Getting rid of moles from the yard

[Jeraden]

Anyone have any tips for getting rid of moles from the yard? Last fall they totally tore up my entire yard, tunnels everywhere. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I'm already seeing the starts of tunnels forming again. I tried a mole trap last year - the type where you press down the tunnel in a spot, put this spear-like thing on a spring over it, and wait for the mole to re-open the tunnel which is supposed to trigger the spear to impale it. But never worked last year. There are all sorts of suggestions online, but not sure what actually works and doesn't, as that stupid trap sure didn't.
Anyone have tips for dealing with the problem?

 

[schmuckley]

#1 = Cats.
Dursban,inject Dursban into their hole.

 

[Zivic]

I have problems with them as well. first off make sure you kill their food source/reason for being there. many times that is grubs.

I have had luck with the traps like you talked about. I got a couple that way.... but if you are serious about getting rid of them, get a shovel and take an hour here and there to 'patrol' the yard. Watch the tunnels and when you see them moving, dig 'em up. This is the easiest, most efficient way.... even though you'll have to explain to your neighbors... shhhh, I'm not hunting wabbits; I'm hunting moles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TKbDd-2KUA

you can use caster oil to keep them out... I found this actually does work to an extent, but just kind of as a deterrent, they eventually come back. the oil can be helpful in your 'hunting' as using it will get them moving and you can somewhat control where they go and confine them to a given area of your yard over the course of a few days/week.

good luck and get the little bastards

 

[dphantom]

I have had great success with these http://www.nomol.com/ They do not work so well on voles though.

Also use poisons placed in the tunnels. As others said, remove source of food. Moles love grubs and will gravitate to a place where there are lots. So you will need to treat for grubs as well if they are present.

 

[edro]

I have never had to deal with them, but our new house's yard is infested.
I will be following this thread.

I found a dead one above ground and was surprised how large it was.
It was guinea pig sized. It had wide paddle feet, so it was a mole.
Voles and shrews have mouse like feet.

 

[WilliamM2]

We got them in our yard for the first time last year. I think we only had a couple, and this worked great, they were gone in a few days:

http://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-100-34300-3-Mole-Killer-10-Pack/dp/B000FBQJA4

 

[boomerang]

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.

 

[Raizinman]

Put bubble gum down any and all holes you find. They will consume the gum and it will get stuck in their tummy and they will die.

 

[Jeraden]

We got them in our yard for the first time last year. I think we only had a couple, and this worked great, they were gone in a few days:

http://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-100-34300-3-Mole-Killer-10-Pack/dp/B000FBQJA4

Lots of good suggestions, thanks all! I think I'll try this one first as it looks to be the simplest and least amount of work.

 

[JimKiler]

I have never had to deal with them, but our new house's yard is infested.
I will be following this thread.

I found a dead one above ground and was surprised how large it was.
It was guinea pig sized. It had wide paddle feet, so it was a mole.
Voles and shrews have mouse like feet.

Voles are just as annoying, they make tunnels above ground but still take out grass and dirt so you have to put new dirt and seed down. Our first winter they were brutal on our front yard. The last 2 years have been vole free. But now that construction is almost done they are not being up rooted from their other homes.

Also it drove me nuts to see all the vole tunnels above ground in the snow but be unable to do anything about it. I suppose i could have packed in all the snow but i am sure i would not have caught any.

 

[Ban Bot]

We got them in our yard for the first time last year. I think we only had a couple, and this worked great, they were gone in a few days:

http://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-100-34300-3-Mole-Killer-10-Pack/dp/B000FBQJA4

Timely thread, thanks for the link William. Our new place has a fair number of moles. As a kid our cats kept them at bay but we don't have/want cats so I will give this a try. From reading the reviews you can make the bait worms last longer by cutting into thirds so this is pretty economical. If I don't post again in this thread it is because the bait worked!

 

[tsiunltdus]

I have a problem with moles also and have tried several things trying to get rid of them. Thanks for the tips. I will try a few I haven't tried in the past.

 

[DrPizza]

TONS of nightcrawlers in our lawn last year. Toward fall, moles or voles or whatever - short tailed little things. It was a non-ending stream of the suckers - the cats or dog would get one nearly every single day, with no end in sight. I moved a piece of wood that was way out behind our house, and there must have been 20 of the things under it; plenty of them were young ones. I stepped on a few, dog got 2 or 3 before they were all hidden again. And now, tunnels in the side yards under the snow. It seems the suckers reproduce faster than the dogs and cats can kill them.

 

[Elixer]

Put bubble gum down any and all holes you find. They will consume the gum and it will get stuck in their tummy and they will die.

Nope.
This is a myth, they will not touch the stuff except to move it.
They want grubs, or worms or anything of that nature.

 

[LegendKiller]

I have a vole infestation. I've tried snap traps and poison, fuckers still ate my lawn up this winter. I should have cut it shorter but ran out of time.

I was thinking of buying some rat snakes and letting them loose in the area.

 

[dphantom]

I have a vole infestation. I've tried snap traps and poison, fuckers still ate my lawn up this winter. I should have cut it shorter but ran out of time.

I was thinking of buying some rat snakes and letting them loose in the area.

snakes are good to have around. Garter snakes and the like. They will eat small rodents. Great natural pest control.

voles are tough to get rid of. All one can really do is remove the food source as best as possible - grubs, can't do anything about earthworms, keep the grass cut, and continuous use of poison in the tunnels.

 

[mizzou]

 

[MadScientist]

Poisons, chewing gum, castor oil, and other home remedies do not work. Moles are essentially blind and use their sense of smell to find food.
I used these traps in my yard and my neighbor's yards to kill all the moles. They are very effective if used properly. Read the first 2 reviews and watch the video on Amazon. The traps have to be placed on straight active runs. http://www.amazon.com/Victor-OSight-Mole-Trap-0631/dp/B00004RAMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427292923&sr=8-1&keywords=mole+trap

 

[inachu]

I giggled at a few videos on youtube.

Pouring gasoline into the tunnels.

Gassing them with a highly flammable gas then lighting it.
Pouring in icky stuff to flood them out so they do not get sticky. They pop their heads out and you slam a shovel on their head. HUNT THE WUMPUS!

 

[MadScientist]

For just a few bucks, starting at $1700., there's the RODENATOR. http://www.rodenator.com/index.php Blow them critters up, and your yard, with a mixture of oxygen and propane.

 

[mizzou]

For just a few bucks, starting at $1700., there's the RODENATOR. http://www.rodenator.com/index.php Blow them critters up, and your yard, with a mixture of oxygen and propane.

oh my god that is bad ass

 

[edro]

Poisons, chewing gum, castor oil, and other home remedies do not work. Moles are essentially blind and use their sense of smell to find food.
I used these traps in my yard and my neighbor's yards to kill all the moles. They are very effective if used properly. Read the first 2 reviews and watch the video on Amazon. The traps have to be placed on straight active runs. http://www.amazon.com/Victor-OSight-Mole-Trap-0631/dp/B00004RAMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427292923&sr=8-1&keywords=mole+trap

Home Depot has them... I am going to pick some up tonight.

 

[highland145]

Way late but what others have said, "Kill the food and they'll go to your neighbors." I used whatever the farm supply gave me for my spreader.

I did spike trap a couple with a sense of satisfaction.

 

[I Saw OJ]

oh my god that is bad ass

We bought one last season to take care of ground squirrels in an open field next to our almond orchard. It's as badass as it looks, so much fun blowing those suckers up.

 

[angminas]