Moles Taking Over

[Leroy Brown]

Here is a real effective method. Roll up a piece of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. And stick it in a run. The Mole is attracted to the gum eats it and it swells in it's stomach killing it. This method is recommended by a master Gardner that does a radio show in our area. Besides if your dog or cat gets hold of the gum it won't harm them.

 

[s219]

Don't mean to hijack the tread, but I've had a sudden reappearance of moles in December. I don't ever remember having problems with them in the winter. Maybe because we have had such a wet and mild fall/winter. Are they normally active in cold weather?

I am seeing the same thing here, and I suspect it's because we're having a mild winter so far here in Virginia. Normally they taper off activity by November, but I saw fresh tunnels in the field behind my yard just last week.

 

[Bird]

Here is a real effective method. Roll up a piece of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. And stick it in a run. The Mole is attracted to the gum eats it and it swells in it's stomach killing it. This method is recommended by a master Gardner that does a radio show in our area. Besides if your dog or cat gets hold of the gum it won't harm them.

Real effective? I used 15 sticks of Juicy Fruit before I realized the moles liked it so much, they were inviting their friends to come here from the neighbors' yards.:laughing: Well, it sounds logical that it would work, even if it didn't.:laughing:

 

[flyerdan]

A long time ago my dad told me that one of the most effective 'set and forget' methods of dealing with gophers was to make little bundles of lye in kitchen wrap. Bury it in their runs and they'll come along and claw through it, getting it all over themselves and start to dissolve.

Animal rights whackos would whiz orange juice if they got wind of that, but then they live in cities where they don't have to deal with varmint damage or having their kids harvested from the school bus stop by encroaching wolves.

 

[Pilot]

The car exhaust probably won't work these days unless you have an old car. It's been decades since I have read about anyone committing suicide in their garage with their car exhaust. Pollution control system keep the exhaust too clean.

 

[brokenknee]

The car exhaust probably won't work these days unless you have an old car. It's been decades since I have read about anyone committing suicide in their garage with their car exhaust. Pollution control system keep the exhaust too clean.

I would think a gas lawn tractor should do the trick.

 

[Depmandog]

I use a product made from castor oil called Scoot Mold. It comes in a sprayer you attach to a garden hose - simply spray it on your lawn. I use it at most once per year. Something in the castor oil they don't like and WILL NOT enter my yard.

I will see there runs along the fence, but the only time they will venture into my yard is a year later when it's time for another application.

Wasn't particularly expensive. I have a 1/3 acre lot here at the house and one container usually will give me a full yard application. I have been using it for years, and now I usually just do an 8' wide swath around my perimeter - and I can get three years per container. I want to say I paid $12-$14 at Westlake Ace Hardware for the last batch. I have used a similar product called Mole Medic, but recall that I couldn't locate that brand the last time.





Dean

 

[MossRoad]

Here we go again! :laughing:

This subject comes up a couple time a year. I respond with a long winded reply because I like to hear myself talk. So... I'll try to make this short...:licking:

FIRST!
Go to this website and READ everything...
Moleman
The guy is a professional mole trapper. Its a good read. :thumbsup:

Second, go out and purchase several Victor Out O Sight mole traps and learn how to use them. They work exceptionally well and tend to kill moles faster and much more humanely than any other type of trap.

There are basically only two ways to get rid of moles: eliminate their food source or eliminate the moles. That's about as simple as it gets.

Eliminating their food source involves turning your lawn into a sterile growing medium for grass through the use of chemicals. Moles are carnivorous. They eat all bugs, grubs, earthworms, etc... with earthworms being their primary source of food. Once you eliminate their food source, they will move on. Once you kill them, they will not come back. :laughing: However, others will move in as they are opportunistic loners, taking over abandoned tunnels when they find them. So, trap them out of your yard aggressively then trap the perimeters to keep them out.

I say this with some authority of experience. We lost our above ground swimming pool when moles undermined the liner and it broke, causing 12,500 gallons of water to exit through our garage in about 1 minute. Before that, I did not take the moles seriously. That summer I trapped 29 moles in our yard. The following 4 years I stopped counting at 50 dead moles each year. That's over 229 moles in 5 years on ONE ACRE! :shocked:Then they started diminishing. I got less than a dozen a year for a few years after that and have trapped none in the past couple years, although I see their activity in spring and fall, it is only one tunnel and I think they are moving through my property rather than staying on my property now. I still put out the traps at first sign of activity. I do not want them back.

The biggest tip I can give is to trap the tunnels and don't trap the hills or feeding areas. Read the Moleman's page and follow his advice. :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

And for those that recommend chewing gum I have one thing to ask...

