Moles are a very shy animal. The head has a long, tapering snout; lacks external ears; and has small, barely noticeable eyes. Moles have a short neck, and muscular forelegs support broad, heavily clawed feet. They are dark gray to black and range in length from 5 to 8 inches. Moles are harmless to people or pets.
The mole's diet is almost entirely animal, including earthworms, white grubs, ants, beetles and other subterranean insects. A mole will eat almost its own weight in food daily and in the process tunnel up to 15 feet per hour. The tunnels moles dig as they search for food can harm a young plant's root system. These tunnels are seldom reused by the mole, so a large network of the raised tunnels dug by one or two moles can ruin a lawn's appearance over time. More harmful voles sometimes move into mole tunnels and proceed to further damage plants. Moles are active all year round.
