Learning The Necessary Steps To Get Rid Of Moles
Effective mole control begins with understanding the correct steps to identify and eliminate these garden pests. It is also critical to decide whether you want to kill ground moles in the garden or scare them away.
No matter what mole removal process you want to implement, we show you how to get rid of moles causing destruction in your lawn. Additionally, we provide homeowners with ways to kill moles with mole bait.
Building A Mole Repellent Fence
If the area youre protecting isnt that large, you can build fences around it to keep them out. This strategy can be quite effective, but it takes a lot of work.
If you have a huge garden , dont try this, as it will end up being very pricey in the long run.
Our garden, which is behind the woodpile here is pretty large. You can see where all the sunflowers are sticking up. It wouldnt be totally worth it for us to build a mole repellent fence due to the cost and time it would take.
However, if you have an actual normal garden, you should definitely look into building a mole repellent fence.
Heres what youll need to build a mole repellent fence:
- Measure the perimeter of your garden
- Use 1/4 in. of galvanized metal hardware cloth or mesh wire around the perimeter
- Dig a trench about 12 inches wide and 2 3 feet deep
- Place the fence material inside of the trench
- Bend the buried part of the material, so it is parallel to the ground and face it away from the plants.
- Fill in the trench and leave at least 1 ft. of fence protruding from the ground.
Really, a lot of this is something that you can eyeball but will be more accurate with specific measurements. Just make sure you measure at least 2 feet deep!
Anything shorter and moles will most likely just dig right under the fence because theyll still be in the topsoil, which is easier to dig through.
Eliminating Moles In Your Lawn With Vegetative Barriers
Another way of getting rid of moles in your yard naturally is to use vegetative barriers. There is a range of mole repellent plants that moles detest, and growing them in strategic locations deters them from your garden.
- Fritillarias
Using natural mole deterrents is one of the easiest ways to keep these pests out of your garden area.
Make a natural wall of colorful flowers and foliage by planting marigolds, fritillarias, and daffodils around garden beds and grow alliums such as scallions, leeks, chives, onions, and garlic around your vegetable garden.
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This Is The Easiest Way To Get Rid Of The Moles In Your Yard
Are parts of your yard sinking due to what look like shallow tunnels? Have you spotted circular piles of dirt sprouting up on your otherwise flawless lawn? You might have moles, making those mounds molehills. But before you start thinking about how you’re going to eject those dastardly critters that have been burrowing through your backyard, you might want to be sure they’re actually moles.
Coffee Grounds Deter Moles
Back in the day, my mother had a pretty huge mole problem happening in her garden. Honestly, she kind of liked that she didnt have to rototill the garden in those spots, but the moles were starting to expose some of the roots on the plants.
Fortunately, we got some good advice to try and throw coffee grounds on the garden to deter the moles. We loved drinking coffee daily, so this was an easy solution. It didnt totally get rid of all mole activity, but it kept them away from the spots that had fresh coffee grounds.
Coffee grounds have an overpowering smell that deters moles, so place them in a few of the tunnels or mounds to drive them off. You can also spread them over the top of your garden as its perfect for your garden and makes an excellent fertilizer.
If you see a molehill in your yard or garden, go ahead and try to place the coffee grounds on top of the tunnel entry point. This will have the most impact on the moles as theyll want to avoid the areas with the grounds, and the smell will get inside of the tunnel.
The more coffee grounds you place on your garden, the more effective it will be. Youll need to place coffee grounds daily in order to keep scent as strong as possible.
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Lastly One Of The More Invasive But Effective Methods To Kill Or Ward Off Moles And Gophers Is To Leverage The Carbon Monoxide Exhaust From Your Vehicle
These harmful emissions will persuade moles and gophers to get out of the yard or in some cases even kill them if thats OK with you. Just make sure any leaks are covered up in the mole’s tunnels and this is a effective way to persuade moles and gophers that your yard is not their new home.
Here is a helpful video on how to pull this off
In conclusion these are eight natural or borderline un-natural alternatives to fight the battle and ultimately win your war against moles and gophers in your yard so they no longer destroy all of your hard work on creating the perfect looking golf course quality yard.
How To Spot Moles In Your Garden Or Yard
Its surprisingly easy to figure out if you have some tunneling guests hiding under your property.
Moles generally dig deep underground unless theyre searching for food, so youll be able to notice right away if you have moles in your yard if you see little hills. When these little guys dig, they tend to push the soil upwards to the surface, so if you have a garden with grass, there will be distinct lumps that look like mounds.
