How To Treat Moles In Lawn

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.

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

What Do Moles Look Like

There are 7 species of moles in North America. Moles are six to eight inches long and shaped like a sausage. They have dark brown to black fur and outward-facing, large front claws perfectly suited to digging. Their nose is elongated and pink, making them fairly distinctive looking, should you ever happen to catch a glimpse of this underground animal.

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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.

Signs Of Moles In The Yard

Moles live underground, and the majority of their subterranean excavation typically goes unseen. But, as moles dig tunnels in their hunt for food, the soil they remove from the channels gets pushed out into surface piles. Signs of moles in the yard can also include slightly raised, underground ridges going from soil pile to soil pile.

Mole lawn damage is typically most evident in the spring and early summer, and then again in the fall. This is when the animals are closest to the surface. During the summer months, their excavation is often at a deeper level.

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Trying To Get Rid Of Voles For Good

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Voles are small mammals that are active both above and underneath the ground. Although mature voles only reach five to seven inches long, they can still upend a yard by feeding on vegetation and kicking up dirt, roots and grass.

Like moles, shrews and mice, voles pose their own unique pest issues. But moles mostly stay underground, and shrews and mice dont create nearly the same amount of tunneling, burrows or runways. Voles can also be difficult to identify because of how closely they resemble mice. They are even known as meadow mice or field mice. But if they are creating a problem on your property, it is important to distinguish voles from real mice.

Mole Activity And Reproduction

Moles mate during February and March. They produce a single litter of three to five the gestation period is six weeks. Moles do not hibernate and store food or fat. Severe lawn damage can result until mole control is used or the lawn surfaces freeze in the winter. Newborn female moles will mate the following spring, and the cycle begins anew.

Mole activity occurs both during the day and night. They can be seen during damp days or the day after a rain during the spring and summer months as they push up their tunnels or mounds. If the lawn freezes in the winter or there is a very dry summer, the moles use deep burrows.

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What Is A Mole

You usually wouldnt see a mole scurrying about the yard as they are nocturnal and spend most of the time underground. If you do see holes around your yard, thats a pretty good sign of mole activity. These shy lawn pests are rarely seen, but youll know if its a mole when it has:

• Velvety fur
• Narrow nose, like a snout
• Tiny body, 4.4 to 6.25 inches in length

What moles eat: Moles are insectivores, feasting on grubs, insects, and earthworms .

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.

Dig A Trench And Line It

Controlling moles and gophers where they dig is a big part of getting rid of them. For moles, dig a trench roughly 6 inches wide and 2 feet deep. Then, fill the trench with rock or line it with wire mesh or hardware cloth that has holes no bigger than 3/4 inches wide. This will prevent moles from burrowing into your lawn or garden.

Deter gophers by digging a trench around your flower bed or vegetable garden and burying a wire mesh screen or hardware cloth in it. Again, make sure the holes in the wire mesh or hardware cloth are no bigger than 3/4 inches wide.

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Ways To Get Rid Of Moles In Your Yard And Garden

There are a variety of animals that may travel through or make a nest in your yard. Keep snakes away and eliminate moles with a few simple home remedies.

While moles are furry and mysterious creatures that pose no harm to you or your plants, getting rid of them in your yard is necessary to prevent herbivores from destroying your gardens. Fortunately, there are several solutions and home remedies to solve the problem.

How To Protect Your Yard From Mole Damage

PostedOctober 20, 2016

If youve ever had your lawn overrun with mole tunnels, you know its not cute. Although moles can be a gardeners friend, with their natural aeration techniques and hearty appetite for insect larvae, they can wreak havoc too. For example, molehills disturb plant roots, make walking and mowing difficult, and damage grass. In addition, while moles themselves do not eat plants, their ever-expanding tunnels can be hijacked by voles, tiny rodents that do eat plants. So when you want to control moles and prevent moles from setting up residence in and under your lawn, follow our 5 tips:

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Eliminate Their Food Sources

Moles love grubs. When you eliminate the grubs and other insects in your yard, the moles will relocate in search of better food sources. We recommend controlling grub populations by using beneficial nematodes or milky spore to kill grubs. If you want faster results, use an insecticide instead.

Pros: Humane, easy

Cons: Moles may start to rely on other food sources and insect species instead.

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.