Has anyone EVER found a mole that has died from ingesting chewing gum?

Please, oh please find me a link. Please. :licking:

 

[Leroy Brown]

I never said I used the chewing gum method. I merely reported what Master Gardner Dick Crumm has said on his gardening radio show. I've not had too much trouble with moles.

 

[imgone52]

In our area, when you get moles you also get skunks. They love grubs too. They really tear up the sod. I have followed the advice of the garden center experts in choosing grub control products. By applying the product to troubled areas both spring and fall, the grubs are gone as are the moles and skunks. The lawn bounced right back as soon as the grubs were not there eating the roots. The garden center folks reminded me that grubs are the result of flying insects that lay eggs in the sod. (Beetles and Chafers) If you have a lot of them in the summer, be on guard.

 

[GolfAddict]

I will second MossRoad's advice. You either have to kill the food or kill the moles. I've used a few different types of traps without much success until I tried the Victor Out O' Sight traps. I've had good success with these, but you have to be very persistent!

P.S. If the ground is hard, it helps to slice the ground with a spade on each side of the tunnel where the trap "scissors" will snap together.

 

[Depmandog]

I read the web link provided by MossRoad, and while I can't begin to dispute the expert, - in regards to the castor oil based products - they work for me. I realize that it doesn't kill them (ok by me), but they don't enter my yard. I spend a grand total of 1/2 hour once a year on mole control. Like I mentioned, when I see the little buggers starting to venture into the yard, I spray and then that's it - good for another year.

My next door neighbor on both sides has moles. Perhaps we have them "deep", but you don't see the mounds or runs in my yard, again - fine by me.

If its not supposed to work, and it is quackery - don't know what to say. I can't argue against what's worked for me - going on 6 years.

Rabbits, now that's a whole other issue.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Dean.

 

[forgeblast]

I used that neimatode product from gardens alive(throw the pouch in a backpack sprayer and spray) and I have very few skunks, etc digging up our yard. Milky spore I think you can use also.

 

[skspurling]

What about deisel exhaust? I was thinking that, as much as i like the smell of it, it should be pretty noxious. No polution controls, and you are pretty much looking for the CO2. What do people think? I have a terrable mole problem this year. Need to do something.

 

[SPIKER]

Last year i picked up 2 of those HF little aluminum wind mills that seems to work pretty good or at least pretty good for a 50~70' circle. My place sets up and these things run ALL the time. They also must scare off the deer too as I didnt have a real bad problem with them in the garden this year. I use 3/4" copper water pipe 6' long and twist them about 2' into the ground and slip them over the pipe. they have a small bearing to roll around in them that you have to keep in the cross tube to help it make vibrations that confuse the moles so they cant hunt as well for the grubs & worms. I also tried some of the pour in ground zinc mole killer a few years back without much help. the Skunks were reallly bad this fall...

Mark

 

[Bird]

Mark, I made the mistake of going into Harbor Freight one day with my wife and she saw those little windmils, so I had to buy one.:laughing: After a few months, I finally threw it in the garbage.

 

[heehaw]

i have 4 victor out of sight mole traps: have had some success with them, but no better
than i have had with the type that stabs them from above: at first the out of sight seemed to really be the cure, but then have hit a dry spell, and have had no luck in a long time: i think, if i can find it, i will try the scoot mole stuff and see if it does any
good: i have really considered the rodenator...until i looked up the price...i cannot see where that thing should cost anything like what they are asking for it.
heehaw

 

[Bird]

I don't know about the exact formula, but I tried Molemax three times and it's active ingredient is castor oil. I don't know whether scoot mole has a higher percentage or whether Molemax has the garlic that Scoot Mole has. Anyway, Molemax was not cheap and it was worthless. Maybe Scoot Mole will be better, but I sure wouldn't bet on it.

 

[SPIKER]

Bird: I'm going to be looking for a couple more as I said earlier they are good for keeping them away about a 70 foot circle around each one. now all I need is about 80 more to cover the yard and maybe they will leave

a few years back I put in a french drains around the barn, they are only for draining around the edges so went out and down to about 5' along the way I cut into some mole dens, I used a shovel and trimmed the edge just to examine it. there was a living/breeding/sleeping chamber that was about 3' long 6" high or so and maybe 10" wide (could have been much wider as the back hoe took it out right in/on the side/middle) it was down about 4 feet and was really interesting the sides were almost polished clay & ? so I have no idea how they made it that big & appeared to be an additional interconnected chamber several feet under the yard I shined a flash light into it but didnt see any critters as I'm sure they split as soon as that back hoe got within 10' I tossed in some of the rodent killer mole killer stuff into the burrow room that was 4 or so feet back

Mark