I found a couple of mole hills in my backyard. I have no idea how to to get rid of them. Can anyone help please? Thanks
As we don't have moles I can't help you. BUT I would like to know what sort of damage they could cause? Are they native animals of your area? Ta Liz This might help http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nwgardens/305585_lovejoy03.html http://ag.udel.edu/extension/horticulture/pdf/hyg/hyg-63.pdf
To get rid of the mole hills, just rake them. To kill moles - check first with wildlife protection agencies. It may well be illegal.
Liz, from what I understand...moles create mostly a big mess on your property. They burrow underground creating tunnels and poke holes up through the dirt, making mounds of little dirt hills. Yes, they seem native alright to this area. Lot's of people get them. I think they are a big nuisance. I have heard of several ways to get rid of them from sticking a hose in the tunnel opening and flooding the tunnels with water, juicy fruit gum, horse hair, bombs, etc. I'm looking for a sure way to get rid of them now before they get out of control. Michael, it's really not the mole 'hills' I'm trying to get rid of but more so the 'moles'. It's not illegal here to kill them.
I'm glad our moles (possums, marsupials) live in the trees. Mind you they can also be very destructive. Rather fond of roses and ripening fruit. So if they don't eat it the parrots will. I have a childhood picture of moles and can't quiet see them on the kill list. But then rabbits were animals in those childhood stories and here they are definatly on the extinction list. Good luck Liz
Okay, I have just purchased Mole Buster. It's a trap that was designed by someone in Mission, BC. I'll let you all know if it works.
I've found that high-frequency sound or vibrations are a really good deterrent - I have a device I just stick in the ground, and my yard becomes inhospitable to a wide range of burrowing critters. These are normally sold as Sonic Mole Repellant. If the traps don't work, maybe check those out.
Hi Lorax, Thank you very much for your helpful reply. I have heard of these vibration gadgets and have heard they help to deter them. If my traps don't do the trick, I'll give them a try. It's really discourging because I've just spent many hours on my lawn and yard ie; weeding, raking moss, sowing seeds ~ trying to get it to grow. My grass is beginning to looking lush and green now ~ I hope those little buggers go away. Thanks again Lorax.
I used to have a horrible gopher problem, but the sonic repellant worked wonders for me. As for my grandparents, who actually had moles.
Darn it. Three more holes this morning. I'm fed up and feeling like planting some dynamite in the little holes. LOL ~ Lorax, I'm going to go and see if I can find the sonic repellant. I'll try anything.
DGuertin ~ Thankyou. Yes, I will try that too. I'm desperate. Where do I get Castor Bean Seeds. My husband put a hose in the hole and flooded it but that didn't work either. Someone told me to put juicy fruit gum in the hole, and I tried that but the little bugger just pushed it back out (the nerve of him) LOL ~ Someone else told me to try human hair, so I kept cutting off strands of my hair and now I'm bald. LOL
I feel for you! I have tried the sonic thing, the castor beans seeds, I have planted ugly plants that is supposed to deter them, I have called the city to destroy them (that was my last reluctant act). They are here to stay. I now thank them for eating the grub and other cut worms that do damage to my veggies. The only person I know who got rid of them had a devoted cat willing to spend her days waiting for the moles to come out of their hole and kill them. I will keep reading with baited breath in case someone come up with a new solution.
jeanneaxler ~ I checked with the Department of Agriculture and was told that the only 'sure' way to get rid of them was to trap them and even doing that will never eliminate them all. So I guess I'm pretty much stuck with them. It's just disheartening watching them make these holes while I'm trying to make some green grass. I think I'm just going to have focus on all the 'positive' things they do in the garden, like eating grubs and snails and aeriating my lawn. Although I would prefer it if they wouldn't eat my worms. If there were only a way we (the moles and I) could negotiate something with each other. Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it.
Make your garden really healthy so the worm population is up they might stick to the flower beds instead of the lawn. In our case here we just have to learn to live with our possums as they are a protected species. I had one come of a two story roof last night right in front of the window. He must have been well fed as he took a sizable branch of one of my trees on his way down. I fortunatly have discovered by accident that a sharp light left on makes them go further out into the native trees on the footpath. They are very active at night and wear hobb nail boots as they fandango around the roof and trees. Liz
i live in puyallup wa. i dont have any moles now. i killed one last week i kill about 6-8 a year. i found if you kill them they dont breed or come back, i usaly watch there holes they generaly enter the property at the same starting point. when i first see a mole hill i rake it down and watch where it goes and put the garden hose at the starting entry point. when i get up in the morning i look to see if the mole has come back and flood the tunnel, when he comes out of the tunnel i dispose of him. u can do a catch and release if you want lol
Murf, thanks for your reply. Just out of curiousity, how long are you leaving your hose running? I've left mine running for about an hour or so. Should I leave it run longer? I left it for about two hours once but it started to flood my neighbors backyard. That goodness, he was away at the time. lol. I've tried putting the hose in the tunnel entry but I have yet to see a mole come out. Mind you, I find flooding the hole does seem to help somewhat. But they always come up again someplace else in the yard.
