Moles are subterranean mammals that spend nearly their entire lives navigating complex tunnel systems beneath the soil. They are often misunderstood, especially regarding their diet and the damage they cause in yards and gardens. A frequent question arises about what these creatures consume, particularly when garden crops or seeds disappear. The belief that moles eat plant matter like peanuts is a widely held assumption, but their specialized biology tells a different story.
The Direct Answer: Do Moles Eat Peanuts?
The direct answer to whether moles eat peanuts is a definitive no. Moles are strictly insectivores, meaning their digestive system is biologically adapted to process protein-rich animal matter, not cellulose or starches from plants. They do not consume seeds, nuts, or any other type of plant material. This distinction is why commercial mole poisons, often delivered via peanut or grain-based pellets, are ineffective; moles simply ignore them as a food source.
A mole’s foraging behavior is driven by the scent and movement of living prey, which peanuts do not provide. Their entire lifestyle is focused on locating and consuming the invertebrates that live within the soil layer.
The True Mole Diet
The mole’s diet consists almost exclusively of invertebrates found underground, with earthworms making up the largest portion of their intake. They also actively hunt and consume beetle larvae, grubs, and other small soil-dwelling insects. Moles are carnivorous hunters that patrol their vast tunnel networks constantly in search of a meal.
This high-protein diet is necessary to fuel an extremely active metabolism, which demands a continuous supply of energy. A mole must consume a staggering amount of food daily, often eating between 70% and 100% of its own body weight every 24 hours. This constant need explains why they spend so much time creating extensive tunnel systems, using them as traps to intercept passing prey. Their specialized saliva contains a toxin that can paralyze earthworms, allowing them to store a live food supply in underground caches.
The Case of Mistaken Identity
The persistent confusion about moles eating peanuts or damaging plant roots stems from mistaken identity with other burrowing animals. Moles are often incorrectly blamed for consuming garden bulbs, tubers, and seeds when the true culprits are usually voles or gophers. While moles create raised ridges in lawns by pushing up soil during their hunt for insects, they are not interested in the plants themselves.
Voles, which are small rodents, are herbivores that actively gnaw on roots, bulbs, and the bark of trees near the ground, and they readily eat seeds. Gophers, also rodents, are known to pull entire plants down from below to eat the roots and tubers. Therefore, if a peanut is missing or a plant has been eaten from the bottom up, the damage is almost certainly caused by a plant-eating rodent that is using the mole’s tunnels as a convenient pathway.