How to get rid of moles and mole rats, their differences, control measures. Common mole rat: description and photo

Sometimes summer residents, having discovered characteristic piles of earth and complex underground communications on their plots, are sure that there was a mole here. But the culprit may be the common mole rat. What is the difference between him and a mole? They have different appearance and food preferences. Today you will learn how to recognize mole rats, where they live, and how to combat their activity in the garden using effective methods.

This animal causes much more damage to the garden plot than the well-known mole. If moles are only able to make underground passages and form mounds on the surface of the soil, then the common mole rat is able to gnaw many root crops, the harvest of which will not go to the owners - carrots, beets, potatoes. The mole mole also likes to feed on leaves and stems of crops and bulbous flowers. For the winter, the animal mole rat makes food reserves, the volume of which in an adult individual can reach 10 kg.

This animal does not tend to hibernate; it simply becomes less active with the arrival of cold weather. Externally, this is an animal up to 30 - 32 cm long. The mole rat has a head slightly reminiscent of a shovel in shape, reduced eyes - in their place there is a fold of skin. The ears and tail of the animal are rather weakly expressed, the body is densely covered with hair.

There are ordinary, Podolsk, Bukovinian, sandy, and giant mole rats.

The giant mole rat is rare species, whose numbers are declining sharply every year.

The giant mole rat is listed in the Red Book of Russia. Its representatives give birth once every 2 years, while most of the young die in the first year of life. The giant mole rat is disappearing due to human activity on the land - plowing, construction of irrigation canals, grazing. IN natural conditions The giant mole rat is found only in semi-deserts located in the northeastern Ciscaucasia. Very rarely it can be seen along the Terek, Sulak, and Kuma rivers.

In terms of color, the sand mole rat occupies an intermediate position between the common, Podolsk and Bukovinian mole rats on the one hand, and the giant mole rat on the other. The sand mole rat is lighter colored.

The back of the head, back and sides of the animal’s body are yellowish-fawn-gray in color. The sand mole rat is a resident of the Lower Dnieper sands of the Kherson region. He likes to settle on poorly moistened soils belonging to the chernozem type. The sand mole rat is most common where wormwood, Ukrainian salsify, field eryngium, pearl cornflower and some other plants grow.

The most common naked species of mole rat is found in our garden plots.

Video “Common mole rat”

From the video you will learn what these animals are.

How is it different from a mole?

Common mole rat, unlike the mole, is larger, and its limbs are five-fingered, with small claws and less developed. The molehill is rather created by powerful teeth, and the earth does not enter the rodent’s mouth, since the folded lips are located behind the scars.

If moles prefer to eat insects, then these animals eat roots, tubers and bulbs. In order to get to the above-ground part of the crops, they carry them by the roots to their home. Most of all the animals like umbelliferous, asteraceae and leguminous plants. Stems and leaves often become their prey in the spring or early summer.

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.

Methods, means and traps for fighting

The most popular method of control when a mole rat is found on a site is to use strong poisons. They are similar to the poison that allows you to poison rats. Due to the high toxicity of such drugs, it is recommended to install a trap or live trap in the garden. But thanks to their natural intelligence, rodents are able to avoid the place where such traps are installed. Even in case of danger, a small mole rat can show aggression - growl and bare powerful teeth. A live trap or trap should be set when leaving the burrow. There is also a known method of catching animals using a hook.

It is necessary to dig out the norm and insert a long wire with a hook or several hooks inside.

A loop is made at the other end of the wire. It is needed to secure the hook in the hole. If there is a draft, the animal rushes to the exit and gets hooked. Next, the owner decides how to get rid of the mole rat. The use of crossbows, traps and poisons is considered inhumane, so animal lovers prefer to get rid of pests using water and an electronic repeller. Another method is to smoke rodents out of your home by attaching a hose to the exhaust pipe of a car. But it is possible to contaminate the land on the site along the way. An electronic repeller gives a good effect, since the animals cannot tolerate vibration and tend to leave the garden.

