What Do Moles Look Like
Including its tail, the average mole is between four and 11 inches long. They typically have black, brown, or gray fur and resemble rodents, though theyre technically small mammals. They have tiny ears and eyes, small hind feet, and larger forefeet used for digging. Even though moles look similar to rodents, theyre more closely related to bats.
Moles are insectivores and prefer to feed on centipedes, earthworms, insect larvae, and millipedes. Their tunneling wreaks havoc on gardens and lawns and provides easier access for other rodents to feed on your plants. Moles typically tunnel where the soil is abundant with organic matter. If you see a high population of moles in a specific area of your yard, that may be a red flag for high populations of soil pests. Because they can tunnel up to 15 feet per hour, that leads many homeowners to want the moles gone for good.
How To Get Rid Of Voles
Castor Oil. Voles don’t like castor oil any more than moles do because it makes the soil smell bad to them. Look for a product containing castor oil that’s labeled as a mole and vole repellant and follow the label directions.
Tidy up. Voles conceal themselves in dense vegetation, meadows and weedy spots. Make them unwelcome by mowing your lawn regularly and removing brush. Use only thin layers of mulch and get rid of stacks of wood and piles of debris. Voles dont like being disturbed, either, so work often in your beds to send them scurrying.
Cage your plants. Make cages out of 1/4-inch hardware cloth and put them around the roots of your plants so voles can’t nibble through. Let the cages extend a few inches above the soil.
Clean around bird feeders. It would be a shame to stop feeding wild birds because voles are attracted to the seeds, so instead of removing your feeders, keep the ground around them clean.
Put out humane traps. If they’re legal in your state, set out live vole traps, bait them with peanut butter and follow the manufacturer’s directions to set them up. Check the traps often and take any captured voles to a remote area to release them be sure you have permission to do this and again, check to be sure it’s legal.
Use gravel. When you plant flower bulbs, add some gravel to the planting holes to give hungry voles a toothache. You can also dust bulbs with a fungicide designed to deter voles.
Fastest Way To Get Rid Of Moles
One of the worst feelings is getting up in the morning to find that your beautifully maintained garden has been made unsightly by various tunnels and mounds made by moles. These small animals mercilessly dig up the garden making it hard for you to maintain its beauty.
Moles are notorious not just for harming your gardens, lawns, and plants but also for raising several health concerns. Moles can bite you and cause infections including rabies. This is especially possible when the bite was unprovoked. Moreover, moles can spread several parasites that can harm humans and animals. These parasites include fleas, mites, and ticks that can cause various diseases to you or your pets. Because these wild animals stay underground, it can be difficult to get rid of them. You can take help from professionals who deal with pest control to get rid of them quickly and effectively.
Some of the tips that can help you get rid of moles include:
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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.
The Dangers Of Yard Moles
Although moles generally stay deep underground, they can come closer to the surface, moving through shallow tunnels that cause brown patches of dead turf and incidental damage to landscape roots. These tunnels cause raised ridges that heave soil upward, often disfiguring lawns.
Moles very rarely come out of their tunnels, but even when they do, they pose no direct threat to people or pets. Those tunnels, on the other hand, can be trip and fall hazards, or if theyre close enough to the surface, a person or animal could put a foot in one and end up with a pretty nasty injury.
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Ingredients For Natural Mole Repellent
Castor oil is available at your local drug store. You can find it in the laxative section. Its a light yellow oil with a faint odor and it tastes gross. It is composed of several different glycerides, the main one being ricinolein, or glyceride of ricinoleic acid. It does not combine well with water , so youll have to shake it after you combine the ingredients.
Beware that castor oil is combustible, so store it safely. The medicine cabinet or any other cool dry place out of direct sun or heat.
Will Cats Help Get Rid Of Rodents In The Yard
Yes! My cat is quite the mouser and will bring home a small rodent almost everyday. Sometimes more than one per day if shes feeling particularly frisky.
