Moles are particularly destructive when it comes to yards, leaving tracks of brown dirt on otherwise pristine sod. The trouble with moles is that they live underground the majority of the time, so any travel requires a new tunnel. Not only do they tunnel for the sake of creating a burrow, they tunnel to locate food. This quest can take them throughout an entire yard. Beyond the visual deformities caused by these small rodents, moles are less destructive to gardens and homes than their cousins, mice. Moles will not live inside of a home and they rarely eat the roots of garden plants. They are subterranean creatures, feeding on insects, grubs and worms.
Moles have some behavior traits which make them a challenge to get rid of. The complex network of tunnels and runs beneath the ground surface is made up of frequented and abandoned passageways. Like most burrowers, moles will have various tunnels and offshoots within which they live and store food. The search for food leads them to create one-time usage tunnels that are abandoned shortly after being created. It takes a working knowledge of mole behavior to know which entrances are currently in use and which ones will never be used again.
There are popular brands of mole poison on the market, most with mixed reviews. Mole poisons are placed at the entrances of runs and tunnels with the hope that the rodent will take the bait. It can be very tricky to lure a mole to poison, especially if the lawn is full of an abundant supply of worms and insects. Poisons in a grain base may never be touched, or they may be place near unused tunnel systems. Poisoning a mole, if it happens, may not solve the problem. Another mole may venture into the empty tunnel system and claim it for its own. This is particularly true if the lawn is exceptionally desirable.
The effectively get rid of moles, trapping should be considered. In an area of visible mole runs, take a small garden spade and remove the sod covering one of the tunnels. If the tunnel is smooth, that is a sign the mole has used the passage multiple times. Chances are the tunnel is an active tunnel. Some experts also claim that long straightaways are usually active tunnels. Pick your location carefully. Take two body-gripping traps and place them opposite one another in each direction of the tunnel. Be sure to secure any tethers and to place flags so you can locate the traps again. Recover the exposed tunnel with the sod you previously removed. If you’re lucky, when the mole comes back through, it will run directly into the trap. There is no need to bait a mole trap if it is placed accurately and in an active tunnel space. The designs of traps vary from small, narrow, inner-tunnel traps to larger, tunnel-splitting traps. Regardless of which design you pick, selecting the trap location is really key. Check your traps daily, and examine your yard for new tunnels. Moles have a keen sense for danger and it won’t take much convincing to abandon a main tunnel if all doesn’t seem well.
Aside from trapping and poisoning, your options for getting rid of moles are few. Mothballs and other pungent deterrents won’t work on an animal that can easily tunnel away, and honestly, those chemicals rarely work under any circumstances anyway. Predator deterrents are pointless because a mole rarely comes to the surface. This is one nuisance creature that limits your ability to remove them successfully from the property.
Even the best cared-for yards can be susceptible to moles. In fact, most lush yards are vibrant and healthy because they have a large worm population. Worms are one of the main food sources of moles. Some experts recommend cutting down on outdoor lighting which attracts insects, thus promoting breeding and colonization in a yard. There is not much evidence supporting this theory, but if you are trying to prevent moles in the first place, every little bit helps.
More mole control articles:
Natural mole repellents
Mole Prevention Tips - Home Remedies
Mole Trapping
What kind of damage do moles cause to a lawn?
Do You Need Help? I wrote this website to provide information on How To Get Rid of Moles in the case that you have
a mole problem and need to make an informed decision about what to do. If you
have any questions you may email me, but I do know from experience
that mole removal is not simple. If you need professional help solving your
wildlife conflict, I recommend that you talk to a professional mole
control expert in your town by clicking on my
National Wildlife Control
directory, which lists experts who I recommend in every USA city and town who can
help you with your mole issue.
OTHER TIPS FOR HOW TO GET RID OF MOLES
The action of moles digging holes and creating tunnels underground in their efforts to find food and move to different locations is a known behaviour. They usually feed on earthworms which are found in the soil.This is what explains the many burrows in a ground invaded by worms. Their constant habit of digging underground destroys the aesthetic value of land and makes them to be considered as pests. A number of methods or solutions have been developed to counter the problems that moles bring into our yards. There is the application of Mothballs have been used in the past but have been found to be very ineffective. Chemicals that are explosive on the ground have also been used butare dangerous to both humans and animals so that makes this technique non- considerable.
Therefore, trapping is the only solution that has been developed in order to counter the actions of moles in your yard. There are different types of traps and different methods used to trap moles. The number of moles that have invade your yard and the size of them will usually influence what types and sizes of traps you will use.
There are different trap types used to catch these moles. These include
- Spear traps
- Paper Clip traps
- Scissor traps
All of these do one job which is trapping the mole and eventually killing it, depending on whether they are lethal or not.
The following are other ways of getting rid of moles
Modify your soil. Passing a roller on top of that sandy soiled yard will make it difficult for the mole to dig tunnels through more compact soil. It will therefore move away to another area where there is soft soil.
Using poisonous plants. They effectively remove moles but can be very dangerous when it comes to other farm animals like chicken and goats.
Mole repellents.They are sold in stores and contain instructions on use. You us be sure that a repellent is effective before you purchase it.
A good fence is also another way of getting rid of moles. Just install a fence that goes a couple of feet under to prevent the mole from digging under it and gaining access to your yard.
Get rid of all the mole’s sources of food. The mole is in your yard creating burrows because there is enough food for it there. Using insecticides, you can decide to kill all the small organisms in the soil in your yard and limit the mole from eating anything. It will therefore find another location or another yard where it can feed or else it might die.
Apply all these and the mole problem will be a thing of the past to you.
