I feel like Bill Murray in Caddyshack, but anyone know how to get rid of a mole? This ninja creature has been burrowing in my mulch/landscaping under my deck for about a month and I can't catch the sucker. I have been told mole repellant does nothing (my neighbor has one as well and the castor oil solution he sprayed did nothing). I have tried putting water in tunnels and waiting for him to pop his head up but nothing but wet mulch. I have even tried bubble gum which was another thing that I have heard that the moles will eat, but will kill them. I was going to try those sonic spikes next, but also heard they do little. Anyone got a good tactic to get rid of this thing?
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anyone know how to get rid of a mole?
- Thread starter jlindy
- Start date
HAHA!! I feel your pain.
1. Dig open the mounds of dirt that the mole creates.
2. Take a couple of sticks of gum, cut them in 1/2.
3. Chew up each 1/2 of the stick of gum and then drop it the chewed up piece into each and every hole that you find.
The mole will hopefully chew the gum. It will *hopefully* get stuck in his G.I. tract causing either a bowel obstruction and death or starvation and death.
GL.
1. Dig open the mounds of dirt that the mole creates.
2. Take a couple of sticks of gum, cut them in 1/2.
3. Chew up each 1/2 of the stick of gum and then drop it the chewed up piece into each and every hole that you find.
The mole will hopefully chew the gum. It will *hopefully* get stuck in his G.I. tract causing either a bowel obstruction and death or starvation and death.
GL.
Had to, sorry.
You and your neighbor probably have the same mole. You do something and that bugger moves over to your neighbor's yard. He does something and it moves to your yard. I've had mole problems in the past. You know the only solution that has worked for me...call in a professional.
my grandfather used a poison and it worked well
I've read that peppermint oil works well...
First make sure you are dealing with a mole and not some other animal.
You state this animal is in your mulch and under your deck. This is not normal activity for a mole as they like to be out in the open where the grass is planted not shrubs.
Do you see any tunnels or holes ?
Are the tunnels in the mulch ? Do the tunnels have open holes to the surface and how big are the holes ?
Do you see any tunnels across the lawn ?
I catch over 500 moles a year , answer a couple of questions I have for you and I will point you in the right direction.
You state this animal is in your mulch and under your deck. This is not normal activity for a mole as they like to be out in the open where the grass is planted not shrubs.
Do you see any tunnels or holes ?
Are the tunnels in the mulch ? Do the tunnels have open holes to the surface and how big are the holes ?
Do you see any tunnels across the lawn ?
I catch over 500 moles a year , answer a couple of questions I have for you and I will point you in the right direction.
Take away his food supply - the grubs in the soil. Then he will go to your neighbors property. There are several grub killers on the market today but you must apply them often and it may take some time.
M-80's work too if you can catch him napping!
M-80's work too if you can catch him napping!
Ski_Banker
Suspended
Bic disposable razors.
I don't think my neighbor has the same mole/animal as I do as his is in his front yard and mine is down the hill and around the back under my deck. My neighbor has tracks through his lawn that lead to a landscaping/mulch island where the mole is apparently living. He poured water in one of the hole and saw it pop it's head up which he said was a hairy rat looking thing. By the time he got his shovel to kill, it was gone.
In my case, it is going under my deck which is all mulch. Past the deck my back yard slopes down pretty sharply. I see NO tracks in the grass. I'm always seeing holes 1-2 inches in diameter and tracks everywhere that I am constantly patting down. It seems like my feet are always sinking in the mulch because there is air underneath from the tunneling. They like to go near the concrete deck posts and under my walkway/paving stones as I have lifted them up and seen tunnels directly under the flat stones. It seems to also move around as the mulch area under the deck is 16x20 and I have seen holes in nearly every part of that area at one point.
I have read online that traps are the only thing that work. I want to use the best course of action because these bastards are taunting me.
Also, I have a dog that I don't want to get nipped by a trap so I need to set it up right. A professional is an idea, but wonder how much that costs???
Sounds a lot like chipmunks. Sorry, they're tough! :frown:
I use this it works 90% of the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k4KVEJApZk&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k4KVEJApZk&feature=channel_page
Does he look like this? Kinda scary!
<a href='http://img218.imageshack.us/i/mole.jpg/'><img src='http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9629/mole.jpg' border='0' alt='Image Hosted by ImageShack.us'/></a><br/>
The Mole Man is even in St. Louis.
http://www.themoleman.net/
<a href='http://img218.imageshack.us/i/mole.jpg/'><img src='http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9629/mole.jpg' border='0' alt='Image Hosted by ImageShack.us'/></a><br/>
The Mole Man is even in St. Louis.
http://www.themoleman.net/
jlindy ,
Moles live their lives underground , they spend 99% of their life below the soil. Moles DO NOT have holes open to the surface. If you poke a hole in a mole's tunnel , they will repair it.
