Moles are a common pest in gardens, often consuming grubs and worms. To prevent moles from digging up your garden, it is essential to eliminate their potential food source. Mole hills, piles of fresh flowers, can deter moles by providing a colorful addition to your yard.
To release moles, use a humane trap and release them at least 5 miles away from your home in a rural area. Placing an ultrasonic device or noisemaker can also help. A dual approach is often best, starting with making your garden less attractive to moles by removing their food source. The fastest way to get rid of moles naturally is to use a combination of dish soap, castor oil, and water in a small sprayer.
The most reliable method for permanently getting rid of moles is using kill traps, which are designed specifically for killing moles. Raised garden beds can help prevent roots from being damaged by mole tunnels and reduce insect populations around those roots. Plant flowers that deter moles, use store-bought repellents, fill tunnels with water, create underground barriers, and try live trapping.
To prevent mole problems, choose a site with at least 6 hours of sunlight, measure the area, remove soil, and line the sides and bottom of the raised bed with galvanized hardware cloth. If planting in raised beds or in the ground, use a gopher cage in-ground or hardware cloth underneath the beds.
📹 How to Get Rid of Moles in the Garden- Moles Be Gone!
It’s a mole invasion! If you’ve ever wondered how to get rid of moles in the garden, check out what has worked (and what has …
Does vinegar kill garden moles?
Ground moles can be a nuisance in your yard, but using vinegar as a natural and non-toxic pest control method can be effective. To use vinegar, first understand the expected encoding, then write logic to display a message if it is not what is expected. For example, use AND logic and a nested IF statement. When posting code on a forum, use the symbol and paste it in the pop-up window after it loads.
How to get moles out of a raised bed?
Moles are a nuisance pest that tunnel and uproot flowers and vegetables in gardens. They are known for their hairless, pointed snout, and tiny eyes. To get rid of moles, plant flowers that deter them, try a store-bought repellent, fill tunnels with water, create underground barriers, and try live trapping. Detecting moles in your outdoor space is as simple as looking out for raised volcano-shaped swellings in your yard. They prefer moist, loamy soil and are most active in the early morning or evening in spring or fall, and come out after rain. Here are five simple ways to get rid of moles in your yard:
- Plant flowers that deter moles.
- Try a store-bought repellent.
- Fill tunnels with water.
- Create underground barriers.
- Try live trapping.
Do coffee grounds get rid of moles?
Coffee grounds can be used as a natural remedy against moles by scattering them over their holes and covering them with soil. This method is effective in annoying yard-destroying varmints and has a pleasant smell. If your lawn has become infiltrated with moles, try these tips and contact TLC Nursery and Outdoor Living for help. They strive to be Southeast Kansas’ go-to destination for landscaping services, lawn care, and yard maintenance, making over 50, 000 service calls last year. They take pride in treating each customer like they are their only customer, ensuring their lawn’s health and beauty.
What do moles hate the most?
Moles can be deterred using various methods, including the scent of blood, urine, and tobacco, using a cat or dog, mixing castor oil and dish detergent with water, dipping corn ears in roofing tar, and using coffee grounds, red pepper, or other spices in the soil. Mole traps can be purchased at home and garden shops. If moles persist, contact lawn specialists at Cardinal Lawns for more tips. Additionally, download a FREE lawn pest guide to learn about signs of infestations and how to spot common lawn pests to prevent damage to your property. Pests become more prevalent during the heat and humidity of summer, so it’s essential to be aware of the signs of infestations before causing damage.
What gets rid of moles permanently?
It is possible to eradicate moles and gophers from a lawn by trapping and killing them with mole and gopher bait. However, this should be considered a last resort, as it is an unnatural method of pest control.
What is the most effective mole deterrent?
Castor oil is an effective natural repellent that repels moles by delivering a foul smell to their tunnels and coating earthworms, forcing them to relocate from protected areas. Available in liquid and granular forms, these repellents can be applied using a hose, granules, or ultrasonic methods. Ready-to-Spray Liquid is a concentrated solution that mixes with water to cover affected areas, while granules are biodegradable, oil-infused repellent granules that spread across the ground. Ultrasonic repellents, which release vibrations and ultrasounds, irritate moles’ sensitive ears and sense of touch, causing them to move elsewhere.
Do coffee grounds really get rid of moles?
Mole removal can be costly, ranging from $100 to $550. Coffee grounds can save time and money by encouraging moles to move away from the trap. Coffee grounds are harmless and beneficial for soil, as they contain nutrients that can fertilize plants and enrich soil. This hack not only protects lawns, feeds gardens, and reduces waste, but also helps protect pets, children, and local wildlife from toxic chemicals used in pest control services.
Does vinegar really remove moles?
Apple cider vinegar has been proposed as a potential method for mole removal. However, it is not recommended by health professionals due to the potential for burns and complications. The efficacy of home remedies is often poorly researched, and the potential risks associated with them vary considerably. It is imperative that patients consult with their physicians before attempting any home removal methods, as these may assist in identifying malignant moles that necessitate distinct therapeutic regimens.
What is the best homemade mole killer?
To eradicate moles and gophers from a residential setting, a solution of three parts castor oil and one part dish soap should be prepared. The solution should be prepared by adding four tablespoons of the mixture to a gallon of water. This solution should then be used to soak the tunnels and entrances in order to evict moles and gophers.
📹 How Do You Get Rid Of Moles In Your Yard Naturally?? Proven Methods
How Do You Get Rid Of Moles In Your Yard Naturally.
Girl you had us laughing so hard. I mean in tears!! You sitting with the pitchfork waiting was priceless!! Don’t waste your money on those electric probes as they are worthless. They make traps where you set them in the mole tunnel that will snap and kill them when they pass through it. It is something like the trap you bought but these are a box type trap where they have to pass through it. A friend of ours uses the old pee on the tunnel trick that makes them move on but the only problem is unless you pee on the whole dang garden they just route around to come in else where. The snap traps works best. I don’t have to deal with these critters any longer since I went to straw bale gardening. Our cats still catch them digging through the yard and brings them to us saying look what we found. LMBO. Good luck and thanks for the laughs. Hope you have an awesome safe weekend! Git-R-Done!!