If you are thinking of getting a cat anyways then it can be a helpful tool to get rid of moles, voles and other rodents in the home and garden. I don’t think you should get a cat for the sole purpose of catching moles though. What if the kitty you choose turns out to be terrible at catching moles? You still have to take care of it and it’s a living creature that is depending on you.
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Why Are There Moles In Your Yard
You discover moles burrowing through areas of your yard and want to know how to get rid of them. First, to perform mole control in lawns, its good to understand what they are and why they are there.
What are Moles?
Moles are odd yet strangely cute critters that dwell beneath the ground, using their front feet to dig underground tunnels while pushing the dirt up to make mole hills.
They have small, squinty eyes and ears, broad forefeet with webbed toes, and smaller back feet with slender claws.
Their diet consists of earthworms, grubs, and insects, and often a yard with a bug problem draws the attention of these furry ground dwellers.
Once they realize that your yard has a bug buffet to offer them, these insectivores make themselves at home beneath your yard.
Signs Of A Mole Infestation
Before discovering the various home remedies for getting rid of moles or to even kill moles in lawn areas, it is necessary to understand the signs of a mole infestation, as well as the popular attractants that draw moles to your yard.
If you have a home garden, moles take advantage of the nutrients found in vegetables and fruit, eating the bulbs out of the soil. In addition to the plants in your garden, moles also eat insects in the ground.
- Mole tunnels
To search for food, moles dig tunnels just below the surface with their front feet. The tunneling leads to raised ridges that criss-cross each other in your yard, often killing the grass as they dig.
The best way to get rid of moles is to eliminate their food source using insecticides. You can get rid of grubs naturally, as well as larvae and ants, with homemade remedies, too.
Natural ways to kill moles include drawing owls to your property, as they are a favorite food for these predators.
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How Do I Get Rid Of Moles Humanely
You have many options if you want to get rid of moles without killing them.
Live traps contain moles without harming or killing them and allow you to release the rodents a safe distance from your property.
Other integrated pest management techniques focus on exclusion , repellents , and habitat modification to get rid of moles humanely and effectively.
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.
Mole netting will help prevent this from happening to your garden
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Mole Hills And Tunnels
Mole hills look like little volcanoes. Mole hills, also called mole mounds, are a symmetrical and circular mound of dirt that leads to an underground network of tunnels.
Ever see the movie Tremors? Well, mole tunnels can make it seem as if you have some of those nasty monster worms roaming your yard. Their underground tunnels cause raised ridges on your lawn and serve a dual purpose: Tunnels are how moles hide from predators and how they hunt.
There are two types of mole tunnels:
- Surface runways: Slightly raised and brown streaks that dont have grass, that indicate the tunnels just under the topsoil.
- Deep tunnels: Usually 3-feet underground, are like complex homes. These include a food storage area and bathroom areas. You can identify them by the mole tunnel entrance and exits.
Once moles decide to infest your lawn, they can cause significant damage in a very short period of time. One mole can tunnel up to 18 feet per hour in the right conditions, so its important to get rid of the moles quickly!
How To Identify Moles In Your Garden
Moles are surprising little mammals with pointed muzzles, tiny eyes, and bodies shaped like Idaho potatoes. In motion they actually swim along underground, using wide front flippers to part the soil as they go. They prefer moist, loamy soil and are most active in the early morning or evening in the spring or fall they also come out after a warm rain.
Moles have the distinguishing characteristic of a hairless, pointed snout. Their small eyes and ear canals are concealed by fur, and they do not have external ears. They have very large and broad forefeet with webbed toes. Their hind feet or more narrow and have slender claws. They are usually about 7 inches in length and weigh about 4 ounces.
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Does Juicy Fruit Gum Kill Moles
For some reason, Juicy Fruit seems to work well against moles. Sometimes. The method has no concrete proof that it actually works.
But many anecdotal reports from homeowners say that Juicy Fruit gum does work against moles.
All you need to do is pick up a pack of Juicy Fruit. Get a bulk pack so you have enough. Cut the gum into ½ inch squares.
