How do you get rid of moles???!! (cats, violet, insect)

[WeeMadArthur]

Originally Posted by WeeMadArthur

You kill them with traps. We are hiring a trapper that will set the traps and monitor them throughout the year. Moles suck.

No one else seems to want to advocate trapping but I'll give a little update. The trapper came out Monday and set 6-8 traps. He came back Tuesday and removed 4 moles.

I don't like the idea of killing the little buggers but they are really doing a number on my lawn. What I would really like to do is just get rid of the lawn altogether. The neighbors might not appreciate it though.

[AliceT]

Marigolds. Most critters hate them. Planting marigolds around your carrots and lettuce will keep vermin away from both above and below the ground. You won't see any animal in the vicinity of marigolds. Plant them liberally around your yard, lawn, patio - anywhere you've seen them. The critters will pack up and move.

[nocoldiron]

Tried everything-use harpoon mole trap.Push down runs,pick the one that they push up again as an active (commonly used) run. I don't think vibration works that well either-it's a joke around here that running a rototiller is like sounding a dinner bell,they love soft dirt and stirred up grubs.Most mole remedies are urban legends or dangerous to pets.

[Srib]

Well I have to tell you I tried some worm shaped bait and it seems to have worked so far. I was pretty upset because they were eating two new holly shrubs I planted last summer (who knew moles eat holly?) - they pretty much stripped two sides of each and all the lower branches (about as far high as they can reach I guess). So I found these worm shaped baits that apparently have the "smell" worms have. They feel like worms too. Pretty pricey - 6 for 15 bucks, so I used 4 over the course of a few days and haven't seen any activity in about 2 weeks! I guess now we'll see if the holly recovers as the weather warms up!

[RDSLOTS]

As evident from the, er, popularity of this thread, moles must be running rampant. Not to make light of your troubles -- we've had moles in our yard(s), too, and they can make a mess of a lawn in almost no time at all.

My husband's theory is they may be better for the lawn than the grubs they are eating beneath the grass's surface.

I don't think I've experienced moles, or voles, eating plants and shrubbery, but I am glad you have found something that has worked for you, Srib, and have shared it here. I will add it to my 'bag of gardening tricks' to refer to, if needed. I seem to recall having considerable luck with the vibrating things that run them out of the yard (they moved next-door), and with a product Ortho makes specifically to rid a yard of moles, but my husband would stake a mole's life on using castor beans.

AliceT, do marigolds only run-off critters? They did little to keep some insects away from other plants in my window boxes on the house last year. I was inundated with aphids and white flies on the plants in the boxes -- verbena, petunias, among others I tried.

[Srib]

well it certainly is a new one for me too! Usually they just wreck my lawn. I thought at first that maybe some rabbits were eating the holly, then I saw the dreaded tunnels! I opened them up a little and found holly leaves within the tunnels and I couldn't believe it! I have actually had good luck with the vibrating things too and still use them, but frankly i wanted these guys terminated!

[cdelena]

I have moles that have deep transit tunnels behind retaining walls so it has been difficult to do much. They branch out following sprinkler lines and borders with new tunneling. I have tried all the baits etc. without luck. I hired a mole trapper but he has been unable to get them as they stay deep where traps cannot be set or are making new tunnels.

After reading I may have found a way to at least drive them in a direction. I have a piece of rebar that I can shove down to the tunnels and I then pour ammonia along the rebar so it gets deep. At least thus far they then seem to abandon that part of the yard.

With about a quarter acre of terraced yard I started at the top and may have isolated any activity to the lower 10% of the area.

I may be driving them to the neighbor (or hopefully to the adjoining greenbelt) but thus far it is the only thing that has worked.

[Hartwell Girl]

Okay, my neighbor used to do the craziest thing..when I saw him coming out with his pitch fork, shovel and lawn chair...I knew what was next. He would bring his little cooler out, have a few beers and sit and wait. First he would walk on all the tunnels and compress them down, then he would take a seat and wait. As sson as he say the ground moving he would jump out of his seat and then the pitch fork would go to work. It all seemed so strange to me but he claimed it worked and it was cheaper than any traps he could buy. His dog just sat on the porch watching the insanity like I did...

[windtimber]

Victor "Plunger" Mole Traps. Victor Mole & Gopher Traps - solutions to your mole control and gopher control needs

Or use gas cartridges a/k/a smoke bombs - looks like a small stick of dynamite. Insert fuse, light, stick in hole, close up where ever the smoke leaks out.

[DLK55]

I had an issue with them starting late last summer through June of this year. Mostly had the slightly raised tunnels that were more of a nuisance than anything. Tried the castor oil spray repellent last year and it worked to a degree but wasn't a cure. During the winter he found a spot he liked on the side of the house and pushed up a nice volcano of dirt. A harbinger of things to come.

The mole was back again this year and crossed the line when mounds appeared all over one side of the front yard. I decided to go the poison worm route. There was one spot where every time I stomped the hill down, it would come back the next day. I took a piece of metal tube, pushed it down into the tunnel and removed a plug of dirt, dropped the worm in, filled the hole in and repeated this in two other places. The mound appeared the next day but not since.