My grandpa was an avid mash the trench and then pitchfork the mole method. He kept our gardens mole free for years. After his death, we got a mole killer similar to the one you have with several prongs and a trigger mechanism. They work great. I think perhaps your really great soil worked against this tool, it may have just pushed the little critters down a little. The best solution I have been using lately is my favorite Tom cat, Toby. He is an equal opportunity pest remover. He sits by the tunnels listening, and then like a flash he digs up the mole and has a tasty meal. Squirrels are his another pest he keeps under control. Sometimes he just kills them and brings them to me to show what he has done. I love that cat.
I bought cinnamon sticks and cinnamon at a local grocer that was “made in Mexico” and stuck a cinnamon stick down each hole (where they push the grass up about every 5 feet). The cinnamon sticks pushed thru the hole easily. Then I sprinkled cinnamon on top of the trail. No more moles. Also the cinnamon will keep dogs away from your gardens. Dogs do not like cinnamon and will stay away by the way and keeps them from digging.
Tried and true method to rid my garden of moles is Juicy Fruit gum. I break a piece of gum in half and place just inside their hole both entrance and exit. They love the smell, eat the gum but can’t digest it and expire. Nothing else worked. After all the expense only to find a 35 cent pack of gum did the trick. I’m glad your website popped up today! I subscribed. 😃
Jenna, I had moles. I bought the solar sonic vibrators at 8 to a pack and 3 packs for a very small garden space. The moles stayed away for a short while but then began to dare to come closer and closer. The first time I saw a tunnel too close to the bed I changed tactics. I did google searches for best ways to get rid of moles and found that the scissor kill traps are very popular. I found some on Amazon (a 2 pack at a very reasonable price). I had to watch some articles on the proper way to use them because they didn’t come with instructions. You place them in the popular tunnel trails. Sort of the major mole highways. You stomp down the tunnel first, and place the scissor trap in line with the tunnel so that when they try to fix the tunnel that is what triggers the scissors to close. Right out of the box I used these and both caught and killed moles. They also held on to the mole they killed tight enough that I could literally pull the trap out of the ground with the mole attached. Love them. No moles. I had 3 moles and now I have none. If the territorial other moles see that my space is vacant I’ll use them again but so far, knock on wood. Good luck with your moles. Scissor traps. That’s the ticket. PS: I will say this for the solar sonic vibrators, they scare the crap out of the squirrels and some birds so those two critters were no longer a problem.
1/2 inch wire mesh or fiberglass patio mesh. When you start your raised garden, place mesh on ground below the growing area. The sides should come to the surface, since the critters wont come out of the ground. I have had a lot of success with this method. Good luck. Bay the way, done once it will lasts many years.
Oh my!! Been dealing with moles the last couple of years. Originally they just seemed to be in the front yard and though they made the area HORRIBLE to mow over, we hadn’t done anything. This past fall though, they were around my chicken run and this spring they’ve been destroying my raised garden beds. I’ve searched and searched as to what to do with them and had considered several of the things you tested yourself. Thanks for your research!! We just picked up mole poison and like you, I HATE to kill anything but when they are reeking havoc where I’m trying to grow food, it can’t go on!! 🙁
Jenna, Good luck with your quest to get rid of your moles. We have moles also in our small garden and yard. We are blessed to have a cat that is part Maincoon (I think) and so far he has gifted me with 3 moles. He likes to leave them in my garage for me. It has helped a lot so far. He is a major hunter. So far 1 humming bird numerous grasshoppers and lizards, 1 squirrel, 3 moles and several birds. That’s all just this year.
I watch a website and she was having the same basic problem. What she did was make raised beds and in the bottom of the bed she put down hardware cloth and then filled fill her compost and whatnot. She never ever had a problem again. It was a lot of work but 🤷🏼♀️ She put the cloth down and then used cinder blocks to make her raised beds. The heavy cinder blocks were placed on top of the cloth at the edges also so that they couldn’t get up through the sides
Last night I watched your article. This morning I poked holes in several tunnels, and checked later to see if they were active. Yes, the holes were blocked with new soil. Then several feet away I saw movement of sandy soil being pushed up by the south side of my garden. Within seconds I formed a plan: STOMP DOWN DEEPLY! Yes, the mole met its demise with my left heel.
I’ve had a couple of moles in my yard(grass) for a couple of years but they weren’t really doing much so I just ignored it but this year they were under my vegetable garden and killed a lot of tomato and zucchini plants. The best trap I’ve found is the gopher hawk trap. It is great for me because they were a little deeper down than in the grass and this trap can go down deeper and it’s extremely easy to set and poses no risks to pets.
I had the same problem with moles and used the old farmers trick of garden fork kill. It worked fairly well but I don’t have all day to wait for the mole to come around. What seemed to work was allowing snakes to come back to the garden (before I would scream and my husband would transport the snake off of the property). the second way was for my husband to urinate into a gallon jug and for a day or two and when I see the moles had made their tunnels again I would pour the urine into his tunnel. Now, I’m not sure if it was the bull snakes being left back into the yard or the urine but either way, it works. Good luck.
When i was living in Coastal Oregon i had a couple of raised beds plus some small beds on the ground. The raised beds were ok as emptied them turned them over and applied 1/2 in mesh to the bottom, loaded it up with more cardboard, and added my dirt etc etc, for the other small gardens i had access to a lot of pill bottles, which i filled with a pepperment mixture after drilling many small holes in each bottle and wrapping them in fabric and putting them in the ground. It took a couple of months but they got the idea to move along.. I to didn’t care about the lawn..
Hmm. Okay, I don’t want to sound like a know it all. Not what I mean at all. In that situation, what I would try, is to go get two tom cats from the pound. Maybe three. Keep them fed, a bit, and let them hunt. Do not over feed them. They won’t hunt. (Grew up in a dog hunting family.) Whichever cat kills the mole/vole and doesn’t eat it is your king. When he brings it back, let him know you appreciate it and give him some tuna. Might try, too, putting a litter box outside for the toms. If they use it, spread that around the edges of the gardens. After it is used. Urine. But main thing is to have a security cat. Just my thoughts Jenna. Moles need a predator too. How it works. I think many folk in peta don’t understand how nature works. Cat beats a lounge chair. 😉 Basically, you need a nice but aggressive tom cat. Just in my opinion. They hunt squirrels too. 🙂 If that is an issue.