Introducing cats to hunting

How to get rid of harmful animals using animals? You must first find the places under which the underground communications of animals are located. Next, they dig out about half a meter of 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.

Using water for fishing

Another method that is not destructive, but helps to catch a rodent, is the use of water. You will need a watering hose and about 10 liters of liquid. After discovering the tunnel that leads to the animal’s home, you should dig a hole near the mound with clay and direct water there. In order for the animals to reach the surface, it is necessary to generously fill the underground passages due to their helical shape. Using this remedy, every garden owner will be able to catch uninvited guests from the plot. You will have to decide for yourself how to get rid of them further.

Garden pest mole rat not known to all gardeners. Sometimes summer residents find mounds of earth on their plots. In addition, the garden turns out to be dug up by underground tunnels in such a way that you can fall ankle-deep into the ground. The first thing gardeners do is blame moles. But it turns out that there are other rodents that can spoil the external and internal view summer cottage plot. Of course, one should not ignore the work of moles in the construction of underground passages, but there are other animals - representatives of the mole rat family, which, like moles, adore underground construction. Mole rats differ from moles in appearance and eating habits.

Occupation and appearance of mole rats

It turns out that mole rats cause more damage to vegetable gardens than moles. are insectivorous diggers who can annoy summer residents only by digging hills and holes in their plots. Mole rats are real rodents whose delicacies are root vegetables - beets, carrots. In addition to vegetables, animals love to eat the stems and leaves of plants and love to eat.

In addition, shortly before the onset of winter, mole rats stock up on food. The reserves of one rodent alone can reach 10 kilograms. The animals are active all year round, do not hibernate, although by the onset of cold weather their behavior becomes somewhat calmer.

Features and appearance of the mole rat.

The animal is distinguished by a flat, spade-shaped head, on which there are reduced eyes, in place of which there is a skin fold. The animal has weakly defined ears and a tail, and its body is covered with thick and dense hair.

Many summer residents confuse mole rats with moles, calling them mole moles. But there are many differences between these two animals that lead an underground lifestyle.

The mole rat is larger in size than the mole.
While the mole digs passages in the ground with its paws, the mole rat is distinguished by poorly developed limbs, five-fingered, with small claws.

It is impossible to dig tunnels up to half a kilometer long with such paws, so the mole rat digs them with the help of its powerful teeth. Its wide incisors bite into the ground, and its lips with multiple folds are located behind the incisors. Thanks to this, the soil does not get into the rodent's mouth.

Features and differences between a mole rat and a mole.

Where do mole rats live?

The habitat of rodents can be a steppe, a field, a virgin plot of land, a forest belt, or a ravine. The common mole rat digs holes in several tiers, with complex system moves. The location of the feeding passages is 10-30 cm deep. Other, deeper passages branch off from these passages - rodents place nests and storerooms at a depth of 80 cm - 3 meters.

Photo of the pest mole rat, which can cause quite a few problems for summer residents.

When a rodent digs its passages, it is capable of throwing heaps onto the surface of the earth that reach enormous sizes. Get rid of the mole rat quite difficult, since the rodent lives underground most of its life.

Methods, means and traps for controlling mole rats

Most effective way when fighting mole rats, this is the use of strong poisons, which are similar to the poison used to bait rats. However, when using toxic substances There is a high chance that pets or children will be harmed.

For this reason, it is better to install traps or live traps, however, this also has its drawbacks. Installing these devices takes a lot of time. In addition, rodents have perspicacity and intelligence, so they easily bypass dangerous place where the trap is set.

Old and experienced mole rats have an excellent sense of smell, which allows them to bypass even very cunning traps. In addition, the animals can be aggressive - they growl if their life is threatened. If you have chosen traps, install them at the entrance to animal burrows.

The mole rat is a pest that destroys plantings and crops. summer cottage.

