22 replies to this topic

[Dr_Phail]

I don't know where they came from. Last year we were fine, and suddenly they're everywhere. I know that most methods of getting rid of them don't work. How DO I get rid of them?

[SilvrHairDevil]

Cats

[plantman21]

If you plant some Crown Imperieals (sp) the smell from the bulb is supposs to keep moles/rodents 15 ft away. I have a few around a couple of outdoor beds. Seems to keep the moles at bay, I'm not sure about rodents. There are also spikes you put in the ground and they vibrate every now and again, those work very well, so well that the neighbors started hateing on me :rasta:. You could also get a Guinee cock/fowl they take care of moles as well. Hope something will trip your trigger. Best of luck.


Plantman

[LargeMarge]

our weiner dogs used to dig them up and kill them. After the dogs died we put sticks of juicyfruit gum in the tunnels and that seemed to work.

[scooby doo]

Put a couple sticks of Wrigley's Spearmint gum into the trail and holes of the moles.

[iamsmiley]

rifle :)

[Mrs.Hippie3]

rifle :)

:lol: i find that those little windmills that put vibrations through the ground work well.

[Dr_Phail]

What's this about vibrations and such? How does it affect the moles?

[Mrs.Hippie3]

They send vibrations through the ground that disturbs the mole. I believe its within a 1200 foot radius or something like that.

[gunit1400]

You have moles because you most likely have grubs. The white grubs they feed on are the larval stage of the Japanese Beetle. Put out some Bayer or Scott's grub killer and you'll soon be rid of the grubs, and once the grubs are gone, the moles will leave because their primary food source is gone. Hope this helps.

[gunit1400]

Oh I agree with you there, but I face double trouble. I have two small dogs who just LOVE to dig up the ground trying to get to those grubs. My yard is a mess and they come in the house all dirty! I have to treat my yard for grubs, but I think it's the wrong time of year to do it.

[director of sound]

i usually put really salty peanuts in the runs, and i mean REALLY salty. get some peanuts and boil them in water for an hour that has had as much salt added to it as you can dissolve, toss a handfull in one of the holes. the moles will eat the nuts and die because of too much salt. it works quick. you can toss a little rat poison in there too...

they sell these traps that you put over one of the runs and when the mole goes through it drives a bunch of sharp spikes into the run killing it, works good for gophers too if you put it right over their hole.

[DarkLestor]

ever seen caddyshack?

[director of sound]

ever seen caddyshack?

:lol:

http://media.dvdtown...age.php?id=5363

[the1]

victor out of site trap is the best but if you have sandy soil the nash choker loop is what you want.kill them early in the season the warmer it gets the deeper they go.I know guys who trap moles for a living and these are the traps they recommend for the novice trapper.they probably have videos on youtube to show you how to set them too.There are alot of remedies out there but the pros trap them.

[Beast]

Hi! Resident Biologist here! I heard someone say something about a 'Mole Infestation"?

I expect that most of the members here are aware that there are different types of animals and plants and fungi that live in the world around us, and not only that but that identifying what the particular organism you are referring to actually is can mean the difference between life and death.

Just as the life or death situation applies to not eating, touching, or being touched by any number of poisonous organisms, it also pays to know what is edible, as well as beneficial.

Where would humans be with out dogs? Sabertooth tiger kibbles, that's where.

The same goes for your garden. I'm assuming its a garden you're talking about, though concern for ornamental gardens and lawns could also be at play here.

There's a great number of things that want to eat your plants and dig up your lawn. There's also a great number of things that want to eat the things that want to eat your plants and dig up your lawn.

That said, you should know that moles are a beneficial animal that eat their body weight in insects daily. Moles and Shrews are true Insectivores, and bugs are all they eat. Gophers, on the other hand, are in the Rodent order and well deserving of any gardener's chagrin.

Before you complain that you can't identify it if it's living underground, let me point out that you can easily identify the critter by the type of burrow:

* Moles leave volcano-shaped hills that are often made up of clods of soil. The mole hills are pushed up from the deep tunnels and may be 2 to 24 inches (5 to 60 cm) tall. The number of mole hills is not a measure of the number of moles in a given area. Surface tunnels or ridges are indicative of mole activity.

* Pocket gopher mounds are generally kidney-shaped and made of finely sifted and cloddy soil. Generally, gophers leave larger mounds than moles do. Gopher mounds are often built in a line, indicative of a deeper tunnel system.

Before initiating a control program for moles, be sure that they are truly out of place. Moles play an important role in the management of soil and of grubs that destroy lawns. Moles work over the soil and subsoil. Only a part of this work is visible at the surface. Tunneling through soil and shifting of soil particles permits better aeration of the soil and subsoil, carrying humus farther down and bringing the subsoil nearer the surface where the elements of plant food may be made available.

Moles eat harmful lawn pests such as white grubs. Though they also eat beneficial earthworms, stomach analyses show that nearly two-thirds of the moles studied had eaten white grubs.

Moles and shrews are insect eaters and have a very high metabolism, allowing them to consume vast quantities of insects. Because of this, these tiny predators have huge ranges compared to the voles and pocket gophers that they are often mistaken for.

Moles DO NOT eat roots or plant material. They might disturb a root or two burrowing towards a grub, but that's it. Its the rodents that are the ones that are munching on your plants.

Thus, if your 'infestation' is a mole it could be just one or two individuals, that are actually helping you out by eating the insects that would normally be munching on your plants, as well as aerating your topsoil. If this 'infestation' is a rodent, then rest assured there's a colony of 5-20 of the little bastards planning on scaling up their invasion once spring hits.

Knowing the difference could actually be the difference between life or death -for your garden.

[Bobcat]

I love that caddyshack gopher...:heart:

[Ben Dover]

As Beast said, they eat grubs so if you spread insecticide in your yard to kill their food source, they'll move on.

[the1]

I forgot to mention if you don't clear out the moles early in the spring they will breed at least where I live.then during the summer they go deeper under ground to escape the heat and follow the bugs you get one more shot at them in the fall when it cools off and they return to the surface.