Hi again, Jenna! I was able to get rid of MOST of the moles with Juicy Fruit gum, but there was still a mole that seemed to avoid it. I used Tomcat Mole Worms to get rid of the rest of the moles – I think I had two adults and at least two young moles. Now I’m also dealing with voles – the cost of living in a national forest! The Tomcat Mole Worms actually have a guarantee on the package. I bought them online, ten worms for around $18.00. They come two to a foil-enclosed pack, five packs per box. Good luck!
Hi Jenna! We haven’t lived in an area with moles in many years. When I was a kid in Maine, folks who had mole or vole problems put noise making whirligigs in their gardens and they seemed to work. A propellor turned a crank that moved a wooden block up and down to make a knocking sound. Some of them are now sold as Americana yard art. There’re awesome to watch – kinematic yard art. Of course the knock-knock-know of the thing making noise might drive you insane! The advantage to a whirligig is that it discourages the rodents from coming close. “Permanent solutions” are, well, permanent. You could engage in chemical warfare using Clorox and ammonia. It can be effective but carries some personal risk. A pricey alternative is called a Rodenator. I considered using one to collapse gopher tunnels but the darned things burrow along our irrigation and foundation. So I abandoned that approach around the house. Take care and stay healthy. Good luck, Henry.
I wont put up with damage to my garden, like you I plan to grow and feed my family. I know moles do not eat crops but the damage they do to the roots of crops can be devastating. I put up a 8′ fence to keep deer out, if I find one managed to get in, it ends up on the menu too. I have not had 1 yet jump the fence, I like perusal the deer and do not really want to eat them. Thank you for tips and a breed of dog that can help get rid of them.
I hear your pain. I live in Alberta, Canada. I have tried ginger, garlic, dish soap. vinegar, essential oils, super gasser bombs, digging most of my front yard, and last but not least Orion emergency safety flares in the tunnel. I am still working on this problem, you can just call me Caddyshack…I think that this year has been worse because of the extreme heat. Good luck
Sounded very similar to us. 2 years an old timer suggested something to us and it’s be 2 yrs since we had any problems. Those cheap little whirly gigs that are put in your lawns that look like animals or flowers etc. Work great. No problem for 2 yrs then we decided after harvesting to remove the whirly gigs and by god in 2 days they were back. The whirly gigs turns with the wind and that vibrates in the ground and they do not like it. We place ours about 10 feet apart. Hope this helps. Will be buying new ones as the plastic posts have deteriorated. So to the dollar store we go to buy new ones this year.
After around 17-18 years I know have to once again deal with mole… how was I graced with such a braek? Well, I had a cat, he didn’t cause a lot of damage, he would peel the Irish moss back, like a roll of sod, then dig a small hole causing light to go into the mole tunnel. When the mole would come to repair the tunnel, Yodi would strick. As Yodi aged, I introduced a few kittens hoping they would learn to hunt like Yodi… none ever did. Yodi was a dream of a cat, and loved throughout the community and a new member of the community learned why, when after 4 months of his cat aggressive dogs kept Yodi off his property, one day he went out intending to drive his ‘special’ car after being left for a few weekw, but to his horror not only had his custom seats been damaged, but he found his complete wiring system had to be replaced… I hold out hope of finding another hunter like him, and I hope each person that takes the time to read this finds their own Yodi.
i tried using bottle rockets left over from the 4th and it worked great that first time. just shot them straight down the tunnel and could see the dirt fly up about 10 feet away .didnt see any mole trails till towards the end of winter. i tried it again but it didnt do a thing (sigh ) back to the drawing board ! lol
Thanks for the article. I also have a problem with moles disrupting my new garden. What has worked for me is the solar ultrasonic mole repellent. I space between 3-4 feet parallel to the ground. They have left my garden alone. They are effective, you just have to give them time as moles are sensitive to noise.
Okay, so I’m dealing with the little buggers in my back yard. I experimented last year with milky spores and that area of the lawn is rodent free but, it takes some work. Just google it! I didn’t use this in the other areas of the yard (2 acres) and all they did is move in there. Now I’m gonna try some grub-x and then, aerate the daylights out of the lawn and see if I can harpoon the little, we’ll you know? Life in the South I guess.
Jenna, I watched a article by a fellow with Arms Family Homestead who had trouble with moles attacking his raised bed gardens. He’d tried several different things, including traps, but had no luck until he tried Juicy Fruit gum (he said the gum destroys the moles’ ability to digest food) and he’d had success with that. He claimed it took care of about 90% of the moles. My front lawn was being devastated my mole activity and it was so depressing to wake up every morning to see MORE mole mounds! Ugh – it looked like a herd of cattle had been grazing out there! Anyway, I decided that the Juicy Fruit gum was cheap enough to try and stuck one whole piece of gum each into 15 tunnels in my front yard on Wednesday morning. On Thursday, I spotted what looked like one sad little mound but couldn’t find the tunnel the soil had come from, so I could didn’t use any gum that morning. Today it’s Friday morning, and there are NO NEW MOLE MOUNDS in my front yard. Now, it’s too early to claim victory, and I bought a box of Tomcat Mole Worms (poison that looks like worms that you put in the tunnels), but I am feeling so much more optimistic, thinking that I may finally have my yard back. I haven’t received the box of Mole Worms yet, but will have those on standby in case the gum doesn’t work. I am delighted and wanted to share this with you in the hopes that Juicy Fruit gum will work for you, too.
I know this an an older article, but I just came across it. Moles, along with neighbors’ invading tree roots and root knot nematodes are the reason I stopped fighting with growing in the ground. I simply couldn’t overcome all the enemies any longer. I only grow in containers now, mostly Earthboxes since last year. I’m still learning. I would much prefer to plant directly in the earth, but it’s too much to struggle all season and get nothing in return. Plus, I’m almost 72 years old with a bad back and nerve damage in one of my legs which makes it very painful to walk, bend, lift, etc. Not what I was looking forward to in my “golden years”! And no, I don’t work for nor endorse Earthbox. It just seems to be the only way I can reap any harvest worth my time and effort. My first crop last year was lettuce. I was very proud of it and enjoyed salads whenever I wanted them until the lettuce started to bolt in the heat. And the Sun Sugar tomatoes were amazing. Got off track–bottom line, I never was able to eliminate moles!