Experienced mole rats are caught using a hook. To do this, you need to dig out the entrance to the hole and insert a long wire inside the hole, at the end of which one or more hooks are attached. The other end of the wire is equipped with a loop, which helps secure the hook in the animal’s burrow (otherwise the rodent may drag the trap away).

Sensing the appearance of a draft, the mole rat will hurry to exit the hole and get hooked. Moving from side to side, he will only worsen his already unenviable position. The owner of the summer cottage can only take the animal off the hook and decide what to do with it next.

The use of crossbows, traps, toxic substances - these methods are inhumane because they kill mole rats. Using water and an electronic repeller keeps the animal alive. Some summer residents smoke rodents out of minks by connecting a hose to the exhaust pipe of a car. Thanks to this method, mole rats do not appear on the site for several months, but the soil is noticeably contaminated.

A good effect can be achieved by using an electronic repeller that acts on moles and mole rats. Rodents cannot tolerate vibration, so they quickly leave the area.

Active pets - cats and cats, excellent rat catchers, can help you hunt mole rats - summer residents often and successfully use this method, introducing cats to rodent hunting.

Introducing cats to hunt mole rats

To do this, the following steps are required:

First, you need to determine the location of the animal’s underground passages, which is not difficult to do, since in those places the earth collapses under your feet.

Using a shovel, dig about half a meter of underground tunnel. Since rodents are sensitive to the appearance of a draft, you will very quickly see a mole rat coming to fill the open part of the hole with soil.

Cats are natural hunters, but not all pets are capable of catching mole rats.

At this time, you should not waste time - you need to dig a wide hole (up to half a meter) near the exit from the mink, the depth of which should be 30-40 cm, and then take your loved one pet and wait with him for the rodent to appear. If the mole rat is young, it is less agile, and catching it is not difficult.

By the way, you can also use the help of a dog to catch mole rats.

Using water to catch mole rats

One or two buckets will not be enough for you catch a rodent. In order to catch it with water, you need to use a long irrigation hose, or stock up on at least ten buckets of water.

First you need to find a tunnel that leads to the mole rat's hole. Ordinary moves are calculated on the ground covered with mounds. There is a passage leading into the burrow, which differs in that the mound contains clay (the rodent places its nest on great depth where the soil is clayey).

A hole is dug near the embankment with clay, and a continuous flow of water is directed into it. The underground passages deepen in a helical manner, so it is necessary to generously fill them with water so that the rodent floats to the surface of the earth. All that remains is to grab the animal and do with it as you wish.

So, conclusions should be drawn:

Mole rats are voracious pests that also live a long time. To save your harvest, you must urgently get rid of rodents a method that each summer resident chooses for himself.

What kind of animal is this?

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, different and appearance, and body structure, and behavioral characteristics, and even the nature of harmfulness...

Mole rats(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.

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. To summer and then to winter period their vital activity is significantly reduced, but they do not hibernate.

Habitat

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.

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.

Lifestyle

The mole rat leads an exclusively underground lifestyle, emerging to the surface on rare occasions. It creates a highly branched two-tier system of burrows. The longest one is the upper “feeding” passage, which lies at a depth of about 20–25 cm. In addition to the feeding tier, the mole rat builds a system of summer and winter nests, as well as food storage areas. They are connected by passages to a second, deeper tier, which is up to 4 m long.

Making passages, the mole rat loosens the soil with the help of powerful incisors, and then moves it to the surface, where characteristic heaps of earth, the so-called “mole rats,” are formed. The weight of the ejected soil in one mole rat can exceed 10 kg, and the diameter - 50 cm. The length of the passages of one mole rat reaches 450 m.

The common mole rat eats plants, the basis of its diet being rhizomes, bulbs and tubers. In spring and early summer, it also feeds on above-ground parts of plants (stems and leaves). The mole rat prefers Asteraceae, Umbelliferae and Legumes.

