Hey guys and gals, discovered several mole tunnels at the back of my lawn today while mowing. Need some help eliminating them. The soil is red clay, fairly hard if that makes a difference. I've seen numerous traps of various models online, and wide price points. What has worked well for you?

Why do you want to eliminate them, they eat grubs (which eat your grass roots), termites, slugs, and other insects?

There's always the Carl Spackler method.....



The only way to get rid of them is to eliminate the food source, grubs worms are a delicacy to them...

Treat the yard for grub worms and they will go to you neighbors yard who loves them and tear his yard to bits LOL

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Why do you want to eliminate them, they eat grubs (which eat your grass roots), termites, slugs, and other insects?

Because they make an unsightly mess of the yard, can damage plant roots the wife just had me dig holes to install, and if you put a foot in a tunnel unexpectedly it can cause you to fall. If you’re over 65, falls can be a bad thing!

I’ve had good luck using Wire-Tek’s Mole Eliminator traps. Got 3 or 4 of them with those traps one year when tunnels were everywhere and maybe it’s luck, but haven’t had any since. Clay soil here as well.

Put a hose in one hole and stand over the other with a 9-iron. It's great fun!

Feed each of them a different set of false information, then wait and see which set of information percolates to root out a mole.

Moles also dine on earthworms.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Why do you want to eliminate them, they eat grubs (which eat your grass roots), termites, slugs, and other insects?

Earthworms are the main food source for moles especially since they can be found in nearly all soil. They do love them some grubs but simply eliminated grubs will not chase them away unless you're neighbor's yard is full of them.

Last year I read that Dawn dish shop will kill moles through absorption so I tried it and they are no longer an issue. I did put out some bates so maybe it was the combination. I also read urine will drive them away, but I never got around to pissing on my lawn but it's an option I guess.

Is there somewhere for them to go? I have used:
1/4 cup castor oil
2 tablespoons biodegradabel dish soap (eco friendly, clear)
1 gallon of water
Mix well - The oil and water thing... might blend it
Wet your lawn -
Apply via hose end sprayer or pump sprayer

I have had it move them off my property (Hi Neighbors)
It makes the grubs taste bad
Has worked well for me
Good luck

If it doesnt work - there is a propane thing that blows them up. Or the mole cat .22 blank device

I have had excellent experience with Trapline traps.

You're not digging up half your yard to set these, just get them in the tunnel on each side of their spoils pile, run a pin flag or similar through the spring to anchor. Throw some dirt over the hole, and wait.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
There's always the Carl Spackler method.....



LOL

True, so, so true!


https://youtube.com/watch?v=CgztUzqaL3E&feature=share

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A gas engine and exhaust hose. gas them out. Use at your own desecration.

My Plott Hound has a deep seated hatred of moles. She hunts and kills them with no mercy. She will dig as far as necessary to get them.

Coffee grounds -

https://thanoshome.com/do-coffee-grounds-repel-moles/

Moles will eat insects and grubs but they especially love to eat earth worms. This
whole internet info that moles only eat grubs is a pipe dream. Tomcat mole killer poison worms work the best for me over all the traps I've used in many decades. Even these can take 2 - 7 days on an active run. Cut them in 1/2 and use a large phillips screwdriver to not only probe for runs but to drop the 1/2 poison worm into the tunnel. They are going up and down the tunnel looking for whatever drops into the tunnel.

My yard was full of mole tracks. Raised earth tunnels.

I took my riding mower and rode over & over, crisscross, circles, rectangle patterns etc

It pushed all the tracks solid. Moles didn't come back

First, let me say that I have no idea if this is true.

We found some mole tunnels in our back yard here in TampaBay. I called our grass guy who sprays the grass for pests and weeds. He asked are they mole crickets or moles? If they were mole crickets he said he had a spray for them.

They were not mole crickets.

But, he said, if they were moles, let them alone and they'd move on to another habitat (meaning someone else's home) very shortly. A few days later the buggers were gone.

They ain't been back and it's been a couple of months now.

Bob

Thanks everyone, couple Wire-Tek traps inbound, and letting the Scottish Terrier roam the area a bit.