Was just chatting with a friend from upstate NY. His mole and vole control is lots of red garlic (red has more bite) that he grows. They chop it up and spread it around as rodents control, and claims that the rat’s moles and voles hate it. He claims that they have literally “herded” the moles and voles off their property by expanding the circle of the spread. I can’t guess how much he must have to grow. I intend to raise tobacco and till that into the soil having read that rats won’t cross the stuff they hate it so. I’m hoping moles and voles hate it also. I have never heard of a sonic repeller for any critter that worked To encourage Snakes, lay out large flat rocks preferably slate or bricks. They will sun on it. Lay out some wood e.g., old logs stumps, a sscrap hunk of plywood all arranged in a way that’ll be shelter for snakes. Might take ’em a while to find it if there are none in there now.
So what was the reason that you didn’t spray the castor oil on top of your garden. I can maybe speculate but I would like to hear it from you. I tried the gum and didn’t work for me but looking at this thread I applied it incorrectly; I cut it in half and dropped them. I started spraying the Naturemace castor oil on my yard and am encouraged. I purchased two of the spikes and they don’t seem to work well in the front part of my yard. After three weeks I noticed that the mole dug right beside it like it was disco music. I am glad that I didn’t invest more money into the things because one would think that a radius close to it would work on them. Oh, and I enjoyed the article.
I tried just about everything to get rid of moles.I got the ultra sonic mole thing And yes it was expensive and tried other things. I must have hit on something that worked because finally I don’t have moles.I believe it was the ‘MILKY SPORE DISEASE” that I put down.and the “JAPANESE BEETLE TRAPS” that I use.I found out that the Japanese Beetle lays eggs that turn into grubs that the moles love.By eliminating most of the grubs I got rid if the moles. No food No moles.It took a couple of years but I got it done. Hope this was helpful..
OMG. We are the same person. Everything you’ve said and done, I have said and done as well. I don’t care if they destroy the small patch of “yard” which is mostly clover and dandelions, have at it, but no they’re in my main food beds. Every year my lettuce, carrot, onion seedlings get destroyed. My beans never thrive because the roots end up in tunnels. I started out “humane” and all of those options and now i’m setting kill traps which haven’t worked, and i’ve tried a handful! Been an animal rights person/vegan for decades but here I am pulling my hair out with murderous insanity because of the god damn moles! I was trying to attract all the neighborhood cats to my garden with bowls of food, which the crows ate and my indoor cats weren’t too happy when they’d look out the window and see me petting another cat. Our moles seem to be more nocturnal so I’ve not had much luck with real-life wackamole, but it has been tried without success. I’m at the point where I’m going to buy some decent speed so I can stay up all night, borrow my buddy’s .22 pistol that he has a silencer for, and pump my beds full of lead and probably end up in jail for discharging a firearm in the city. I don’t care, i’m at this point of the war! Glad to see someone else understands my rage. My wife and friends are tired of my mole madness.
So Wifey and I decided when we made our garden (raised bed because we live on a rocky mountain,) to line the ENTIRE floor of the garden with wire fencing and then our walkways are all rehabed river stone. Moles have all moved to our lawn, so it worked at moving them elsewhere 😅. We have alot of grubs that attract them, trying to get rid of them is my headache.
Very entertaining and helpful. Never really got serious about our mole problem until we put in an above ground pool and needed to protect our family investment. My wife laughs at me and calls me the guy on Caddy Shack. I sit there with a shotgun and wait for the little bugger. Guess I’m easily entertained lol. Also tried all the methods you mentioned plus a few.
Digging a trench around my raised garden helped tremendously. I added a layer of 1/4″-1/2″ grid hardware cloth in the bottom of my raised garden to keep the voles out. Then I dug a 6″ trench deep by 4″wide around it and left it open. The moles dont cross over it. If they go deeper it is thick red clay, which they don’t seem to like. Also, the trench keeps the beds hydrated. The trench has to be kept free of weeds. Experts say the ultimate solution io keeping them away (after eradication) is to dig 2ft deep trenches around your entire property and install “L” shaped wire barrier or fill with rocks. I guess thats next for us. We attracted them in the first place with fluffy raised beds and lawns, hugelkultur beds and compost piles. Ugh!!!
Southern Ohio here!! I was corrected on this a few years ago…… the ones that make those tunnels that look like mice with short tails are voles. Moles are much bigger, very furry and have hands growing out of their faces. Moles make those large mounds, voles make holes and tunnels. PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong! Also…. Tried the mole/vole ground vibrators….. save your money. Our critters burrowed up to it, had a party, invited their friends, created a playground, let off some fireworks, and tunneled in every direction away from it. Voles are highly attracted to bird seed as well. Remove the feeder….. they go away.
My dad and I would use our dachshund to catch moles. We would position the dog at one hole and then run a water house full blast in the other hole. It worked! Now where we live, I have vole problems! Trying hard to deter them by completely filling their holes with gravel, sticks or anything I can put down the hole to disturb them.
I figured a way not to kill them easily. Just simply dig where the mole hill is, find the opening to the tunnel and put some chunks of brick or cement plugging up the opening to the tunnel. Moles and Gophers are particular about their tunnel system so if you mess with it like that they move elsewhere. More mole hills may appear, just repeat the process. After a week or two they should move elsewhere. That was my experience. I tried the sonic stuff and flooding the tunnels with water and did not work. Putting in the chunks of brick and cement did after about two weeks.
You need a mole hound. I had a black lab, border collie mix and she was amazing. She’d trot across my fruit orchard, stop and dig for about 30 seconds and come up with a mole. Everytime. Of course I had to fill the holes in but she really kept the moles under control. I’ve had other dogs that would dig pits or trenches trying to catch a mole without ever getting one.
Here in France we have a device called the Detauper (demoler). It is a battery powered device which uses a firecracker attached to a detonator. When Moley crawls up the tunnel, the attached probe is pushed upwards, detonates the firecracker and despatches Moley with the shock. Disconnect the firecracker wires, cover the tunnel with Moley and the wire inside – et voila. Until the next one.
All the mechanical traps (4 so far) that I have tried are too tough for me to set & I hate waiting for a guy to show up to request him to set. Last year I got 8 moles using the waterhose technique. Doesn’t work on my slopes though as the water runs away. I have done the sit & watch approach and got a couple that way. Even tried the .22 into the place where the mole was working, but I think a .410 shotgun might work better. Welp, getting ready to go out and watch a mole run. Catcha later.
