From The Lewiston Tribune
April 30, 2019
Dear Joan: After living here almost 40 years, we are suddenly seeing gopher or mole mounds popping up all over the seams of our front sidewalk and driveway.
From time to time, we and some neighbors have seen this happen on our lawns, but this is the first time I have seen it in the concrete areas. I’m unsure how to tackle this since there is little space between the concrete joints to place traps or drop some poison.
Am I going to need professional help or is there a way to do this yourself?
— Don Senger
Dear Don: I turned to the experts at the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District for an answer, and Terry Davis, vertebrate program supervisor for the district, says those mounds are the work of moles.
That’s actually good news because you really don’t need to do anything. Moles are mostly harmless. They eat insects, which they find by burrowing in the soil. They won’t eat your garden plants, and any damage they cause is accidental, disturbing roots around the plants.
They don’t chew on pipes or wires. They just tunnel and eat worms, beetles and other denizens of the deep.