Do Moles Damage Plants? Understanding Indirect Mole Damage
Moles do not eat plants. They are insectivores that feed exclusively on earthworms and soil insects. Despite this, mole activity causes real and sometimes significant plant damage through a mechanism that is indirect but genuinely harmful. Understanding how moles damage plants without eating them helps set accurate expectations about the consequences of leaving a mole infestation unaddressed.
The Mechanism: Root Disruption and Desiccation
Plant roots require consistent contact with moist soil to absorb water and nutrients. When a mole tunnel runs beneath a plant's root zone, it creates an air void in the soil. Roots growing into or near this void lose soil contact — they are essentially hanging in air rather than embedded in moist earth. Without soil contact, roots cannot absorb water even when irrigation is running directly above them. The plant shows wilting and stress despite adequate surface watering, and if root disruption is extensive enough, sections of the plant die.
This mechanism affects different plant types in different ways. Lawn grass is highly vulnerable because its shallow root system sits directly in the zone where mole surface tunnels run. The raised ridge of a mole tunnel lifts turf roots entirely away from soil contact along the tunnel's length, killing a strip of grass above each active surface run. Garden plants with deeper root systems are affected by deeper tunnel activity but are generally less immediately vulnerable than shallow-rooted turf.
Damage by Plant Type
Lawn turf suffers the most visible and rapid damage from mole activity. Surface tunnels create dead strips across the lawn within days of tunnel formation as lifted roots lose soil contact. In actively tunneled lawns, the combination of surface ridges and dead strips can make a lawn look severely damaged within a single week of mole activity.
Vegetable garden plants in areas with mole tunnel activity may show wilting and sudden death from root disruption, particularly for shallow-rooted annuals. The gardener may initially suspect disease or irrigation failure before discovering mole tunnel activity in the bed.
Established shrubs and trees are generally more tolerant of mole activity because their extensive root systems can compensate for the disruption of some roots. However, young transplants and recently installed shrubs with limited root establishment are more vulnerable to significant disruption from tunneling in their immediate root zone.
What Moles Do Not Do
Moles do not eat bulbs, tubers, roots, or any plant material. If you are finding consumed roots, missing bulbs, or plant material that has been gnawed and eaten, you have a different pest — most likely gophers. This distinction matters because the treatment approaches are completely different. Calling for mole control when the actual pest is a gopher will not resolve your problem.
Related Articles
- What Do Moles Eat?
- How to Tell Gopher Damage from Mole Damage
- Mole Control Methods — How Professional Trapping Works
Frequently Asked Questions
If you see raised surface ridges across your lawn and volcano-shaped mounds (not fan-shaped), you have moles. The plant damage is from root disruption, not feeding. Treatment for moles is different from gopher treatment.
Mole tunneling beneath established trees rarely causes significant damage because mature root systems are extensive enough to compensate. Young transplants in their first season are more vulnerable to disruption from tunneling in their immediate root zone.
Yes. Once moles are removed and tunnels collapse and fill in, grass roots re-establish contact with moist soil. Most mole-damaged turf recovers with irrigation and normal growing conditions within a few weeks.
Call 909-599-4711 for professional mole control throughout Southern California. We identify your pest correctly before treating.