Oh, honey…I too have ran this same mole gamut. I actually need to get back on top of it! I’m in southern Ohio and I also give them much to feed on. They are now at every corner of my property. Which means every flower bed and all spots in between. The only fear I had with putting poison down the holes, is that my cats or dogs may want to eat the dead poison moles they find. Ya know what, they don’t even like the moles. They’d much rather have a chipmunk! Whole other set of problems. Right up there with e squirrels. 😬😅 Bless you! Gardening means contending with a lot of critters, creatures, elements, and conditions. Gotta get tough sometimes. Let me know what products you continue to use. Thanks!
Hi Jenna, I’m in ne Ohio too and we’ve got moles, voles, mice, chipmunks, squirrel, etc! I’m with you on the garden vs lawn thing and I’d like to have my 2 acres be our grocery store too 😉 I’ve got a super duper shepherd terrier rodent killer! She’s pretty awesome! I got a few feral cats as well. There’s a thing where a vet will give them their shots and spay-neuter them and then cut off the tip of one ear so everyone can tell they’re fixed and they won’t overpopulate. I feed them a bit of cat food also just to make sure they’re healthy and loved. This is the first year I’ve had them and not sure how to get them back in the garage for the winter. We’re looking into outdoor house type shelters if anyone has any good ideas 🙂 have fun in your garden and getting your pests in order 💕 blessings to you
Traps are ok, but lately I’m putting “gang nail plate” on the floors of their tunnels as soon as I see a hill pop up. The idea is to give them a painful experience as they are digging in the garden and possibly even causes a wound that gets infected. So far it’s been more effective than any of the commercial products I’ve tried over the years and it’s super cheap. Just remember to find and remove the plate later so you don’t spike yourself.
In the Chinese 5 Elements, moles carry a Fire vibration. Mnemonic: Water extinguishes Fire. So, Water vibration traps will overpower, or weaken any Fire vibration pest, including mice/rats. Strong Water vibration remedies include: plant close rows of Artemisia spp. plants, like mugwort, strategically like a shelterbelt crop; mix Water vibration fungi in any baits (using peanut butter as a base) like truffles, miatake mushrooms/ hen of the woods, or hallucinogenic mushrooms; also, hydrangea plants in close rows (perimeter of garden areas) would also make a good shelterbelt. (P.S. – liked the raised beds/ staw beds suggestions too!). I’m almost certain these will work, esp in the line of biodynamic farming. Pls share your results with the gardening community.
You go girl! I feel ya! Been through every one of those scenarios plus the the ultrasound devices. They worked for a few days til the moles figured them out & who likes using batteries in the garden? The seasonal warfare gets downright discouraging & my final tried & true resort has been the pitch fork. Gruesome true but I’m not working that hard for the moles.
I’m not a gardener but have had a serious mole problem in our yard (2+ acres). Like the lady in the article, I tried many methods over the years and finally discovered a product called Tomcat. Using it has enabled me to get rid of moles in areas where it wasn’t possible to set a trap or roll down the raised ridges. Wire Tek traps are the best but no trap is 100% effective.
We have the same problem. We tried what you have without results. We’re thinking about putting our dogs that kill the back yard moles in front and let them go at it. The only thing we haven’t tried is gasing them with lawn mower fumes and alo flushing tunnels with water. I guess keep trying, we will win.😊
Jenna, I found some time ago some info on this here on Youtube. The thing is the article was not translated into English. What that guy did was to stuff some fish heads into the tunnels and wait for the heads to get rotten. He said the moles don’t like the smell and leave the area. I am lucky to not have them so I couldn’t verify the info.
When I discovered these little critters destroying my lawn and gardens I tried the usual tricks and it was just useless. It just occupied my time more than it did anything. I finally came up with an idea that not only worked, it was quick and easy. I got my lawnmower and a flexible metal dryer vent tube, took some wire, tied the tube to the muffler, wrapped some aluminum foil around it to seal it up, found one of their well used tunnels, put the other end of the tube on there and started the mower. Let the mower run for a while to get far in those tunnels, find another spot and repeat. As soon as the critters realize something is wrong it is too late for them. It works well and it works in a wide area. You can clear a couple of acres in a couple of hours. Its very easy and very effective. Another way to do it, you can get a flexible pipe from a auto parts store and connect it to the tailpipe on your automobile. it will probably cover more area but the lawnmower will go anywhere. As I say it is fast easy and effective.
My neighbors must think I’m crazy because the moles finally broke me the other day and I was crawling through my garden into my yard just hand digging up their tunnels. They make tunnels 3/4 of the way around the root balls of all my peppers. Then they killed a couple watermelon plants by tunneling underneath them. Recently, I (tried) planting some sunflowers in a random spot in my yard. I dug a few rows and planted the seeds. The moles found the rows and must have thought I provided them with some free easy tunneling area because they dug right through them.
Girl! I feel your pain. It’s a catastrophe! They are so bad at my house they are tunneling under my foundation. I’ve tried everything but most just moves them to another part of the yard/garden. I put moth balls down their tunnel, make a concoction of dawn, castor oil and pepper flakes in a quart mason jar and let it ferment for a few days(no water added) when I see a tunnel in my garden i poke a hole w rebar & use a funnel to put some in the run and cover back up. Works in summer but they come back w in a few weeks.
Jenna, I have exactly the same problem. Thought it was gophers at first. I’ve looked over the fences at my neighbors and they are not growing anything and don’t care. I’m currently trying to flood the tunnels, but no sign of success. I’m a vegan and don’t want to kill them, but like you there is a limit to what I’ll let them do.
Road flares in the hole, with the blower end of a small car vacuum blowing the sulfur smoke in the tunnel system. You’ll see smoke coming up all over your yard/garden. The flares last 15 minutes, so you can actually use one in multiple locations by moving it around. I used 3 today and I MUST have complete carnage underground. No way they lived through that. I like the method because it finds them wherever they are in the tunnel network.
My husband would NEVER introduce snakes in the garden lol! I heard him scream one time when he was picking green beans, and the gardener snake scared him. He’s a big guy to lol! We have a huge mold problem in our garden and in our landscaping and I even put a ton of grub ex all through our landscaping. Like a whole bag just in the landscaping. I don’t like to use that kind of stuff in our garden though because I don’t want our food poisoned. We’ve done the poison peanuts and poison worms but I just think there’s either too many of them or it’s dessert for them I don’t know. But I am in tears over what to do. Having those mole companies come out, cost an arm and a leg. We have two golden retrievers who can smell them, but they aren’t hunters. I need to find somebody’s Terrier to borrow.
