The starnosed mole usually occurs in wet soils. Moles are not rodents, but insectivores. They lack the rodents' longer incisor teeth for gnawing. Thus, their main diet consists of earthworms, grubs and other insect larvae. Although these moles sometimes eat vegetative matter, they are often blamed for damage to bulbs, roots or seedlings caused by mice.
Moles make long, winding ridges in sod or soil as they tunnel just below the surface.
Excavated soil pushed up from the burrows becomes the familiar mole hill. Generally, they are beneficial. They destroy large numbers of insects, and their tunneling aerates and irrigates the soil. However, when they become obnoxious or destructive, landowners often feel that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. At this point, control is often desired.