Wake up to a row of fresh sand heaps across the lawn and a bed of bulbs gone overnight, and you've met the local molerat. In Sedgefield's sand, they're busy neighbours.
Molerats in a Sedgefield garden are dealt with by finding the tunnel the animal is using right now and treating it there. Flooding, smoke, mothballs, windmills and buzzing stakes don't work: the molerat simply blocks off the part of the tunnel it doesn't like and digs around it, and in sand, water drains away almost as fast as you pour it. Once the active animal is dealt with, keeping an eye on the boundaries stops the next one settling in.
We treat molerats in home gardens, holiday houses, complexes, schools and smallholdings in Sedgefield and the surrounding area.
Sand and the Cape dune molerat
Sedgefield's soil is coastal sand, and that's home ground for the Cape dune molerat, a large burrowing rodent that spends its whole life underground. It digs long feeding tunnels just below the roots, pushing the loose sand up into heaps as it goes. In sand, those heaps can be big enough to trip over, and they appear in lines that follow the tunnel.
The damage isn't only cosmetic. They live on roots, bulbs and tubers, eating plants from underneath, so a row of agapanthus, a bed of vegetables or a young fruit tree can wilt and die from below. Tunnels under a lawn collapse and leave it uneven, and on a slope they can start to wash out in heavy rain.
Molerat or golden mole?
Not every disturbance is a molerat. Golden moles are small, blind insect-eaters that travel just under the surface, lifting raised ridges across the lawn that you can press flat with your foot. They're after worms and grubs, not plants, and they're a much smaller problem. Heaps of sand pushed up from below mean molerat; long raised ridges mean golden mole. Our moles and molerats profile goes into the difference.
How we treat
- Find the active run We look at which mounds are fresh and open the tunnel nearby. A working molerat comes to plug the opening, which tells us the run is in use.
- Treat it The product goes into the active tunnel, underground, and the opening is closed behind it.
- Check the boundary Where the run comes in from an empty plot, the dunes or a neighbour's garden, we note it so that's the first place to look next time.
- Follow up Fresh mounds in the same run mean another visit.
Where they come from
Sedgefield has plenty of open ground: empty stands, dune vegetation, verges and big gardens that aren't always occupied. Molerats move through all of it, and a garden that's been cleared can be found again by a new animal months later. In a complex or a street where several gardens are affected, treating them together gives everyone a longer break.
Protecting what matters
For beds you really care about, a physical barrier works permanently. Before you fill a raised vegetable bed, line the bottom with galvanised wire mesh. Plant bulbs and young trees in mesh baskets. It's extra work at planting time, and then that bed is out of bounds for good.
How to tell a fresh mound
Fresh sand is darker, damp and loose, and the heap often has a soft plug in the middle. After a day or two in the sun it dries pale and forms a crust. Flatten all the mounds with a rake after we've treated, and any new heap that appears afterwards tells you exactly where to look.
Quiet doesn't mean gone
Molerats dig hardest when the sand is moist, after good rain. In a long dry spell they work deeper and push up far fewer heaps, and a garden can look clear for weeks. That's why a lawn that went quiet in February sometimes erupts again after the first autumn rain: either the old animal is still there, or a new one has arrived. If the mounds come back after treatment, call us before the run gets established.
Repairing the damage
Wait until the molerat has been dealt with before you fix anything, or you'll be raking the same heaps twice. Then rake the mounds flat, tread down any tunnels that have collapsed under the lawn, and top-dress the low spots with a little sand or compost. Water well and give the grass a few weeks of growing weather; runner grasses close the gaps faster than you'd expect.
What it costs
What you pay depends on how big the garden is, how many runs are active, and whether you'd like regular boundary checks. A town garden with one active molerat is a short visit. A smallholding or a complex with several gardens takes longer, and a programme often works out better than repeated call-outs.
The regional mole control page explains our approach in more detail, and molerats on the other side of the lakes are covered in mole control in George. If you've got other pests too, see pest control in Sedgefield. Phone 044 012 5011, or describe the mounds and the lawn and we'll be in touch.
Frequently asked questions
What's making the huge sand heaps on our lawn?
Almost certainly a Cape dune molerat, a large burrowing rodent that lives in sandy coastal soil and pushes up big mounds as it digs its feeding tunnels.
Does flooding the tunnels work in sand?
No. The water drains away through the sand almost as fast as you pour it, and the molerat just seals off that section of tunnel.
Will they come back after treatment?
The treated animal won't, but new ones can move in from empty plots, dunes and neighbouring gardens. Boundary checks and a quick call when fresh mounds appear keep you ahead.
Can you treat a holiday home garden while we're away?
Yes. Ask your gardener or a neighbour to tell us where the fresh mounds are, and we'll do the rest.
Do molerats bother pets?
Not directly, but dogs digging after them can wreck a lawn faster than the molerat does.
How can I tell a fresh mound from an old one?
Fresh sand is darker, damp and loose. Older mounds dry out pale and crust over within a day or two in the sun.