They always usethe » path of least resistance « so u just compress (stepping aroud your crops ) make sure soil is well compress then they just going to go around it and never get in the middle !! Been doing this with my pepper and tomato plants ! Been working for years 🤞🏻 they surely can do a lot of damage
I’ve tried everything but I’m thinking of hosing the ground with exhaust from my truck. NOTHING has worked. But I too love the beneficial creatures, the snakes and toads and frogs!! I haven’t been able to make myself do it. But reading these posts, I’m def going to try a couple raised beds first. See how this next season goes. These little boogers are horrible!!!
I am one of those lovers of all animals but I know the mole/vole fight. Like you, I was fine with them in my front yard….even though they ate over $100 of flower bulbs one year and all my hosta. I’ve seen them working their way to the back but not in the gardens yet. Thanks for the vid and the tips.
i use a lasso in a tube device from the company BLACK HOLE with gophers in my very large garden and get awesome success,but its all about the details. Clean your hands and the trap with the native soil(they have good sense of smell ),position it so it is flush with the surface floor let light shine through the end hole but cover the trap with hay to insulate it to keep it cool and not an oven? Would you lol.
I had a mole problem in my lawn for many years. The only thing I found that was 100% effective was by removing their food source – grubs. I put down imidacloprid in late May to early June to prevent/kill the eggs (June Bugs) and use Bayer’s Advanced 24hr Grub killer to kill the larvae/grubs. I have not seen a single mole in my yard in 4 years since applying imidacloprid every May/June. I would not use this method in the garden but use it in your lawn surrounding your garden.
Wow!!!! I bought those electric spikes and put them all over my garden. It only annoyed the moles and I would go out to find them dug up and laying on the surface. I found his hideout under a piece of wood and after continually checking under it I found him and was able to manually dispatch him which was a horrible experience. 2 weeks after I removed him my garden was invaded by voles. I should have kept the mole. He did less damage
After perusal your article yesterday I wanted to see if I can handle the problem cheapest way possible. I tried the wack a mole method and it worked great! I noticed that the moles were very active after I fertilized with organic fertilizers. I think the organic fertilizers bring in worms that moles eat. So, I fertilized in one active section of my garden and waited with a shovel and beer. After 2 hours I dug out four moles. Hopefully that was all of them.
You are a blessing!! You saved me tons of money; I was all set on calling a varmit remover type of guy to get rid of those pesky little critters. I agree with you about not wanting to kill them, but I can’t just sit back and post Eviction notices on my lawn and hope they leave and go somewhere else! I spent too much money on wanting a nice lawn just to have some furball come in and dig it up. I’m leaving now to go get what you used… will tell you later how it went.
Try with half-rotten fish. They do not like the smell. So, buy a fish, make dinner for your family and all the parts you did not use, put in a plastic bag for a few days and then put them in some holes in the garden. It worked in my garden, but I do not know if there were some other reason that the moles did not stay?
I am sorry for laughing during the whole article, but you and your article editor have a great sense of humor. But we have ten acres and our lawn is really pretty, but those moles…I haven’t killed them…yet, because like you, I don’t like killing things. I do have a JRT and our garden is closer to the house, so we didn’t have a mole problem in the garden last year. We did have some four legged creature chomping our squash at night time. We only planted the squash, tomatoes, onions, and peppers though. This year I went big. I appreciate you putting this knowledge out there before we waste money on things that don’t work. Have a great day!
There is a trick if you are wanting to catch earth worms, you take a pair of jumper cables, and a battery you hook the cables to the battery, and the other two ends to coat hangers a couple feet apart. The Earth worms come up out of the dirt the same thing works. If you know where the moles are they get shocked. If you run water into their holes and then apply the 12 V they will not come back they do not like this sensation. It won’t kill them, but it does keep them away.
Ok, so the first minute of you talking was EXACTLY what I have been saying to my husband all morning! I noticed raised tunnels in my garden when I first started this year… A couple months ago. Then… Nothing. Until yesterday. Everytime I walk out there, its been at it again. I feel like he is playing a game with me, I was fine…. Definitely not one to kill anything! I escort flies out of my house…. So for me to have an issue with something, it has to be bad! This is my first ever garden. I am so proud of it, I have worked morning til night for months now. And in the last 2 days this rodent has managed to ruin half of my veggie plants! 😭 I am on the verge of a mental breakdown today! Ok…. On to figure out what to do! ✌️
Wow, that is a lot of mole pressure! I would resort to the same strong methods too. I have some mild mole pressure and I only know this because my indoor/outdoor cat will bring me dead moles at my back porch. Unfortunately, the cat has brought a few garden snakes too. I do have to cover my beds with chicken wire or some coated garden fence when I plant seeds. At least till they get to a small size then I can remove it.
So so frustrating 🥴. We have ground squirrels 🐿 that eat the bugs And roots! I have raised beds … the bottom lined with wire & fabric & that helped a Lot. However, it didn’t stop them otherwise. I had read that using human or animal hair helps repel critters. So each hole I put a plant in I also put dog hair in. And it works🤩 I save the hair when I wash/dry dog bedding 😃. My garden is fenced in but the back acre has holes scattered around… good doggies 🐕🐕🐕 👵🏻👩🌾❣️
Hi Jenna. I just installed my mole chasing windmill from Lehman’s. I found the opening on the windmill is 1″ and the instructions say 1/2″ steel rod. Seems odd. Was yours like this? Crossing my fingers this works! Or at least keeps them out of the garden. Thanks for all the helpful tips. I’m in the same zone in Indiana.
Since you ask so nicely and since your article is so charming, how could I not subscribe to your website? We live in France and we have moles and field mice. We have two cats and they are useless, maybe I should stop feeding them to encourage them to do their jobs. We tried the noise maker which didn’t work but we will not use poison because if the cats ever do decide to become useful, well…Thank you for your article.