After youve prepped your gum, go ahead and get a small shovel. Dig into a mole tunnel and drop the piece of gum in there. Do this around various tunnels until you use up all the gum.
Be careful though- you dont want to scare off the mole. Dont disturb the tunnel and dont destroy their home.
Dont scare off the mole- you want to trick the mole.
After you drop a few pieces around, cover up the top of the tunnel again. When the moles eat the gum, itll possibly kill the mole.
This method is lethal and will kill moles. Avoid if possible. But If you have a prevalent mole problem, you can consider doing this technique if youre desperate.
Mole tunnels are a hazard for your yard because you can fall into their holes. When you apply the gum, be sure to mark your areas so you know theres loose soil there.
You dont want to stop into a hole you dug that goes into a mole tunnel because it can collapse.
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?
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Victor Mole & Gopher Repellent
This is another natural product that repels ground moles, voles, gophers, and other burrowing animals.
Victor Mole & Gopher Repellent 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.
Following the package instructions, apply the granules in stages. Application over a large area can cause the pests to burrow more frantically to try and avoid the product, which may result in additional damages.
Get Rid Of Their Food
Moles love insects. Things like grubs are delicious treats for them. If youre getting moles, theres a likelihood you have a healthy grub population too.
Taking measures to get grubs out of your yard with yearly grub treatments, youll make your lawn less attractive to moles. If they dont find enough food, theyll leave sooner or later. But when you apply grub treatment matters you have to hit them during the right time in their life cycle.
The bad news is that once moles arrive, even if you get rid of grubs you may find that is only partially effective.
Once theyve made themselves at home they may stay and feed on other insects, like worms. This mole prevention strategy is good, but its not usually an effective mole removal strategy.
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Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Moles And Gophers
The only way to get rid of moles and gophers is to remove them from your lawn. Sometimes this can mean trapping and killing them with mole and gopher bait, but this should be a last resort. Other, humane home remedies can help get rid of moles and gophers in your yard. However, the best way to get rid of these animals is to deter them from setting up in your lawn in the first place.
How To Get Rid Of Moles In Your Yard: Kill Their Food Source
If your lawn has a grub infestation, youll be hard-pressed to get rid of moles in your yard, home remedy or not. But dont worry! After eliminating or at least reducing the number of grubs on your property, moles will likely move on to greener pastures. But in the meantime, there are two ways to get rid of grubs that you can try:
- Birds love to munch on grubs as well, so invite them to flock to your yard by installing birdhouses, feeders, and baths.
- Try using beneficial nematodes . Theyre earth-friendly and will really help to control the grub population in your yard.
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Eliminate Grubs And Beetles
Moles need food to survive. Two major sources of food for moles are grubs and worms. Therefore, a simple first step you can take for mole control is to eliminate grubs, thereby removing a principal food source. If, on the other hand, moles are drawn to your lawn due to the presence of earthworms, you will have to fight them by other means. Earthworms are usually considered beneficial to your lawn and garden, and you don’t want to eliminate worms simply because you have a mole problem.
Grubs are the larval form of many beetles, including the Japanese beetle and , so combatting the adult beetles will also reduce future grub populations, thereby making your lawn less attractive to moles.
How To Get Rid Of Moles
A mole can be a tricky creature to evict because it lives underground. Repellants, poisons, and fumigants are all options, but should be avoided if you have pets or children that may get exposed. You also may have heard of home remedies like putting moth balls in the tunnels or spraying castor oil over the area, but none of these are effective. The only sure way to get rid of a mole is to use a mole-specific trap that will kill the animal. You can find below- and above-ground traps to do the job. Follow the package directions for correct placement, and move the tunnel traps daily while you’re still noticing activity to increase your chances of eliminating the mole.
Spring and fall, when the ground is not frozen, are the best times of the year for getting rid of moles because that’s when they’re most active. Usually, you’ll only have one or maybe two moles to trap to solve the problem because they don’t live in groups.
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