PEST OF THE MONTH

Demysti iag the•

36 March 2007 www.greenmediaonline.com

Recreational turf, parks, and ceme-tencs across the country suffermole damage each year. Reliableestimates also find 50 million sin-

gle-family homes in the US and Canada arelocated in mole prone areas, as well as [i mil-Iiun businesses in these same regions thatmaintain lawns on their property. If the totaleconomic toll from moles could be calculat-ed, it would probably be in the millions ofdoll an. Moles common to North Americaare what marnmologists call "fossorial" ani-mals. "Fossonal" means, "Equipped withlimbs and feet adapted for digging," a featureof moles that makes them specialists in livingunderground as creatures that tunnel throughthe earth in search of food. Although fewpeople have actually seen a mole, living ordead, they arc relatively common pests inNorth America.

Mystery molesMoles are equipped with powerful fore-

limbs that enable them to move 32 times theirbody weight and move through soil at incred-ible speeds. Mole species native to NorthAmerica are carnivorous predators, killingand eating other animals, insects and their lar-vae and, most importantly, earthworms. Theydo not eat roots, tubers or bulbs; vegetation inany form is not considered food by a mole.Moles must forage for food and eat almostconstantly to meet their needs for a high-pro-tein diet that, incidentally, must also containample water, Coupled with a very high meta-bolic rate, moles must consume the equivalentto their body weight daily to survive.

No food meets a mole's unique dietaryrequirements better than earthworms, whichsupply a high-protein, high-energy diet andabundant water simultaneously.

Moles pos~ess a poorly developed sense 01sight. As a result, they depend on their otherhighly developed senses to flnd prey. Moleshave the ability to detect even the slight seis-mic vibrations that earthworms and excavat-ing insects make, and can hone in on these sig-nals over considerable distances. This remark-able ability to use vibrations to locate food isdue to specialized vibrissae on the snout,forepaws and tail, as well as stiff sensory hairs

Opposite page: Mole eating TALPIRID.

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on the head that help orient them towardvibration stimuli. Specialized sensors, called"Eimer's organs," located in the nostrils allowmoles to use touch to identifv and dtfferenuatebetween minute surface details of objects. Addan acute sense of smell and moles possess apowerful set of navigation tools that makethem efficient hunters in an undergroundworld.

Control measures that existed before theadvent of Bell's new mole bait, TALPIRJD,have been relatively ineffective. Trapping hasbeen the method of choice until now.Professional mole trappers and ambitious do-lt-yourselfcrs testify that trapping is labor-intensive. There are a number of grain-basedpelleted baits on the market. Moles do nottake pelletcd grain haits because grains are notpart of a mole's natural diet. Consequentlythese products confer no g-enuine control.Mole experts believe most non-trapping meth-ods to control moles that seemed to have anearly, modest measure of success did so mere-ly because the mole's routine was temporarilyinterrupted, Testimonials to the efficacy ofgrain-based baits, sonic chasers and molerepellents are merely anecdotal and notbacked by solid science.

Bell Labs' biologists began to do researchon moles, their behavior, biology, ecology,and physiology about six years ago. Ben's aimwa~ to learn the mole's strengths and weak-nesses and to exploit that knowledge to devel-op an effective control technology that couldbe commercialized.

These scientists discovered how to locateactive moles and then how to consistently cap-ture moles without injury so they could beheld in captivity. Bell's mole research teamalso tested many alternative dietary regimensand found one that maintains moles in captiv-ity in good health.

vVilh captive animals, the biologists beganto run definitive trials on most commerciallyavailable products. They first 'wanted to deter-mine whether anything already on the markethad significant mole killing efficacy. A series ofstandard "no choice" product acceptance testswere run using pelleted grain bails alreadylabeled for mole control. A "no choice" testmeans the moles were offered a diet consistingentirely of test material. The pelleted grainbaits received zero percent acceplanCe and the

PEST OF THE MONTH

Bell Laboratories, Inc., a leadingmanufacturer of rodent control prod-ucts, introduces TALPIR1D, the firstand only mole bait designed, devel-oped and scientifically proven to killmoles. Both field and laboratorytested. TALPIRID is the first mole baitproven to work in laboratory efficacytests on moles.