you only need to run the water for about 5 min. you must keep track of when they are active, mine were active at 6-7 am so i would keep track of that, also try to be as quiet as you can when turning on the water, if you make noise they run fast in there tunnels. i usaly get mine in about 3 tries, use a glove when picking them up they do bite. or a shovel murf
If there is real estate available they will come! I have relocated many critters in my life until I realized that new ones just keep coming back. All I have been able to do is minimize the damage by allowing natural predators to do their job. I also try to make the food supply unpleasant with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Mostly we just share the bounty!
I am curious about the whole flooding out and capturing the moles. We have loads of mole hills popping up the last couple weeks and I heard flooding works. Ive been sticking the hose down the holes... but where do the moles come up?? Through the entrance the hose is in or out of another one? Do moles really do that much damage? The only reason I am trying to flood them out is because my hubby hates them and Im sick of hearing him whine about them! lol! My garden, flower beds and grass (besides a couple dirt mounds) are all fine. Whats the big deal?
...one of my favourite topics! I will tell you some of my mole stories another time- mostly turned out disastrous for me. The moles just chuckled & carried on. The best reference on this subject that I know is actually about a species with similar habits, the gopher. The reference work to which I refer is "Caddyshack". Also check out on the web the history of H. sapiens(?) relationship with moles. MOLES ARE THE WINNERS! Don't let moles fool you into wasting you time & effort chasing them around & committing Talpicide, it's bad Karma. I tried, in my enthusiastic & barbaric youth, most or all of the remedies mentioned, including the beer bottle one. See capitalised statement above. BTW don't pick up a live or stunned (usually "been-hit-over-the-head-with-a-shovel") mole - I still have the scar at the base of my thumb to remind me. You don't need one too. Live with your moles. It's less expensive, less stressful & much more interesting. Just watch where you put your pruning ladder & don't get tipped-off by the sudden descent of one leg into a mole tunnel - very important. How to live with moles, my personal primer... Mole habits I needed to discover. 1.Moles DO NOT dig tunnels through the ground excavating worms, insecte etc. as I though for a long time. Moles dig tunnels under the surface & then their prey enters the tunnels from the surrounding soil. Thus, after a mole has excavated a sufficient run of tunnels, he relaxes, cleans his paws, engages cruise control & lives happily ever after, UNLESS a stupid human comes along, collapses, excavates, blocks or otherwise upsets his dinner route. 2. Moles only make mole hills to create NEW TUNNELS. Duh! It took me decades to figure that one out. 3. Left alone, the mole population will stabilise after a few years...I wonder if moles make wills & bequeath their tunnels their progeny? Behaviours to survive with moles... 1. Carefully & respectfully remove the spoil pile (mole hill). DON't stamp on it. 2. Put sharp gravel (fines, crushed rock) under pathways, patios & driveways to a depth of about 9". NOT SAND. 3. Avoid soil compaction in your garden beds where possible. 4. Encourage your neighbours to do the same, otherwise you may get their refugee moles. 5. Check your list of friends & visitors. Scratch-off the ones that have small terriers. Some of those little @#$%^%s will excavate half the yard trying to get at the moles. It may kill eliminate a few moles & provide good exercise for the dogs, but you won't have much garden left. Relax, enjoy your garden as I do, with NO MORE MOLE HILLS (or very few at any rate). The only downside risks I have come across are...the collapsing ladder syndrome & the occasional dead plant. I used to blame the moles directly, but now I realise that the MOLES DON"T EAT PLANT ROOTS. Their tunnels allow access by various arthoropods, molluscs, rodents ("field" mice) etc. to the plant roots. These can carry disease or lay eggs which hatch into root eating larvae. This has usually affected a newly planted shrub, in my garden. I don't believe that moles like to dig tunnels through the denser root masses, why would they? My garden is criss-crossed by my mole tunnels. I have no mole hills. They are happy. I am happy. OMMM! gb.
