How To Get Rid Of Mole Tunnels In Lawn

Use Plants As A Barrier

Moles dislike plants with strong smells, such as daffodils, marigolds, and anything in the allium family.

Plant these species around the edges of your garden to form a natural barrier or plant in raised beds to protect root systems. If you prefer, you can also purchase ready-made mole barriers at your local garden store.

Pros: Safe, humane, beautiful addition to your lawn and garden

Cons: Time-consuming, requires ongoing maintenance

What Are Mole Crickets

Mole crickets also known as cricket moles, lawn crickets or flying moles are a common turf grass pest in the southeastern U.S. Adults grow to between one and two inches long, vary in color from light to dark brown, and sport large mole-like front claws for burrowing under the surface of the soil.

These destructive invaders start life as eggs and generally cycle through one generation a year, or two generations during the longer warm season in the southernmost states.

Adult mole crickets overwinter in their underground tunnels, emerging to mate in the spring. Males die after mating, while females dig deep into the soil to lay up to 150 eggs before dying themselves. These eggs hatch about three weeks later. By late spring the developing mole cricket nymphs begin tunneling and feeding on grass roots and shoots.

Although they spend much of their time in underground burrows, adult mole crickets can fly and are attracted to light. Theyre nocturnal, and you may spot one at night near your outdoor lighting.

How To Get Rid Of Moles In Your Yard And Garden

by Jessica Walliser

Discovering small, volcano-shaped mounds of soil in your lawn may at first lead you to believe a massive colony of ants has set up shop in your yard. Or that your neighbors kid did a really poor job trying to bury his latest report card. But those hills of freshly dug dirt were likely made by moles. While moles are solitary creatures, they sure can cause a lot of damage with their molehills. Learning how to get rid of moles often comes with a huge amount frustration. Today, Id like to review how to properly ID these rodents and the damage they cause, and offer you some possible solutions.

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Use Repellents To Deter Moles And Gophers

Using castor oil is another method for how to get rid of moles and gophers in your yard. Castor oil will not kill them, but it will upset their digestive tracts. It will also make your lawn less appealing. For a homemade remedy, mix three parts castor oil and one part dish soap. Add four tablespoons of the mixture to a gallon of water. Soak the tunnels and entrances to evict the moles and soak the holes to evict gophers. Castor oil is one of the most effective home remedies to get rid of these animals. Skip the moth balls, tea tree oil and cayenne pepper for pest control they are not effective.

You can also purchase repellent granules or liquid repellents to get rid of gophers and moles. Most granules can be applied directly from the bag or from a spreader. Read your product label and follow the instructions.

To use a liquid repellent, hook your garden hose onto the bottle and spray it into the tunnels or holes as the label directs. Liquid repellents usually contain castor oil and other ingredients that are absorbed into the soil. The tunnels and holes will become less appealing to the animals and make their food sources distasteful, so theyll leave. These repellents typically last for several weeks. Most are safe to use around pets and on your lawn but, be safe, and read your product label to confirm.

Conventional Methods To Get Rid Of Moles

If you want to kill moles in your yard, there are a few conventional ways to do that, including trapping and baiting.

Note: Here at Smiths, we dont recommend these methods. They arent humane, some of them are dangerous or potentially toxic to kids, pets, and non-target species, and we believe that natural methods work just as well.

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Create An Unfriendly Environment

Moles dont like to live in disruptive areas. This is good news for you since it means getting rid of them can be as easy as creating an unpleasant environment.

To do this, purchase a sonic spike from your local home and garden store and insert it into the ground in your garden. This spike will use electronic pulses to create irritating sounds that encourage the moles to go elsewhere.

Dont worry, though you wont be able to hear or feel the electronic pulses.

Pros: Easy, affordable

Cons: May not be as effective as other solutions

Why Do You Have Moles In Your Yard

Moles dont just pop up in your yard for no reason. They have to be looking for something, and often its the ideal living conditions. The first thing most animals look for before settling down is the presence of food, and its no different for moles, whether theyre the eastern moles, American Shrew moles, or the star-nosed mole.

