Diseases and Pests, Snails, Deer and other Pests

moles

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Hi,
Does anyone have a sure-fire way to keep moles out of the garden?  Digging my bulbs is not an option, as the moles would just come back.  I’ve tried those solar-powered things that emit a sound about every 30 seconds.  Doesn’t work.  I have two kinds of traps.  One works, but the spring is so strong that I can’t set it, and I can’t keep asking my neighbor to set it.  And besides, it would have to be set in among the daffodils.  Catching them while they’re moving is not an option either, since that would mean digging into the daffodils.
I’ve heard that if you kill the grubs, the moles will go away, but I’m not sure I believe that, but I’m willing to try that if someone has done that and it works.  I’ve also seen a product in the store (made by the people who make Liquid Fence which does keep deer away) which you spray on top of the ground.  So, does anyone have a sure-fire way to keep moles out?  I’m willing to give them the lawn, if they’ll stay out of the garden.  So far they haven’t been willing to negotiate. :-)
Mary Lou

15 comments for “moles”

  1. Hi Mary Lou,

    As for the moles, “keeping them out of the garden”, as you say, would require burying a tight weave metal fence at least a few feet down into the ground.  This should completely enclose your garden both below ground and above ground.  It should prevent them from tunneling in.

    As for the ones that are in there, I spoke several years ago with a gentleman who has a business dealing with nuisance wildlife for people. His method for mole control will take a little skill in setting up, but he claims it to be very effective if done properly.  He uses plain old mouse traps – the snap trap type.  He carefully digs out a section of the mole’s burrow, and places the snap trap on the floor of the run.  He then lays something over the hole where the mousetrap is placed underground.  Something that blocks light is needed.  I don’t recall what was used but perhaps a black plastic garbage bag folded over to make it small will suffice.  Carefully weight the bag down around the edges of the hole with some stones.  Go back each day to check traps and reset them as needed.

    Good luck!

    Dave Liedlich
    Connecticut

  2. Hi Mary Lou,

    As for the moles, “keeping them out of the garden”, as you say, would require burying a tight weave metal fence at least a few feet down into the ground.  This should completely enclose your garden both below ground and above ground.  It should prevent them from tunneling in.

    As for the ones that are in there, I spoke several years ago with a gentleman who has a business dealing with nuisance wildlife for people.  His method for mole control will take a little skill in setting up, but he claims it to be very effective if done properly.  He uses plain old mouse traps – the snap trap type.  He carefully digs out a section of the mole’s burrow, and places the snap trap on the floor of the run.  He then lays something over the hole where the mousetrap is placed underground.  Something that blocks light is needed.  I don’t recall what was used but perhaps a black plastic garbage bag folded over to make it small will suffice.  Carefully weight the bag down around the edges of the hole with some stones.  Go back each day to check traps and reset them as needed.

    Good luck!

    Dave Liedlich
    Connecticut

  3. Hello Mary Lou, No, I have no good remedy burying wire mesh keeps them at bay(underground fence) sprays are ineffective if they do not drive all mammals away! They WILL go to the neighbors if you kill the grubs- though you have enough earthworms to keep them fed if they are already nearby. I wonder if you are allowed to use a 22 on the vermin in your neighborhood?

  4. There is a double loop mole trap out that you can place over the mole run and set the trap by standing on the top of the trap and forcing the loops down into the ground and then while you are standing on the trap set the trigger. Not quite that simply but these work better and are safer than the traps with the down plunging spikes. Keith Kridler

  6. Thanks to all for the suggestions on ridding my garden of moles.  I’m going to try a combination of things, from Milky Spore to bait that goes in the tunnel.  I may even set a few mouse traps in the tunnels and see what happens.  But John Beck’s 22 is not an option.  :-)
    Mary Lou

  7. That .22 that I must have borrowed from John Beck does a great job on ground hogs that have a whole county to dig their holes in, but they chose my daffodil beds.  Along with the dirt flying in their digging, a few daffodil bulbs go whizzing out about 10 feet.  When they get under a bed, your daffodils will not come back the next year.  The create a large cavity under the ground, including beds and “secret” escape tunnels.  They destroyed a whole planting of Rapture and St. Keverne last year.  Not a one of them came back. . . incidentally, the ground hog didn’t either.
    Clay
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    Clay Higgins
    title=

