Autumn Mole and Rabbit Damage Across Radcliffe on Trent, Cotgrave, Keyworth, Bingham and Whatton
If you’ve stepped out onto the lawn recently in Radcliffe on Trent, Cotgrave, Keyworth, Bingham or Whatton and found fresh earth mounds appearing overnight, or noticed your border plants nibbled down to stumps, you’re not imagining things. Mid-to-late September is peak season for two pests that get far less attention than wasps or rats, but cause just as much frustration for homeowners across these areas: moles and rabbits.
This part of Nottinghamshire sits right on the edge of open farmland — the Vale of Belvoir runs through Bingham and Whatton, while Cotgrave, Keyworth and Radcliffe on Trent back onto the Wolds and the Trent floodplain. That mix of gardens, allotments and paddocks sitting next to arable fields and pasture is exactly the kind of ground moles and rabbits move into as the weather turns, and it’s why we see a genuine seasonal spike in call-outs from these postcodes every autumn.
Why moles become so active this time of year
Moles don’t hibernate, and as insect and earthworm activity in open fields starts to slow with the first cold snaps, they push further into gardens and allotments where the soil stays workable for longer. A single mole can throw up several new mounds a day while extending its tunnel network in search of food, which is why a lawn that looked fine on Monday can be covered in molehills by the weekend. In villages like Whatton and Bingham, where many gardens back directly onto farmland field margins, this is almost always the entry point.
The mounds themselves are mostly a cosmetic and practical nuisance — they wreck a mowed lawn, disturb the roots of shallow bedding plants, and on allotments can undermine raised beds. Left alone, an established mole run tends to get reused season after season, so the molehills tend to come back in the same spot year on year until the tunnel system itself is dealt with.
Rabbit damage: what to look for
Rabbits are the other big autumn issue in this part of NG12 and NG13, particularly anywhere close to hedgerows, allotment sites or unfenced field boundaries — common in Cotgrave and around the edges of Keyworth and Radcliffe on Trent. Signs worth checking for include:
- Neat, angled bites on the stems of young shrubs, vegetables and bedding plants (rabbits shear rather than tear, unlike deer)
- Shallow scrapes or small burrow entrances along fence lines, under sheds, or at the base of hedges
- Bark stripped from the base of young trees or ornamental shrubs, especially once softer autumn growth starts to die back
- Circular droppings scattered near lawn edges or vegetable beds
A pair of rabbits can very quickly become a much larger problem, since a single doe can produce several litters across the warmer months — by autumn, what started as an occasional visitor in spring is often an established warren by the time the damage becomes obvious.
What actually works
DIY options for both moles and rabbits are limited and inconsistent. Mole traps and gassing products bought online are fiddly to place correctly, and rabbit fencing only works if it’s buried deep enough to stop them digging underneath — which most standard garden fencing isn’t. Professional treatment means correctly identifying active tunnels and burrow systems rather than just the visible mounds or entrances, using humane, legal methods, and following up to check the run or warren hasn’t simply been re-established a few metres away.
If you’re dealing with molehills across the lawn or rabbits working through a vegetable patch anywhere in Radcliffe on Trent, Cotgrave, Keyworth, Bingham or Whatton, it’s worth getting it looked at properly before the damage spreads further into autumn. We cover all of these areas and can usually get someone out quickly to assess what’s actually going on and deal with it at the source.
Give NestBusters a call on 0742 984 9483 or visit nottinghampest.co.uk to book an inspection.