As mentioned above, theyre insectivorous, and they may help you deal with a mosquito problem or eat the grasshoppers and crickets around your home. However, this is not their main diet.

In addition to providing food, wet soil offers additional benefits to worms. One example is that it helps the creatures regulate their body temperature. Furthermore, the soil in your yard may be easy for the mole to burrow through.

The landscaping elements may also help enhance a moles habitat. For instance, moles like areas under trees and shrubs since theyre cool and retain moisture much better than open areas. Theyre also some of the most likely areas to find grub and earthworms. Consequently, moles may pop up along a fence or under a line of hedges.

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How To Set Mole Traps

Setting a Harpoon Trap

Ifusing a harpoon, also called a spear trap, setting it is easy. Simplycompress the spring and set the trigger. Care should be taken to keepyour fingers away from the spears in case the trap should accidentallyrelease.

Note: Follow the directions belowwhen placing the trap and not the directions that come with the trap.The box directions are poorly written. You must make an indentation inthe top of the tunnel for the trap to be effective and the box does notinclude that information.

Placing the Harpoon Trap

Placingthe trap is easy. The first thing you do is to make an indentation inthe center of the tunnel with your finger. You want to slightly depressthe roof of the tunnel, but do not cave it in or make a hole. Thepurpose is to make a dent in the tunnel roof, so that the mole willattempt to fix it by pushing it back up.

Next,center the trap over the tunnel exactly where you made the dent. Pushthe two spikes into the ground on either side of the tunnel. Do not pushthe spikes into the opening of the tunnel, but straddling it on eitherside. The trigger release should rest on the soil surface in the centerof the dent.

Setting a Scissor Trap

The spring mechanism in scissor traps is strong. Many traps come witha device to help compress the spring for easier setting. Be sure touse it.

Placing the trap

Check the traps every few days. If you havent trapped any moles, set it in a different location.

How To Get Rid Of Moles In Yard: 6 Strategies

Below Ill outline the 6 best approaches you can take to get rid of moles in your yard.

These include :

Each of these ways to remove moles from your yard has pros and cons, and some approaches may take more time and cost more money than others.

If youre fed up with moles in your lawn, jump right to my favorite technique to remove them.

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How Do Mole Crickets Damage Your Lawn

There are two ways a mole cricket infestation can damage your lawn, creating unsightly brown and dead patches.

First, mole crickets weaken and kill turf grass by feeding on roots and shoots, especially during the late spring and early summer when nymphs are going through their molting stages. Second, by burrowing through the surface layer of soil, mole crickets push the ground up in small ridges. That increases surface moisture evaporation, disturbs germinating seeds and damages the turf grass roots.

How To Get Rid Of Ground Moles With Castor Oil

Castor oil has an unpleasant taste and smell that deters moles from entering your yard. It also makes their tunnels collapse so that they cannot move around easily.

Simply mix 1 part castor oil with 10 parts water in a spray bottle, shake well and spray on the molehills as well as areas you suspect might have mole activity.

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Moles Vs Pocket Gophers

Another creature that inflicts substantial damage on lawns and gardens is the pocket gopher, which includes about 35 different species from the Geomyidae family of rodents. Like moles, gophers often leave volcano-shaped mounds of earth piled up as the product of their tunneling, but unlike moles, gophers do not leave raised ridges in the lawn, as their tunneling activity generally occurs at a deeper level. Slightly larger than moles, gophers have similar spade-like front paws and feed primarily on plant roots. This makes the pocket gopher an even more serious pest than moles, whose damage to lawns is generally cosmetic, a byproduct of simple tunneling.

Gophers have incisor teeth that are visible, and small but clearly identifiable ears. Moles, on the other hand, have no visible ears and their teeth do not protrude. Trapping gophers requires a slightly different method, with traps that are specially designed for catching gophers the traps are usually placed underground, within the tunnels.

How To Trap A Mole Without Killing It

When other methods fail, trapping is the most effective method of treating the problem. Many traps are quick-kill, but it is possible to capture a mole without killing it. Here’s how:

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Can You Flood Moles Out

While some people recommend trying to flood moles out of their holes using hoses or buckets of water, we advise against it.