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  8. Hi Clay,
    I am also fond of the .22 method of eliminating moles and groundhogs.  I was talking to my postman and telling him I couldn’t do that since it is illegal to discharge a gun within the city limits.  He told me how to make a home-made silencer.  Since it is probably illegal to do that, too, anyone wanting the instructions can e-mail me privately. (ROFLMAO)
    Donna Dietsch

    title= wrote:

    That .22 that I must have borrowed from John Beck does a great job on ground hogs that have a whole county to dig their holes in, but they chose my daffodil beds.  Along with the dirt flying in their digging, a few daffodil bulbs go whizzing out about 10 feet.  When they get under a bed, your daffodils will not come back the next year.  The create a large cavity under the ground, including beds and “secret” escape tunnels.  They destroyed a whole planting of Rapture and St. Keverne last year.  Not a one of them came back. . . incidentally, the ground hog didn’t either.
    Clay
    —
    Clay Higgins
    title=

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  9. Speaking from almost 40 years of Airedale experience, the mole problem would be eliminated in short order.  Of course in the process, the entire area with mole runs would be dug up and the contents (including daffodil bulbs and markers) scattered widely.  The digging would continue even after all moles had been removed.  Terriers love to kill rodents AND they love to dig.  Oh, by the way, for anyone who doesn’t know, Airedales are a large terrier.  I think the digging applies to all the terrier breeds.
     
    Cats have done almost as good a job on the moles with much less digging, but in either case you have an animal to take care of.  Hiring pest control folks would probably be cheaper in the long term!
     
    Kathleen


  10. Not just terriers! I have Siberian huskies and they are VERY efficient at catching critters. I think all the male Siberian pee (sorry) is currently repelling moles at my new place, but time will tell. This property has a chemically addicted lawn, so not much organic matter exists yet to attract the critters moles like to eat. I’m working hard to change that, so we’ll see what happens next year. I don’t see much mole activity at my neighbor’s either.
    Betty Goetz – Pacific Northwest – WA, USA

  11. Murray Evans used mole traps loaded with 12 gauge shotgun shells. When the mole tripped the trap the shell would go off and kill the mole. I guess you could call it a six inch “sawed off” shotgun. While visiting Murray I have heard them go off during the night. I probably should add that Murray almost blew off his right thumb loading one. Bill Pannill

  12. Bill,
    You have made my day.  I still chuckling at the thought of nearly blowing off his thumb while loading the “mole trap.”  I scorched my entire hand while loading one of those old fashioned WWII and Korean War era “bazookas” that we were using early in the Vietnam war.  Painful.
    clay
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    Clay Higgins
    title=

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  13. Another Oregon Mole story:

    Murray Evans had a neighbor up on the main road. This man’s front yard was about 150′ by 150′. He planted beer bottles  every 3′ over the entire yard. It would stop traffic for people trying to figure out if it was for beauty or what. The theory was that the wind would blow across the tops of the bottles playing a tune and making a vibration that would keep the moles away. He had a terrible time mowing his lawn. He also drank a lot of beer. Bill Pannill

  14. Clumber Spaniels like to dig also — mine has a fenced in area for most of the time and it looks like the surface of the moon only more grass. Plenty of holes — after all, a muddy hole feels really good in 90 degree heat.
    —-

  15. Bill,
    That is funnier than the first story.
    Donna

    William Pannill < title=> wrote:

    Another Oregon Mole story:

    Murray Evans had a neighbor up on the main road. This man’s front yard was about 150′ by 150′. He planted beer bottles  every 3′ over the entire yard. It would stop traffic for people trying to figure out if it was for beauty or what. The theory was that the wind would blow across the tops of the bottles playing a tune and making a vibration that would keep the moles away. He had a terrible time mowing his lawn. He also drank a lot of beer. Bill Pannill

    On Jul 1, 2008, at 7:43 AM, title= wrote:


    Bill,
    You have made my day.  I still chuckling at the thought of nearly blowing off his thumb while loading the “mole trap.”  I scorched my entire hand while loading one of those old fashioned WWII and Korean War era “bazookas” that we were using early in the Vietnam war.  Painful.
    clay
    —
    Clay Higgins
    title=

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