Of all the mammals that occur in the parish of Bardwell, there can be few that infuriate and frustrate as many people as the mole. There’s a long lime-tree lined drive to the barns at Bowbeck, where I live, that I mow and try to keep looking as smart as possible. Unfortunately moles are very fond of the drive, too, and their hills are a constant source of irritation, as they should always be removed before driving over them with the mower. Yet as soon as I move them they re-appear again.

Moles thrive best in permanent pasture, which is of course exactly what the mown grass on either side of the drive is. They avoid shallow, stony or heavily waterlogged ground, and dislike acid soils. Molehills are nothing more than the spoil thrown up by the mole as it excavates its subterranean tunnels. The latter are often close to the surface, but may go down to about 70cm. Intriguingly, moles are solitary creatures, and are usually the sole occupants of a system of tunnels. So if you wake in the morning to find your lawn covered in fresh molehills, it is almost certainly the work of a single animal, and you have not been invaded by a posse of the creatures.

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Mole territories are relatively small, with females making do with around 40m of tunnels, while most males have about 50m. These increase in the spring during the short mating season, when males excavate long, straight tunnels that link up with those of their female neighbours. Young moles stay with their mother for about five weeks, before setting off to fend for themselves.

Discouraging moles is quite a challenge. Some years ago, when I wrote on the subject in Country Life, I received a wide variety of solutions. One correspondent from France told me of an amazing system (Eradic: Le Détaupeur) which uses miniature bombs, while others reported their success at spearing the invaders with the garden fork.

Several people mentioned dogs. One correspondent told me that her Dandie Dinmont terriers “have an instinct for hunting moles. They listen with head on one side, wait and pounce. It takes longer to write than enact.” A gentleman from New Jersey (where there are three different mole species) wrote to say that his labrador used to “dig moles out and deliver them like trophies. It worked well on the moles, but much less so on the lawn.” He now uses “hot tap water and Coleman’s mustard in a garden sprayer sprayed on the grass. The mustard irritates the insects and grubs at the root level of the grass, causing them to flee. Having lost a food source, the moles move on.” Another suggestion I received was pouring paraffin along the line of the hills. “It worked well in our last garden in rural Somerset,” reported my informer.

Another idea came from Suffolk, where the solution was rolling mothballs into the mole’s chambers. I must try this. However, I’ve no doubt that the best method is to follow the advice of a retired military gentleman from Surrey who insists that the “whole approach is to respect Mr Mole as a worthy adversary. You must devote maximum skill, effort, time and resource to the kill strategy. I use only traditional traps and move them around systematically. I file down the traps so that they are activated with even the slightest pressure – it therefore, takes a long time to set them.”

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Until two years it was still legal to poison moles with strychnine, subjecting the unfortunate creature to a lingering and painful death. Much as moles frustrate me, that’s not a death I would wish on any creature.

David Tomlinson, Forge Cottage, Bowbeck.