Great article and fascinating conversation here. I think the pitchfork method is more humane than juicyfruit gum, carbon monoxide, and even mousetraps, but I’m not providing food for my family, just trying to keep a beautiful flowerbed for my 91-year-old mom. Moles/voles aren’t damaging the hardy butterfly attractors i’ve planted all over like milkweed, but my dozens of pretty little flowers are being trashed routinely, so that’s enough for me. This will sound like a really bizarre method but I’m going to try it; We have a dear old leaky grandma here—Plus someone else in the household has pee incontinence issues. So: i’m going to try gathering their stinky absorptive ladies’ pee pads into a couple of trash bags (sorry readers, it’s gross, but too bad, stop reading now if it bothers you), and simply stuff used soaked pee pads down into those nasty mole or vole holes, all of them, and see if that drives the little f**krs out. If that doesn’t work, I will use a smoke bomb. Hopefully people will laugh from this idea but also, I really hope it works. Question to you or other readers: does Smoke kill the critters, or just drive them out? I don’t need to destroy them, and the juicyfruit gum idea sounds like real torture, truly inhumane and awful. Just imagine yourself choking to death or blocking your own intestine on a wad gum, sounds like an awful agonizing slow death — all animals deserve a fair chance to go away, unless your livelihood or family food really relies on the gsrden. Thank you for a great article!
Moles mainly eat earthworms, grubs and other bugs are secondary. You will never get rid of them, you can only control them. To do it, you gotta trap them on their main tunnels constantly at the first sign of activity. If you see mole tunnels and the trap isn’t sprung in a few hours to a day, move the trap. One mole looks like 5 and 5 moles, well your whole site will be torn up. They are still there if you don’t see them, if they like your place even if you get rid of some more will move in via their deep tunnels. So one year you might get em under control good and then blam, new moles use their deep tunnles and more right back in. Gardening season is mole birthing and kicing out of nest time. Dry weather and watering brings the worms to the wetter areas and the moles follow them. As gardens go, I would think they are helpful cultivators and exceptable losses. As lawns go, if your neighbors don’t water then you are just inviting them to your place if you do. Oh and they love wood mulch, it keeps the ground moist and worms love to eat it as it breaks down then the moles eat the worms. They also like some structure to live under….wooded areas, old stumbs, rocks, concrete slabs….places where preadors can’t get them. Oh, try and get the tunnels pushed back down. If you do get the moles or the move on then VOLES probably will move in to use their tunnels. VOLES are worse as they will eat your plant stems and kill off the plants.
Gopher Hawk!!!!! So I don’t harm any living soul and it stressed me out every day. It took me a ton of articles to watch to actually know what works and what dont and to save my money. It was the gopher hawk 5star ratings. It’s on its way now and I still had a hard time not knowing if I was gonna be able to use it. Iv seen articles of lady’s saying to keep them but if I did and planted around them they will still find your plants!! So thank you thank you and thank you for this article!!!!! I feel better knowing that your like me and yet still got to the point of killing them. 🌈😇
It’s not really normal to have several moles in your garden. Normally it’s one mole per 1000 m², I have just one in my 1800 m² garden, it does really no damage to my vegetables luckily. I saw it as a good sign : it means I have a good worm population. Plus it only digs once a year, and travels in that sole network all year.
I live in the UK. A supermarket here gives free coffee grounds from their café to their customers to use in their gardens. After my morning coffee I add a little water to the cafetiere, now pouring the coffee grounds in and around the area where the rascal is digging. It needs doing every day, as Gophers hate the smell of coffee (strange though, as I like it! 🙂 Since I started giving this critter coffee every day he seems not to like my garden, but, come summer we shall see. Is he there, or is he not!
I have several questions in this. Can you answer them for me? OH YES I HAVE MOLES! QUESTION: DOESN”T THE POISoN get into your food plants that you want to eat? Don’t OWLS, Hawks, SNAKES eat the poisoned moles? I do have an Airedale Terrier and she has caught only one and my yard has small holes that she has dug up. I had a toy rat terrier at my old farm. I had witnessed a barn rat catch 1 time. Rat terriers catch them so fast, shake them to break the neck, drop the body and walk away, like nothing ever happened! You have helped me about the tunnel info. I did not realize they return…wow. I think I am going to try your method. DID YOU USE MILKY SPORE? I did and it works. My grubs are less now! I have a garden snake attraction method, in fact, I think they used it as a propagation nest all summer! I had 2 bales of hay on the ground with a waterproof tarp over top all summer. It was HOT under there. When I lifted the top up slowly, there were 2-4 snakes of different sizes laying on top. Do you have an attractant for black snakes?
This is the second time i comment on your site….i complained about the moles giving me grieffffff😒. Ifound a solution…i HATE my plan….but it works. Take a hosepipe connect to a generator or trucks excuast….put the other end in the hole…..start up your engine….make them sleep forever. 😵🤮😭😭😭
I too have been mole and vole invaded. I have killed. Yes killed 26 voles and two moles on my acre plus property. I used tom cat mouse and rat traps. At their entry points. With that being said, I have hit a dry spot. They must have figured out and now avoid the traps. All surrounding properties professionally treat their grass, we don’t, that is the problem. The word is out to come to my gardens and feast. I even sunk wire 12 feet below the vegetable garden and they still got in. Good luck.
OK-I had moles in my yard as well. I got rid of them by using 2 methods. 1. went to local barer shop and got a quart bag of hair clippings and placed a little down the moles hole and trenches. Moles will crawl through the hair, get it on their skin and will scratch themselves. Moles blood doesn’t clot and they will bleed to death. OR for a more humane method-2. get some used kitty litter(dropping’s and pee clots) mix with water, and pour some down every mole hole/trench. They will vacate the area immediately. I learned these methods from America‘s Master gardener Mr. Jerry Baker (used to have a show on PBS). Tried the 1st method and the moles quit using the runs and made new ones…never knew if they actually died. So I used the second method and I only had to apply it once. That was 10 years ago and they’ve never returned. Cheers
Jenna, I too had a serious mole problem, they would make about 4 to 5 mounds a day in my yard, it looked awful, and I tried everything on the market and even some home remedies, but nothing worked, (UNTIL) I put in GOLDLABEL SOLAR POWERED ULTRASONIC MOLE REPELLENT and praise 👏 God, THEY WORKED!!! They say you can place them 40 feet apart, but I purchased a pack of 10 and placed them 10 feet apart because I was desperate! You can place the top of the units flush to the ground, which I did because they’re less visible and you can mow your lawn without removing them. I’d swear by this brand because (THEY WORK!) I can’t speak for the others. They say give it 2 to 4 weeks, but mine worked the first week!!! JUST TRUST THE PROCESS, because the third day a mole even dug a small mound right next to the sonic repellent, but now it’s been a month and my yard around the entire house is mole free 😀 it’s UNBELIEVABLE!!!
