As night feeders, both animals are seldom seen, but the damage is obvious. The food supply must be eliminated. The presence of moles in the lawn is usually an indication of a white grub infestation. Moles can cause considerable injury to lawns by raising ridges of turf over their runways as they tunnel through the soil in search of food. The ridges dry out, turn brown and give the lawn an irregular pattern of brown streaks.
Moles are carnivorous animals that feed on insects, especially white grubs, and on earthworms.
They ordinarily do not destroy plant materials, such as roots and bulbs. Damage of this sort is usually caused by field mice that use the mole runways. Moles require a constant food supply and cannot survive for long when it is not available. If the white grubs are controlled, the moles' major food supply is eliminated, and the danger of mole as well as mouse injury is greatly reduced. The information in this material is for educational purposes.