accepted that the homeland and country of distribution of these rodents is Ukraine and its adjacent territories.
Every year the number of pest animals remains the same, and they are observed only on the right side of the Dnieper River, since they cannot overcome the width of the river.
What does it eat?
If there is no harvest on your plot, then you should not blame all the blame on the mole. We need to decide which crops are missing. If these are potatoes, beets and carrots, then this is definitely the work of the “teeth” of the mole rat.
In addition, the animal is not averse to eating bulbous crops, so flowers that have corms instead of roots may also suffer. The mole rat also eats the above-ground part of the plant, pulling the bush underground.
The pest's favorite greens are peas, beans, beans, and carrot tops. If the animal has enjoyed the grass, then it will prepare the root crop for future use.
It is known that an adult is capable of eating as much food per day as it weighs, therefore, when excavating its winter reserves, up to 18 kg of potatoes and other root crops were discovered in different compartments. Dry berries and nuts can be supplies for the winter.
Differences from a mole
The mole and the mole rat are completely different categories of animals.
They have some differences:
The blind animal digs very complex burrows, which have many branches and tiers, where the cubs, kitchen and pantries are located, in which supplies for the winter are stored.
Appearance
A relatively large rodent - the body length of adults 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 tone of the fur color is fawn-gray-brown; there is significant variability in color between individual individuals.
Methods to combat mole rats
Due to the fact that the mole rat spends a long time in its burrows, it is very difficult to get rid of it. But still the fight against them is underway, the summer residents are using all sorts of weapons.
You can buy it at a veterinary store as a poison for rodents. Mole poison is also suitable.
Traps
Here you need to remember that if a young or adult inexperienced individual falls into a trap at least once, then the rest will be extremely careful.
The main thing in catching a rodent is to correctly select and install a trap or trap.
Sometimes a rodent is caught after half an hour, but usually these tricks are ineffective, since the pest has a colossal sense of smell and sense of smell and tries to bypass the traps.
We also recommend considering mole traps such as Supercat and Fedor the Cat - these are effective mole traps, but they can catch blind people on your property!
Follow the links to learn more about these traps and even place an order:
I will also leave links for residents of Ukraine:
Video review of the mole trap Cat Fedor
And here is a video of one gardener, where he tells his story of how he defeated moles
Repellers
As a repeller, you can use not only store-bought ultrasonic and vibration reflectors, but also homemade structures. Among them, excellent results are achieved by tin cans, which are placed on embedded sticks. When the wind blows, they create noise, crackling, ringing, which the animal does not like.
The mole rat, although a blind animal, has excellent hearing; when it hears extraneous sounds, it tries to retreat from its habitat.
Homemade products always bring success in the fight against rodents. If you installed one, but it did not work, you can make another one, taking into account all the characteristics and habits of the animal.
For hand-held devices, turntables and windmills are suitable, rattling in the wind and frightening the beast. You can learn how to make any design from the Internet, where experienced gardeners and gardeners share their advice.
Another frequently used way to drive an uninvited guest out of his lair is water. It is necessary to fill the hole with it until the animal begins to choke and crawls to the surface.
Conclusion
It is known that mole rats do not live in families, so if you managed to drive the pest away from your site, it may not appear for a long time. But if it appears again, then immediately begin to catch it, otherwise you may not find a crop in the garden beds in the fall.
In conclusion, it should be mentioned that an excellent way to combat rodents is to use cats and dogs, which are excellent catchers of large and small rodents, but this is not certain
