Getting rid of moles from the yard

[Fern]

I've had them forever. We've learned to live together peacefully. Whatever I have don't really start messing the lawn up too bad until the middle of the season and they just raise up the ground where they tunnel. I can drive over them with the mower and not disturb the soil or damage the lawn in the process. They do poke up through the earth at several locations and leave piles of dirt on the lawn. I rake that dirt out and they never do it again at that location.

I can fully understand why someone would want to eliminate them though. I wonder what golf courses do? I bet they've got it all figured out.

I decided a long time ago that living out in the country meant dealing with moles. I have a friend who had a dog that used to catch them. The dog would stop, peer at the ground intently, turning its head from side to side zeroing in on the mole and then would frantically dig and bite and come up with a mole in its mouth. I never saw it fail.

Pretty much the same here.

I decided I can live with the tunnels.

They're gone now though. Like you said, my dog sniffed them out, dug them up and ate them. That was a f'ing cool dog. Too bad she passed away a couple of years ago.

Fern

 

[edro]

I bought two of those Victor Out O' Site traps and set them last night.
I had stomped most of the tunnels (tons!) in the past few weeks.
I set them in the tunnels that popped back up.
I couldn't really find any straightaways like the YouTube videos suggest.

I will report back with photos when I catch something... and I WILL catch something.

 

[SearchMaster]

I had moles once and the poison did fine. Later some mice got into my shed and chewed open the leftover poison, so I assume I got a 2 for 1 (though I never found any carcasses of either species).

 

[dphantom]

I had moles once and the poison did fine. Later some mice got into my shed and chewed open the leftover poison, so I assume I got a 2 for 1 (though I never found any carcasses of either species).

You generally won't find any carcasses using poison. That is why many people think poisons do not work. They do but you have to be persistent, constant baiting. And depending on your surrounding environment, you may never get completely rid of voles or moles or other tunneling rodents regardless of removal method.

I'll start baiting and trapping in a few weeks once the frost is out of the ground. Need to get a bit more aggressive on grub treatment too.

 

[schmuckley]

My uncle rigged up steel conduit to the exhaust of a lawnmower.

 

[Gardener]

Moles may or may not stick around, my experience is that most of the time they stay for 1-2 years, and then move on.

Trapping can work if you have the time to do it correctly, but poison bait is the approach used by exterminator services. The pro's that I have observed dig an access port over a tunnel and place what looks like a lidded 5 gallon bucket with the bottom 1/2 removed over the tunnel. They can then pop the lid for easy access to monitor and add more bait directly into the tunnel every week or so.

Soaking you lawn with broad spectrum neurotoxin insecticides like Dursban (which has been banned for residential use for more than a decade) is overkill as your risk exposing your pets, kids, and the nearby stream. Additionally, killing all the insects in your soil is lunacy, they are part of a healthy soil.

 

[edro]

TheMoleMan.com says grub control doesn't work because their main food are earthworms.

The only way I see Caster oil, etc working is if you soak your entire lawn, which is impossible.

I'm going to stick with traps for a while.

 

[dphantom]

TheMoleMan.com says grub control doesn't work because their main food are earthworms.

The only way I see Caster oil, etc working is if you soak your entire lawn, which is impossible.

I'm going to stick with traps for a while.

That is correct. Though moles will eat grubs and other insects as well. Even small lizards have been reported to have been eaten by a mole.

I treat for grubs to remove a potential food source and to reduce Japanese beetle infestation.

 

[edro]

I mentioned my mission to my father. He said he had a terrible mole problem 6 years ago. His friend worked at Scotts Lawn and he told him to use their Grub control product. He did and he said he hasn't had a single mole in 6 years. He said don't cheap out and get an off brand grub control; use the top of the line Scotts product and it will work.

I hate anecdotes like that... You can't argue against them.

I guess I could do that as well, just to be safe. I better look into what it does and what other insects/worms it kills and if there are any side effects.

 

[tsiunltdus]

I have heard of throwing moth balls in the runs. Does anyone know if that actually runs them off?

 

[lupi]

It is kinda interesting how that grub stuff works. First time I applied it I was walking in the yard a couple days later and noticed a half dozen or so of them curled up dead laying on the grass. Looked just like the picture on the bottle.

 

[edro]

Got one!
Followed the YouTube video tips on how to set them.

 

[highland145]

Got one!
Followed the YouTube video tips on how to set them.

492 more to go.

