To curb moles, forget pig waste or traps, just smoke them out

Moles, those ravenous underground mammals that invade your farm and eat your crops, sometimes pulling them down for leaves are certainly a pain in the neck of farmers.

While research has shown that moles (Tachyoryetes splendens) are beneficial to the soil as they feed on other harmful pests, few farmers can attest to this fact as the damage the animals cause is immense.

Patrick M’Mibuari, whose interest in moles started when they affected his farm, is however out to end farmers’ agony in the hands of the pest as he has developed a technology to destroy them.

Having heard about the exploits of M’Mibuari, who works with his son Dennis Gitonga, a graduate of Kenyatta University, I decided to invite them to my three-acre farm in Red Hill, on the outskirts of Nairobi.

I grow bananas, vegetables, fruits, maize, beans, arrowroots and sugarcane and I have had problems with moles for about seven years.

During the time, I have tried trapping, poisoning and repelling them using pigs waste in vain.

I must confess that nothing is as frustrating to a farmer as watching helplessly healthy crops being destroyed by moles that you cannot chase like other animals.

Moles are destructive to all types of crops. It is easier to detect their presence if one is growing vegetables, potatoes and creeping crops like thorn melon and pumpkins because they easily wilt after being attacked.

However, it becomes a challenge with crops like bananas and sugarcane as they remain standing for sometime and die slowly.

So, father and son visited my farm recently and they took about half-an-hour to identify mole holes on a section.

SUFFOCATE THE MOLES UNDERGROUD

Next they assembled their working tools consisting of a blower and a jiko-like structure, where they burn eucalyptus or cyprus leaves.

“The concept behind this innovation is about using smoke to suffocate the moles underground. The blower, which uses electricity, blows oxygen into the jiko-like structure to aid in combustion. The smoke which contains carbon monoxide is then directed through a pipe into mole holes at high speed suffocating them,” offers Gitonga.

M’Mibuari says it took him over two years to come up with the technology, which they are working to patent and are yet to name it.

“It has been a tedious undertaking to understand moles and their multiplication,” he said, adding using poison or trapping is ineffective as only a few die and soon the population continues to grow.

With the lit fire raging producing plenty of smoke, M’Mibuari adjusted the speed of the smoke.

“The higher the speed, the faster you see how extensive the mole infestation is as the smoke emerges from holes dug by the moles. None of the moles can survive after inhaling carbon monoxide in five minutes,” offered Gitonga, who helps his father run the business under the trade name Patfam Services.

M’Mibuari notes he is working on coming up with a more improved and perfect gadget, but for now, the machine is earning him a living.

“Moles have a lifespan of six years and they have a special form of haemoglobin that has a higher affinity to oxygen. They reuse exhaled air making it possible to survive in low oxygen areas like the underground tunnels,” he offered.

“During the breeding season, the males search for the female by tunnelling to foreign areas. The gestation period is about 42 days and the female gives birth to three to five pups, which leave the nest 30-45 days after birth to find territories of their own.”

The moles’ territories sometimes overlap, but the mammals usually find a way to avoid each other and in instances when males meet, a fierce fight may ensue.

EFFICIENT WAY OF DEALING WITH THE PEST

It is three weeks since the duo worked on my farm and I can attest that the area that was colonised by moles is now free.

The list of clients father and son have served as attested by recommendation letters is impressive. They include the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Methodist Guest House and Conference Centre and an official with UN-HABITAT, whose garden was full of moles.

M’Mibuari advises that before eradicating the pest using the gadget, the moles routes should be left intact.

“Leave the mound of soil intact to make work easier. This will also allow fumes to penetrate faster to all parts of the underground territory killing the moles in a few minutes.”

According to M’Mibuari, areas worst affected by moles include parts of Central, Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza.

Prof Paul Kimurto, a crop science expert from Egerton University, observes that moles live underground because the burrows offer protection from predators like snakes, birds and small carnivores.

“The mole rats live in a subterranean micro-habitat that is buffered from the extremes in terms of temperature and humidity. To live underground, the rats have anatomical adaptations that include well-developed eyes which are very small and at best can only detect light and darkness,” he says, adding the eyes are also protected from injury and soils.

He acknowledges that suffocating the moles underground is an efficient way of dealing with the pest as the others, including catching them, are tedious.