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Common Species Of Voles

How To Identify:

• Adults can reach up to 10, including their tail
• Tail encompasses almost 30% of their length and can make them difficult to distinguish from mice
• Dark hair, usually ranging from gray to black
• Found throughout the western U.S. and Canada
• Less particular with their habitat than their cousin species and have been found in grassy areas, meadows, forests, and banks against bodies of water
• Active year-round, but are mainly nocturnal
• Not known to construct underground tunnels, unlike other voles, therefore less of a property damage issue

How Do You Fix A Vole

If voles have damaged your lawn, you want to restore it as quickly as possible. Here are a few quick tips:

• Give the entire lawn surface a gentle rake to break up debris and excrement in vole runways and promote lawn growth.
• Fill in vole pathways with topsoil.
• Fertilize and overseed any areas of thin or chewed-down grass.
• Prune and fertilize trees or shrubs that have been gnawed on by voles.

If you have severe vole damage in your lawn, hire a professional company that offers turf and ornamental treatments. Smiths Pest Management provides damage treatment options to reclaim your space and revive areas damaged by voles.

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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?

What Will Repel Moles

The most effective way to repel moles is with a combination of chemical and cultural controls. Start by spraying castor oil and dish soap around mole tunnels, and applying cayenne pepper to areas that have signs of mole activity. For an additional layer of protection, add mole baits, gopher traps, and chemicals like Ferti-Lome MoleGo Granules.

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How To Get Rid Of Voles In Your Yard And Garden

The Pests Stop Here!

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Voles: theyre a tiny animal that can drive homeowners and gardeners crazy! Known for creating networks of deep, crisscrossing tunnels, voles can wreak havoc on a lawn or garden. If youve ever wondered how to get rid of voles, youre not alone.

Here at Smiths Pest Management, our team specializes in helping clients in and around the San Francisco Bay area identify the best way to get rid of voles in their yard, so we know a thing or two about the process.

In this post, well share our top tips and tricks to help you become a vole extermination master.

Lets dive in.

How To Treat & Repair A Mole

Things You Will Need

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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 Trap Moles In Your Lawn

Before trapping them, you need to figure out where the active run is.

The active run is the tunnel that leads from the moles nest underground. Moles live entirely underground and only come out to mate.

How to Find the Active Mole Run

To determine the active run, flatten the mole tunnels and mark them. Check your lawn periodically throughout the day. A raised run is the active one and where youll set the trap.

Once youve found the active mole run, insert a trap into the active run. Moles become active in early spring, and its best to set the traps then, once you notice the tunnels starting to form. You can either use a humane trap to release them elsewhere, or a kill trap to get rid of them altogether.

If you decide on a humane trap, youll need to release the mole after catching it. Take it at least 5 miles from your home before setting it free. Let it out in a rural area, where the mole can thrive without causing damage.

Ive tried using a humane mole trap, but its frustrating and much more difficult than using a good kill trap like the one I mention below. Kill traps can be purchased at any hardware store, but some traps are safer than others .

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Use Poison Or Gas Their Tunnels

This is a lethal solution, but one that can be effective given the proper circumstances, or if your issue is persistent enough. Make sure before use that you can keep poison away from pets or children.

You can purchase poison mole bait at any hardware store or .

The standard poison baits are Zinc Phosphide. You could also use Talpirid Mole Bait. This product mimics a worm in size and texture. The mole will think the bait is food, then will be poisoned after it eats it.

You can also use carbon monoxide gas from a small engine or your car. Youll need to use a hose and cap the exhaust on either a car or a lawn mower. Then lead the hose into one of the mole hills. Block off or plug the other holes.

This technique will only be effective if the mole tunnels are sealed. Otherwise all of the gas will escape quickly and the gas will be ineffective.

Using pesticides as a means of killing insects will deter moles by cutting down on their food supply, and I recommend treating for grubs at the same time that you remove the moles so that the problem does not reoccur.

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.

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Why Are Moles A Pest

If moles happen to find themselves in your garden or golf course, this can be incredibly annoying and messy. They can dig up to 4 metres an hour, which means they can create a complex tunnelling system that leads to their den in no time at all. The problem with moles is that they like to reside in dry, dark environments underground but hunt where the soil is moist, full of worms and grubs, meaning that they disturb the surface, leaving mounds of soil dotted around a landscape.