Jenna, nature is all about harmony and balance. All creatures have a predator, even if that’s the gardener. SO, don’t feel bad. I’m in Indiana and I am now a mole expert. They will never leave a good healthy soil filled with earthworms. Thing is they have one/two litters per year and the kids don’t go far. CINCH TRAP…I’ve got six. You’ve got to dig down and step under the tray so they set it off. I’ve ‘gotten’ one with my Timberland boot. Find the longest straight line which is their highway, not a feeder line.
Looked up your article AFTER just spraying my flower beds and entire lawn with caster oil. We shall see. I think after this I’m going with the tried and true method those spikes! I have both mole and vole infestation. Started after the Brood X cicada season and all the grubs. They moved in immediately.
OMG! I feel your frustration. My yard is infested so bad that I feel like I’m sinking when I walk. I’ve already caught two by waiting with a shovel, but the others seem to have learned to only come out when I’m not perusal. I’m going to try the Gopherhawk and see if that helps, if not its back the chair and shovel.
Oh my goodness. Lived in rural SW Washington for 27 years since retired to Montana. IN those 27 years I chalked up over 400 mole kills using the Outa Sight mole trap, the old tried and true. You must learn all the nuances of setting said trap precisely in the correct tunnels. The short tunnels that have pile of dirt are feeding tunnels or clearing tunnels for the main drags. My father in law farmer in Iowa gave me the spike trap but his moles were running shallow and of no use to me. I could write several paragraphs on trap placement. Long story short, I eventually found the main tunnels coming into my property that took a while but once you do that, nobody gets in because moles are territorial and old tunnels with no scent will be used by new ones. I probably killed 150 at one tunnel coming in from a wild wetland area. Two traps rusted out over there with so many years in the ground. If you want more info I can get your property locked down.
Moles eat mainly earth worms. Most modern insecticides don’t kill earth worms not that you would want to do that anyway. find active tunnels by flattening some spots and mark them. Come back in a 3 or 4 hrs to see which tunnels are raised again (active). Set scissors traps on active tunnels to kill the moles.
No need to apologize for using the poison to get rid of them. They are called pests for a good reason (though I’m sure they must have some good use that I’m not aware of). I’ve gotta say, you’re a brave woman to encourage snakes. While it sounds like a good idea (oh, it’s hard for me to say that) I could never! EEKS
I’ve used concrete and long metal sticks into grounds where moles get through my fance in town. But moles just dig new hole different places. So I end up have over 12 holes next my fance, cut down lot moles get in my yards if you’re desperate. Moles are very destructive, what choice we have. Thought moles eat plants and roots too, not just grubs and worms.
What I had heard of growing years ago was the castor beans themselves. I started planting this on the border of my flower bed because they were killing everything I was growing. All my bulbs and the bushes and even new fruit trees. This soil was old river bottom and was so sandy loam that I could push the edge of my shovel in the soil and with the slightest pressure the shovel would go all the way down into the soil. We only rented the land and house and lived there for 15 years. I spent so much money over the years planting things that they ate, killing of course and many times you could see them suck the darn plant done into the ground. Finally I started encasing my plants with one inch chicken wire around the roots giving some extra room. Of course that wouldn’t work for a garden of crops. I didn’t live there long enough after I planted the castor beans to know how well that worked. You couldn’t have pets around if you were going to try and grow something like that. I worked in a hair salon back then and I had a lot of elderly customers that came into the shop, many a farmer bringing their wife to the salon and they were the ones that told me about growing castor beans. I guess the roots didn’t have an odor so when they would eat the roots it would kill them. I have heard people talk about getting frustrated with just the tunnels in their yard but as for me I had to have many, many of them. It was dangerous mowing the yard because you would take a step then suddenly you would sink in the ground with one step and possibly turn your ankle.
I planted castor bean trees..they seem to help a little bit but you have to have a lot of them. But I just went out this morning to check my little garden of tomato plants and they were just all laid over where the mole it’s been going through there. Sigh. I hope the tomato plants continue to grow. I pushed the dirt back down. What a pain. And I have cats but I try to keep them from digging in my garden cuz they dig up the plants. Just feels like a no-win situation to me. Lol
So basically, we are scre*ed. 😁 Here in central Europe, it’s 2022, and I have 15-20 mounds in the yard-dead of winter. Also have them in fall and summer but not as much. I have a fenced in yard for my 2 sausage dogs (60yd.x60yd.), who like to bring me a few moles as gifts from time to time, yet I discourage it, as I don’t want them in their mouths-YUK! Poison is obviously out of the question. In any case, did you ever solve the problem since this article-2020? If so, do tell. God Bless, and good luck! We can live with it for now; you guys on the other hand, need it for sustenance. Just subscribed. Warm greetings from Laura-( disabled US Army veteran and landscape gardener ”extraordinaire”), and Little and Baby (the sausage sisters). Happy 🥕🌽🥒🥬🍅🍆🫑🥦🧅 etc.!
I am feeling MURDEROUS at this moment! They are usually in the front yard, but I’ve been hanging out in the ONE corner in the back yard which I never really have done before, and those blankety blank blank things popped up right where I have been doing stuff ( im not even digging in the dirt!) Its like they followed me! I did plant some ivy, so they decide to make mounds right under it. I stomped down a hill before dark and just now I went out and he fixed it! Every day I’ve been taking a pick and trying to murder them! Just now I took a pick to it then came in and got bleach took it back out tripped over the pic ax, fell down got bleach on my pants and I cannot believe how I let them get to me like that!!!!!!! I poured bleach in the hole!!!! I never heard of doing that but I just thought why not try! The noise things do not work. They just move over a little! Traps don’t work. Juicy fruit gum, now I think that worked because they quit for awhile in one area…but I ran out! The mole killer does not work. I had read its against some law to kill them or whatever, so the stuff they sell doesn’t work! I havent been this mad in yrs, its probably because I tripped over my murder weapon!