A good place to start is by fresh plants that are still not fully ripe. Weve found mole tunnels over near our growing tomato plants before.
In order to spot moles on your property, heres what youll need to do:
While thats the short version, heres a more in-depth analysis of each of those steps.
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How To Deal With Moles In Your Yard
We have tried every product we could find to get rid of moles in our yard and just when I think Ive solved the problem, they come back with a vengeance. What can I do? -Theresa
Just when you think youve gotten your yard to the pinnacle of neatness, here comes a pesky mole to turn your lawn into a superhighway!
Unfortunately, we gardeners are excellent mole-magnets: our tilling, mulching, and watering create a virtual paradise for these burrowing critters who love nothing more than a nice, moist, earthworm-rich hunting ground.
How To Kill Moles In Lawn And Yard With Traps
If you prefer a more humane way of getting moles out of your yard or to get rid of chipmunks in your yard, try using traps as a form of control rather than a homemade mole killer for lawns. Using a trap makes it convenient for you to move them safely to another location.
Mole Traps
There are various mole traps on the market, so read the instructions for your particular type for proper directions for catching moles. First, locate the most traveled tunnels and dig around the hole to make it large enough to accommodate the traps size.
Insert the trap accordingly and check it frequently for activity. After the mole is trapped, remove it carefully and drive the mole, still in the trap, roughly five miles from your home before releasing it.
Of course, there are also traps that kill moles in your lawn rather than holding them until you can move them.
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Spray Your Lawn With Natural Repellents
Just as moles hate the smell of planted castor beans, they hate the smell of castor oil.
Applying castor oil wont kill the moles, but the smell can effectively drive them away. If you mix three parts of castor oil with one-part dish soap, then dilute four tablespoons in a gallon of water, you have a natural, homemade mole repellent spray. Either spray it or pour it at mole tunnel entrances. If you have a smaller yard and a big mole colony, you may want to spray the whole yard.
Moles are sensitive to other smells too, particularly feces. If you have a dog, drop those droppings right into the mole hills and seal it up.
The smell will drive the moles away. If you dont have a pet, you can also leave leftover fish in the moles tunnels. Moles hate the smell of fish, and it will naturally drive them away but this may just attract other animals to your yard.
While I love natural remedies, Ill be honest and say that castor oil and other strategies like this only work in the short-term. You may only cause the moles to move to a different part of your yard.
How Do You Get Rid Of A Molehill
If you have molehills on your lawn, don’t panic they can be fixed:
The process is similar if you need to fix surface tunnels too simply flatten, rake, sow, then water.
You can learn more about how to repair lawn patches with our dedicated guide.
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Carrie Madormo Rn Mph Is A Freelance Health Writer With Over A Decade Of Experience Working As A
How to get rid of moles. Once youve identified the digger digging up your yard and building an underground home, here are a few ways to do send moles scrambling: This is a popular method with many people. The only way to get rid of moles and gophers is to remove them from your lawn.
This is the easiest way to get rid of the moles in your yard jill gleeson 4/22/2021. The control team will inspect your yard, identify mole runways, and place traps in the right spots. If the second step is not taken, the animal will actually increase its damaging tunnel activity in a desperate attempt to locate more food.
It is the most common ingredient used to eliminate a mole. If a mothball is of high enough concentration, it kills the mole in its tunnel. The most effective mole poisons available today include:
You can use adhesive bandage to cover up the moles. Mole patrol is a new bait which is proving to be more effective than conventional zinc phosphide baits. Mothballs are an excellent way to get rid of moles and other critters that tunnel through your grass.
Thats why we recommend participating in our annual mole control program. Utilizing mothballs to repel moles and voles. Well return to your property each year and help address and eliminate ongoing or recurring mole problems.
The poisons are available in various sizes and shapes, from gel, fake earthworms, liquids, and more. Use a bait such as mole patrol to kill moles. Some traps will kill moles.
Are Moles Causing Havoc In Your Garden Three Experts Suggest Ways To Get Rid Of Moles And Put Molehills To Good Use
1) Use the molehill compost
Edible gardener Mark Diacono: These animals are impossibly cute so to get rid of moles is even more of an unsavoury undertaking than it might be. In any event, trying to get rid of moles may prove a futile, as well as an unpleasant exercise because they travel about using a network of semi-permanent tunnels deep underground. They dig shallower channels nearer to the surface when they search for food.
