THE STATUS OF THE EUROPEAN MOLE TALPA-EUROPAEA L AS AN AGRICULTURAL PEST AND ITS MANAGEMENT

Although the pest status of the European Mole Talpa europaea L. in Bri tain has never been adequately assessed, it is perceived as being a pe st of agricultural and amenity land and is widely persecuted. We revie w the Mole's pest status, and evaluate current and proposed control me thods. While there has been a recent decline in the demand for strychn ine, abuse of this poison leads annually to the death of many wild and domestic animals. The need remains for a humane, practical and safe a lternative. If strychnine were banned without such an alternative bein g available, the use of mole-traps would probably increase. Through po st-mortem examination of trapped Moles we evaluate the humaneness of t hese traps. Our returned questionnaires showed that, while most farmer s perceive Moles as pests, the damage which is attributed to them is s light on the great majority of farms. Control of Moles was none the le ss common and widespread, and was undertaken by 49.5% of respondents i n 1992. Perceived pest status and the favoured method of control varie d regionally; these trends may be related to soil quality and cultivat ion type. Silage pollution was the most widely cited agricultural prob lem attributed to Moles. Practical measures to reduce silage pollution by Moles are discussed, particularly with regard to silage collection and treatment using bacteriophages. The efficiency of these additives merits detailed study because they have the potential, regardless of whether pollution has occurred or not, to improve the quality of the s ilage to an extent that killing Moles may be unnecessary; less than 1% of respondents reported that 10% or more of their silage was seriousl y affected by Mole activity.