TALPIRID mimics the mole's natu-ral food source and has the samesize, shape and feel as earthworms.One worm contains a lethal dose ofbromethalin, an active ingredient thatcapitalizes on the mole's high energydemands. TALPIRID works quicklyand can kill in 24 hours. Specialenhancers help ensure attractionand acceptance of the bait.

Convenient and ready-to-use,each tray of 10 worms is factorysealed for ultimate freshness andmaximum shelf life. TALPIRID'sproven effectiveness combined withits ease of use offer sports turf man-agers the first effective weapon In

the battle against moles.

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SportsTurf 37

tfEST OFTHE MONTHtest was concluded after it was clear that moleswould not consume the test material. Theseresults are not surprising, given what waslearned previously about mole biology Molesrequire high protein foods and are not capableof digesting grains. Gel baits were then sub-jected to the same "no choice" test and werelikewise not identified as food by the moles.

The next step was to screen active ingre-dients by gavage administration (force-feed-ing). The purpose was to find all active thatcould be lethal to moles from consuming theamount of pesticide in one piece of bait. Theresults revealed an unexpectedly high levelof resistance to the actives used in n-aditionalrodenncldes.

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Turf damage from motes.

38 March 2007 www.greenmediaonline.com

PEST OF THE MONTHBell concluded that bromethalin was the

best selection for the active ingredient in thebait, As an energy metabolism antagonist,bromethalin provides an effective counter tothe high-energy demands of the mole'sactive lifestyle. Consequently, TALPIRID iseffective in as little as 24 to 4-8 hours, greatlyminimizing further damage by the mole.

The challenge remained to create bait withmole-attractive features making it as readilyacceptable to moles as their natural food.Many fonnulants, flavorants, shapes and sizeswere tested over the ensuing months until theBell Technical Department settled on a cooflg-uration that looked, felt and handled like anightcrawler, the moles' favorite food. Moleswere shown to readily accept TALPIRlDeven when offered natural food, i.e., theywould actually consume TALPIRID evenwhen provided earthworms,

The end result of all the hard work was

the development of a new mole bait productthat actually kills moles that consume a singlepiece of bait. This feature was confirmedunder strict laboratory conditions, whereTALPIRID produced 80% mortality underchoice conditions against live earthworms.Field testing confirmed that TALPIRJDapplied in a single application at a rate of 1.41kg /ha (1.24 lb/a) resulted in 100% reductionin the Total Assessment Ratio within threetest days post baiting, This reduction wasmaintained throughout the entire seven-dayfollow up period.

Bell Labs is pleased to have taken some ofthe mystery out of mole control throughgood science, Mole damage sufferers will beglad that someone finally took advantage ofmodem technology to find a cure for thismysterious plague,

Bell Laboratories sponsored this article. •

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40 March 2007

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ReferencesCatania, K. C. 2000. Epidermal sensory

organs of moles, shrew-moles, and desrnans:A study of the family Talpidae with com-ments on the function and evolution 01Eimer's organ, Brain, Behavior andEvolution 56:1'~G-174.

Ciszek, D. and P. Myers. 2000. "Ielpidae"(On-line), Animal Diversity Web. AccessedJune 23, 2004 at hup.Z'anirnaldiverstty.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Talpidae.htrnl.

Gad, S. C. 1982. A neuromuscular screenfor use in industrial toxicology. Journal ofToxicology and Environmental Health9:fi91-704,

Gorman, M. 1. and R. D. Stone. 1990. Thenatural history of moles. Ithaca, NY'Comstock Publishing Associates.

Hallett, J- G. 1978. Parascalops breweri.Mammalian Species 98: 1-4.

Jones, J K. and E. C. Birney. 1988.Handbook of mammals of the north centralstates. Minneapolis, MN: University ofMinnesota Press,

Mason, M. J- and P.M. Narlns. 2001.Seismic signal use by fossonal mammals.American Zoologist 41: IJ71-1184 .

Mead-Briggs, A. R. and Woods]. A. 1973.An index of activity to assess the reduction inmole numbers caused by control measures.Guildford, Surrey, UK: Min. of Agric.,Fisheries and Food, Pest Infestation ControlLaboratory.

Stone, R. D. Hl92. The mole. Shire naturalhistory, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire,UK: Shire Publications.

Yates, T. L, and D. 1. Schmidly. 1978.Scalopus aquaticus. Mammalian Species105:1-4.

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