The mole rat is also active in winter. In order not to die of hunger, he makes provisions for the winter. Acorns, rhizomes, bulbs of wild plants, potato tubers and even sugar beets were found in his underground storerooms. Moreover, the mole rat's reserves are considerable - their weight sometimes reaches 14 kg.

However, there are also living creatures that benefit from mole rats. Gophers, voles, hamsters and other animals live in abandoned mole rat tunnels.

Since the mole rat lives underground, natural enemies he has few, the main one is the steppe polecat, he can reach mole rats in their own burrows. The young animals settling on the surface are hunted by foxes, dogs, birds of prey and crows.

The lifespan of this underground rodent is up to 9 years.

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.

Reproduction of blind women

Lesser mole rats are solitary animals. The network of tunnels of one individual does not connect with the burrows of another.

Individuals of different sexes are found exclusively during the breeding season. The mating season for small mole rats begins in the spring and continues until summer. But today scientists do not know how blind women find partners and create pairs.

Mole rats give birth to offspring once a year. One female can have up to 6 cubs in a litter, but, as a rule, 3-4 babies are born. A blind woman feeds her offspring for 4 weeks.

About the life expectancy of small mole rats, as well as about their mating behavior, nothing is known.

Harm

Mole rat burrows

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 can take 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.

How to drive away a mole rat

Only one question arises when a common mole rat appears on a personal plot - how to get rid of the pest? For many, this becomes an overwhelming task. After all, the animal constantly hides in the ground and its presence, creating new mounds and destroying planted plants, only at night.

It is best to try to create conditions so that the animal leaves on its own. land plot. A lot of ways have been invented for this, but none of them guarantees that the animal will escape forever. But it’s still worth making every effort to get rid of the mole rat without shedding its blood.

One commonly used method is to flood its tunnel with water. But this may require too much water, since the animal’s underground passages are very branchy. But if the soil quickly absorbs moisture, this method is completely useless. Some try to smoke out their four-legged neighbor using smoke, pouring kerosene or foul-smelling mixtures into the hole. Another way is to create constant noise in the area where it lives, which the common mole rat cannot tolerate. As an option, you can use an ultrasonic repeller.

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08.06.2017

Information about these underground inhabitants is often contradictory, since their way of life is not fully understood and has many blank spots. The most incredible rumors and “heartbreaking” stories are being spread about the benefits and harms of these funny animals, especially among summer residents, more like fiction and fantasies, since shrews and moles are blamed for all imaginable and unimaginable misadventures of gardeners, blaming almost all of the poor animals “ dogs."

So, how to distinguish a mole from a shrew, what is the difference between them and in fact, these little animals are so dangerous and harmful. Let's figure it out.

Few people have seen this animal in person, since it lives underground. The shrew looks like a mouse, but has a more elongated muzzle with an elongated proboscis. Her fur is soft, fluffy, velvety, gray. The ears on the head are practically absent, and the eyes are very small and blind.

The shrew reaches from eighteen to twenty centimeters in length and has a very long tail. The baby's weight is no more than fifteen grams.

Predatory animals such as foxes, dogs and domestic cats sometimes catch and strangle shrews, mistaking them for mice, but do not eat them, since thanks to the musk gland the animal secretes a strong bad smell, which takes away any appetite from the pursuers. Only some species do not have an aversion to shrews birds of prey, for example, owls and small wild animals like ferrets and weasels, for which the unpleasant spirit emanating from the animal is not a hindrance.

Like all of its close relatives, such as hedgehogs and moles, the shrew belongs to the order of insectivores and, like most rodents, lives in burrows, feeding mainly on animal food. Scouring the ground in search of food and using passages left by mice and other rodents, shrews devour insects, worms, larvae, and other small animals.

Since the shrew has a powerful metabolism and cannot go without food for a long time (no more than seven to nine hours at a time), it has to constantly get food and eat more food during the day than it weighs.