Other than the one I got earlier in the year, no signs of them. I did put out the insect/grub/whatever killer after the 1st one.

 

[lupi]

Sprayed down grub killer just after putting down new seed this year. Have watered a lot since due to the seed and after crushing a bunch of tunnels can't say I've noticed new builds. Only bad part is I've probably only momentarity driven them away, probably just wrecking the neighbors yard till the grubs start to come back.

 

[Elixer]

Well crap, this spring has been horrible, have tons of them making these huge, deep holes.
Tried the "peaceful" way by using both live traps ($20 rental) and the spikes ($25 rental)... 0 moles/voles caught using the supplied food for them for the live traps, and 0 with the spikes.
Poison is out, since we got well water.

I am done with being nice.
I am thinking hooking up the snow blower to a hose, and flood the tunnels with monoxide. (Still have fuel left over from this season).
Kinda like what this guy is doing... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGgU1eKRSTA
I am just wondering, how long does it take to flood the tunnel network?
Going by the amount of fuel left over, I figure it could run for 45 mins.
I figure I can set the blower to be more rich to produce more smoke than it would normally, and watch where smoke comes out, and block those tunnels with rocks.

Anyone see anything wrong with this plan?

 

[slag]

Well crap, this spring has been horrible, have tons of them making these huge, deep holes.
Tried the "peaceful" way by using both live traps ($20 rental) and the spikes ($25 rental)... 0 moles/voles caught using the supplied food for them for the live traps, and 0 with the spikes.
Poison is out, since we got well water.

I am done with being nice.
I am thinking hooking up the snow blower to a hose, and flood the tunnels with monoxide. (Still have fuel left over from this season).
Kinda like what this guy is doing... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGgU1eKRSTA
I am just wondering, how long does it take to flood the tunnel network?
Going by the amount of fuel left over, I figure it could run for 45 mins.
I figure I can set the blower to be more rich to produce more smoke than it would normally, and watch where smoke comes out, and block those tunnels with rocks.

Anyone see anything wrong with this plan?

They make these lightable tubes you can place in tunnels to get rid of moles/chipmunks, etc that poisons them and drives they away or kills them. I've had limited success with that. I've never tried the carbon monoxide route though.

 

[evident]

Just discovered that I have voles this past weekend. I was cleaning up a flower bed further away from my house when i saw what i thought were a few mice scurrying back into their holes. ok sure they're outside they can live, no biggie i thought.

a few days later after i started seeding bare spots there were holes dug around the perimiter of my deck, and grass ripped up to form a path between two holes and a drain pipe.

I started using poison and mouse traps. one confirmed kill so far, they seem to keep eating the poison i put out every night though. I've been using the tomcat mole killer poison, i think the active ingredient is zinc phosphide.

 

[Ban Bot]

I have had good success with poisoned gummy worms from HDX / Amazon. I use 1/2 or 1/3 which makes them go even further.

 

[evident]

Well crap, this spring has been horrible, have tons of them making these huge, deep holes.
Tried the "peaceful" way by using both live traps ($20 rental) and the spikes ($25 rental)... 0 moles/voles caught using the supplied food for them for the live traps, and 0 with the spikes.
Poison is out, since we got well water.

I am done with being nice.
I am thinking hooking up the snow blower to a hose, and flood the tunnels with monoxide. (Still have fuel left over from this season).
Kinda like what this guy is doing... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGgU1eKRSTA
I am just wondering, how long does it take to flood the tunnel network?
Going by the amount of fuel left over, I figure it could run for 45 mins.
I figure I can set the blower to be more rich to produce more smoke than it would normally, and watch where smoke comes out, and block those tunnels with rocks.

Anyone see anything wrong with this plan?

Haha, i still have to run my snowblower dry. i would like to know how successful this is as well. I may have to pick up some long tubing from home depot after work.

 

[Elixer]

D-Day for them will be this weekend. I have been busy marking the holes.

 

[lupi]

Except where they dug close enough to the surface that it naturally broke through, never really seen intentionally made holes to the surface. Just a bunch of passing through tunnels.

 

[Drako]

Just get some of these, and cover your yard with them.

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Spinning-Daisy-case-SUNFLOWER/dp/B0087P52WG

 

[Subyman]

At my mom's house she has 3 male cats that love this time of year. We call it the moleocaust.

 

[fiberst]

Maybe you can pay a professional guy to rid your yard of moles.

 

[slag]

Perhaps some c4 in the shape of a gopher? Worked for Bill Murray.. sort of...