This approach will only damage your lawn and loosen the dirt beneath your grass, making it easier for moles and other pests to burrow into. Additionally, moles can simply take shelter above-ground until the water recedes, making this tactic ineffective.

Instead, opt for a proven mole-control method, like one of the IPM approaches we listed above.

How To Keep Moles Out Of Your Home

Though it doesnt happen often, some homeowners might find moles in their houses. Moles can enter homes through foundation cracks near the soil line, as well as through damaged basement windows. If you see a mole in your home, your best option is to contact a wildlife professional for safe and humane removal. Theyll also look for baby moles and help you determine where the infestation occurred. The best way to get rid of moles in your house and prevent them from returning is by fixing broken windows and repairing foundation cracks.

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Ok So You Put All Of Your Hard Work Into Making Your Lawn Look Like A Golf Course And Then You Wake Up One Day And See Gopher Or Mole Tunnels Running Through The Yard

This is enough to make any homeowner go mad but the good news is there are ways to fight the war against moles and gophers, some natural, and some a little aggressive however we have done the research for you to lay your options for you so you can best decide how to fight and win the war against moles and gophers in your yard, sound good?

How To Get Rid Of Moles In Your Yard

Mole tunnels in your yard are a sure sign that you are dealing with a pesky and wreckless burrowing animal. If you do not adequately treat your mole problem, your entire lawn could end up being torn up. There are lots of remedies out there explaining how to get rid of moles in your yard. Our step-by-step guide gives you ideas for natural home remedies as well as ways to permanently handle the mole situation in your yard. Take a look at our step-by-step guide on how to get rid of moles in your yard.

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Natural Ways To Get Rid Of Moles

Getting rid of moles following these natural methods will typically work quite well for a mild mole infestation. If this has been going on for quite some time, there is a high chance that the natural ways will be a bit more difficult to establish full mole control. This, however, can be a great place to start.

Get Rid Of Grubs To Eliminate Mole’s Food Source

While some grubs such as earthworms are beneficial to your yard, cutting back on insects can help limit a mole’s food source and force it from your garden.

A good way to do this is by applying beneficial garden nematodes, also known as roundworms, in your yard. Nematodes are tiny, harmless parasites that can combat a variety of pests that moles love to feed on but leave earthworms alone. It is important to select the right nematodes when applying them to your garden as some varieties can damage plant matter.

A quicker way to remove surface pests is to make your own homemade bug spray. Whilst this doesn’t remove soil grubs, it will reduce a mole’s food options and may encourage it out of your yard.

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How To Get Rid Of Moles In Your Lawn

The Spruce / Madelyn Goodnight

• Frequently Asked Questions

Moles are small burrowing mammals from the Talpidae family of animals. In North America, the most common species are the common mole , common east of the Rocky Mountains the star-nosed mole , a familiar pest along the east coast the hairy-tailed mole , most common in the northeastern U.S. and the shrew mole , the type most common in the western U.S.

In some circumstances, moles serve a valuable function by offering deep aeration of soil as they feed on grubs, earthworms, and other subterranean insects. Thus, they can be valuable in prairie areas and other natural grasslands. But for homeowners seeking a beautiful lawn, moles are a serious pest. The raised ridges and small volcano-shaped heaps of earth caused by mole tunneling can spoil your perfect lawn. While moles do not eat plant roots, they can seriously disrupt root systems in their search for insects. Moles tunnels often give a spongy feel to the lawn as you walk over them.

Our Fifth Recommendation Could Be The Most Dangerous However If You Do Not Have Children Or Pets It Could The Most Effective Way Of Dealing With Moles

You may not know this… but the way to use pesticides to fight moles is to exterminate their food source…

Think about it.. When the grubs and other immature stages of lawn pest insects are in high numbers, moles will be attracted to your lawn.

There are three methods to use in ridding your lawn of moles:

To rid your property of the different pests these burrowing animals love to eat, treat the area with Talstar or Permethrin insecticides.

If your mole continues to tunnel , spray Whole Control Repellent on the areas where the mole is active. Moles do not like this product. The smell and feel of the active ingredient will force the mole to move on. Whole Control repels moles, voles, burrowing animals with all natural ingredients.

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