The most common are the two types of shrews:

· Shrews (lat. Crocidura)

· Shrews (lat. Sorex)

As the names of the animals suggest, some have white tips of their teeth, while others have white brown. In addition, shrews are usually much smaller in size.

Since the shrew is a predator, it is beneficial by destroying the larvae of harmful insects living underground. In addition, these animals excellently loosen the soil, saturating it with oxygen and thus aerating the soil.

Mole

Mole ( lat. Talpa europaea) is a close relative of the shrew. It has powerful front paws, well adapted for digging the ground, a muzzle with a maneuverable trunk and a short tail. The animal reaches twenty centimeters in length.

Like the shrew, the mole is an underground dweller, building an intricate system of passages, and appears on the surface only in an emergency. The mole throws out all the excess earth that is formed during the construction of passages. These earth heaps in the form of small tubercles are popularly called molehills and are a clear sign that a mole has settled in this area.

It should be noted that the mole does not inhabit vegetable gardens and personal plots, but can live in the garden if the soil is sufficiently moist.

Like the shrew, the mole is a predatory animal, large quantities consuming earthworms and earthworms, actively feeding on the larvae of beetles, butterflies, beetles and other harmful insects, thereby bringing invaluable help to gardeners and summer residents.

Mole rat

Well, finally, we got to the true pest, since it is the mole rat that is the threat of vegetable gardens and summer cottages, rampaging and outrageous to the fullest.

For mole rats, the animal food that its relatives feed on is strictly contraindicated.

Like all of the above “relatives” of the mole rat, it diligently digs passages and holes and leads an exclusively underground lifestyle, leaving its shelter only once in its life - at the moment when adolescence leaves his father's house to begin an independent adult life.

Like a mole, a mole rat can be detected on a site by the mounds formed on the surface, resembling small earthen slides.

In addition to the common mole rat, there are several other species of this rodent: “ sandy», « Pontic», « Bukovinian" And " Podolsk", and all these species (with the exception of the common one) are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

It is noteworthy that the habitat of the common mole rat is limited only to the left bank of Ukraine, since, apparently, the Dnieper River is an insurmountable barrier for the animal.

The mole rat, unlike its fellows, is a herbivore and feeds on underground parts of plants. In wild natural conditions, the pest consumes mainly bulbous crops, acorns and eats up seedlings of oaks, maples, and other deciduous trees, and when it gets into the garden, it becomes a real disaster, since it destroys root crops, bulbs and tubers of cultivated plants.

As stated above, this type rodents, due to their secretive habitat, are still poorly studied and keep many secrets.

In appearance, the mole rat has a rather blocky body, resembling a voluminous cylinder up to twenty-five centimeters in length. The rodent's head has a flattened shape. The main digging tool of the mole rat is the huge sharp incisors sticking out. In place of the eyes there is a wide fold of skin, completely covered with bristles. The animal's skin is yellowish-brown in color. It is noteworthy that the organs of touch in the mole rat are individual hard hairs protruding from the fur, thanks to the sensitivity of which the animal receives information from the outside.

An interesting fact is that the fleas living on the animal have also been successfully assimilated and, like their owner, are completely blind.

It is a well-known fact that the mole rat creates a significant supply of food, storing it for the long winter period. For example, eighteen (!) kilograms of potatoes were found in the pantry of one prudent and hardworking animal. However, scientists have determined that daily norm consumption of plant food in a mole rat is equal to its own weight(and this is about half a kilogram of weight), that is, with such a rate of consumption, these products are clearly not enough for the whole winter. It is possible that during the dry winter period the animal falls into a state of suspended animation, causing the metabolic process to slow down, and the mole rat feeds only from time to time.

