Case Study IV – February/March 2009

This Cumbrian Reservoir Banking had excessive resident mole activity.

The Problem

The banking of the reservoir had an excessive amount of mole activity. The subsoil was becoming undermined with the potential for ground erosion and collapse. The area was becoming a danger to people and livestock that use this area for grazing and recreational activities.

The Solution

Trapping was the only safe method of controlling the mole activity here. A programme of trapping was scheduled and agreed and work began to remove all current mole lifts and to place traps in the active mole tunnels. This work is slow and requires a great amount of patience and experience to ensure the traps are safe from non target species, will be effective and are able to be located again on follow up inspections.

Result

The area was cleared of nine moles that had been active in this area. All traps were recovered and the job was a great success. The customer was made aware that new moles can and often do move into areas where there has been previous activity and has requested a proposal from AVRO to monitor and continue with our trapping service.