There is almost certainly another mole to take the place of any you kill, so learn to live with the occasional visitation if you can. Take advantage of the spoil of perfectly sifted topsoil they leave on the surface because makes a good base for potting compost. I simply add sand and perhaps a little coir or something similar.
2) Try strong smells and noise
Biodynamic gardener Tom Petherick: Moles are fond of earthworms so fertile soil is therefore bound to attract the little furry creatures. Bonuses to having them include increased drainage, especially in a clay soil. Keep the soil from the mole hills so you can use it for potting on young plants.
3) Use mole traps
TV gardener and nurseryman Toby Buckland: I swear by the traditional mole traps but there are now humane traps available. You need to make sure you check these at least daily because moles feed regularly and will starve quickly. You also have the issue of where to release them.
*Frightening fact*
Are slugs wreaking havoc on your plants? Discover 9 ways to get rid of slugs here.
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Dealing With Moles In The San Francisco Bay Area Were Here To Help
Smiths Pest Management helps residential and commercial properties in Northern California reduce, control, or eliminate their mole problems. Smiths Pest Management also works with parks and large facilities to eradicate moles in an eco-conscious way.
Learn more about our services or book your mole control service by requesting your free consultation today!
How Do I Get Rid Of Moles And Voles
Moles and voles are common lawn pests. If the raise areas that you see appear to be spreading out across your lawn, you likely have the presence of moles. Moles can tunnel up to 100 ft per day. That adds up to a lot of lawn space! The problem is, once the moles show up, other small mammals like voles and shrews usually come right behind them. The mole will do the hard work of tunneling, while voles and shrews will use the mole tunnels to reach their food.
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Victor M & G Repellent
This is another natural product that repels ground moles, voles, and gophers, and other burrowing pests.
Victor M & G comes in both liquid and granular forms. The liquid contains 100% castor oil, while the granular is a mixture of castor oil and fullers earth.
However, apply the granules in stages. Application in one large swoop can cause the pests to burrow more frantically to try and escape the smell, which may result in additional damages.
Start in a healthy part of your garden. Move out slowly, systematically applying it to drive them away. Moreover, this product is safe to use around people and pets.
Install Mole Netting Before Laying Your Lawn
‘Mole netting is available on the market to prevent the mole from creating molehills at the surface,’ explains Ed.
‘However, this must be installed before any turf is laid down, and this netting is usually made using plastic,’ he says. If you’re trying to stick to more sustainable gardening means, this may make this approach a no-go.
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Killing Moles Using Poison Baits
The development of poison baits that resemble the mole’s food have become quite popular. Many professional are now using these in addition to traps. The price is the biggest problem with these products. Talpirid is the name of a product used by many professionals, but comes with a price tag of around $60.00 a box. Homeowners can also purchase and use Talpirid.
Other manufacturers, such as Tomcat, offer a similar product for less than half that price.
Read the directions carefully before using. Gloves should be worn when handling the bait.
Placing the Baits
Follow the same methods listed above for finding an active tunnel. After finding the active tunnels, make a small quarter sized hole in the top of the tunnel and drop a worm into it. Make sure the worm is completely in the tunnel and then cover the hole with dirt. You find it easier to place a small rock over the hole first, then cover the rock with dirt to block out all light from entering the tunnel.
It helps to mark the drop location with a landscape flag, rock or stick. After a couple of days you can check to see if the worm has been eaten. I have used a lot of these baits and found worms to be completely missing or partially eaten.
Good Luck! Please write to me and tell me if you are having success or if you have found a better way of killing moles. We can share your results with other readers.
Some Of These May Surprise You
One natural method to fighting gophers is to create noise in your yard
As it turns out, moles and gophers are sensitive to noises, especially loud noises.
So adding some natural noisemakers such as wind chimes in your yard is a good natural way to annoy these critters enough to leave your lawn. Whats more you can take this method a step further and introduce a radio into your yard.. But more on that later.
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What Attracts Moles
In a nutshellfood. Not people food, mole food.
If you have an issue with soil pests in your yard, youre asking for a mole invasion, as this is prime feeding. An overpopulation of grubs or earthworms in your Missouri yard basically equates to hanging up an All You Can Eat sign for the moles in and around your neighborhood.
Obviously, no yard can ever be completely bug-free. This means that youll need to take some action above and beyond limiting their food source to get rid of moles.