The main habitat of the mole rat is located at approximately a depth of ten to twenty-five centimeters and the burrows, as a rule, are located in the soil layer in two tiers. In the upper tier the animal feeds (since its main food supply is located at this depth), and in the lower tier the mole rat builds nests, creates its own pantries and establishes latrines. It is noteworthy that the lower “floors” can go to a depth of up to four (!) meters, but generally do not exceed eighty centimeters.

While building its tunnels, the animal loses a lot of energy, so it has adapted to overcome obstacles and heavy areas of the ground, using the technique of creating small earthquakes, for which it makes head blows and then evaluates the reflection of seismic waves. This method allows the mole rat to break through burrows with less labor, since it was calculated that the total length of the burrows of one animal can reach three hundred and sixty (!) meters in length.

The method of tapping the head on the ceiling allows individuals of different sexes to mating season communicate with each other. The mole rat is essentially a hermit, but in March it begins to look for a mate, and already in April, offspring appear in the newly-minted family, consisting of two or more (up to six) cubs, which the mother feeds with milk.

Pest control methods

Pest control methods can be divided into two main groups:

· Deterrent measures

· Extermination measures

It has long been noted that moles and mole rats do not like the strong odors of some plants, and in particular they do not accept the pungent scent of mint and wormwood. The imperial hazel grouse also repels these rodents well, the bulb of which emits a strong smell that repels the animals.

Practice has proven that if several rows of parsnips are planted in a rodent's habitat (you need to find a plant variety that has a long root), the mole rat will leave this area. Black elderberry and medicinal black root repel pests well.

There are also different types of repellers that make sounds and produce vibrations. For this purpose, on a personal plot, it is necessary to drive wooden stakes into the ground, into which a regular impeller is inserted on top. When the wind blows, the impeller rotates and creates a hum and vibration, which mole rats clearly do not like. For the same purpose, specially cut tin cans of beer or cola can be placed on wooden pegs, which, when rotated, create a similar effect.

Some gardeners and gardeners bury a metal mesh (chain-link) around the perimeter of the site and thus protect themselves from uninvited guests. The only difficulty is that you have to bury the net quite deeply (up to a meter deep), taking into account the depth of possible holes in the lower tier.

But most effective method Pest control means its physical extermination. For this purpose, either chemical or mechanical means are used.

The chemical method of control is the simplest, but it is fraught with serious consequences, since it the strongest poisons, which belong to the group of phosphites (the poison has a negative effect on all warm-blooded organisms), both domestic animals and even people can be affected. Therefore, before using chemistry, it is necessary to try methods that are safer and less harmful to the environment, because the use of poisons can ultimately turn into a tragedy.

The mole rat, as a rule, leads a hidden and solitary lifestyle, therefore, having driven or exterminated the animal from the site, you can finally take a deep breath.

Mole rat or blind man- champion in digging among rodents (and they are all excellent diggers). People often confuse it with, but they are completely different animals. Let's start with the fact that the mole is an insectivorous animal, and the mole rat is a rodent. The only thing they have in common is their habitat - both live underground.

The mechanics of digging their own passages also differ from the mole. The mole rat digs the ground with its incisors (front teeth) strongly protruding forward. Or rather, he fluffs up the earth with them and then pushes them to the surface. To prevent soil from getting into the mouth, nature designed the mole rat's lips in such a way that they close the mouth behind the incisors. Thanks to this, during “work” the animal’s mouth is tightly closed.

Mole rats They dig the ground without coming to the surface, and at any time of the day and at any time of the year. Its presence is revealed only by the heaps of earth on the surface that it leaves behind, the number of which depends on the density of the soil. In search of food - roots, bulbs, etc., the mole rat digs its tunnels close to the surface. The total length of such tunnels is often more than 200 meters.

But to give birth to offspring, a mole rat can burrow to a depth of up to 3.5 meters. Females can give birth up to three times a year depending on climatic conditions and availability of food. It must be said that mole rats live from North Africa to the Trans-Urals. IN northern regions Siberia is already dominated by zokors, relatives of the mole rat, but more about them next time.