Now , if you are seeing OPEN holes , you are dealing with a different animal. If the holes are about the size of a US quarter to the size of a golf ball , you have Voles and/or shrews . If the holes are larger than a golf ball but smaller than a baseball , you have chipmunks.
Chances are you have Voles. Voles are very common in mulch beds.
Good news , control is easier than moles.
Voles feed on plant life , seeds , roots etc. Moles are insectivores - no plant material.
There are two ways to correct this - Trapping or poison.
To trap the animal you will need about a dozen regular mouse traps. Buy Victor brand mouse traps , look for the ones with a yellow plastic trigger not the ones with a small metal trigger that is copper plated. The one with the yellow plastic trigger only costs a few pennies more than the ones with a metal trigger. The yellow plastic trigger is much easier to set and has a scent embedded into the plastic to lure the animal to the trap.
You will need at least a dozen traps even if you only think you have 1 animal. This gives the animal multipliable chances to get caught plus you will catch it much quicker than if you only used a couple traps. Don't use some off-brand cheap trap , get the Victor brand , they only cost a tiny bit more than some crappy copy. If you use a cheap trap , it may not catch the animal and they get away. The animal has now learned what a trap is and has become ' trap shy '. Even though the yellow plastic trigger has a scent embedded in the plastic , I like to add just a tiny bit more scent to improve my chances. Put a small amount of peanut butter on the trigger about the size of a matchhead. Do not over bait as this will give the animal a chance to steal the bait without getting caught. Using some peanut butter the size of a matchhead will make the animal work hard to get the bait and will cause him to trip the trap instead of stealing the bait.
Set the traps very close to the holes in the mulch. Cover each trap with an overturned flower pot or similar object with a hole cut into the side for access. This will keep you from catching songbirds or having your dog stick his nose where it does not belong. I have used plastic containers like you see for sale that are intended for a couple uses and then thrown away. Place a rock or other weight on the top to prevent the plastic from blowing away in the wind. Covering the trap also has a couple advantages , it keeps the bait fresh and small animals like voles and mice feel safe hiding under them which will increase your chances.
To poison the animal use any standard mouse or rat poison. You can get pellets or blocks. Blocks work better as the animal has to gnaw pieces off in order to take the poison away instead of stuffing it's cheeks to carry away to store for later consumption. Place the blocks into the burrow so your dog or another animal cannot readily get to eat the bait. BTW-Mouse and rat poison rarely has any effect on dogs or cats unless they eat several pounds.
Poison takes a little while to have an effect as it is a cumulative effect as the poison builds up in the animal's system.
These tips will only work if you have voles , shrews or mice. The poison will work on chipmunks but to trap a chipmunk you will need a larger trap like a rat trap.
This will not work for moles , that is a completely different process.
If you are interested in hiring a professional , I know of a guy in the St. Louis area who is very good and highly recommended.
Jeff Holper - Holper's pest control.
http://www.holperspest.com/home.nxg
Moles live their lives underground , they spend 99% of their life below the soil. Moles DO NOT have holes open to the surface. If you poke a hole in a mole's tunnel , they will repair it.
Now , if you are seeing OPEN holes , you are dealing with a different animal. If the holes are about the size of a US quarter to the size of a golf ball , you have Voles and/or shrews . If the holes are larger than a golf ball but smaller than a baseball , you have chipmunks.
Chances are you have Voles. Voles are very common in mulch beds.
Good news , control is easier than moles.
Voles feed on plant life , seeds , roots etc. Moles are insectivores - no plant material.
There are two ways to correct this - Trapping or poison.
To trap the animal you will need about a dozen regular mouse traps. Buy Victor brand mouse traps , look for the ones with a yellow plastic trigger not the ones with a small metal trigger that is copper plated. The one with the yellow plastic trigger only costs a few pennies more than the ones with a metal trigger. The yellow plastic trigger is much easier to set and has a scent embedded into the plastic to lure the animal to the trap.
You will need at least a dozen traps even if you only think you have 1 animal. This gives the animal multipliable chances to get caught plus you will catch it much quicker than if you only used a couple traps. Don't use some off-brand cheap trap , get the Victor brand , they only cost a tiny bit more than some crappy copy. If you use a cheap trap , it may not catch the animal and they get away. The animal has now learned what a trap is and has become ' trap shy '. Even though the yellow plastic trigger has a scent embedded in the plastic , I like to add just a tiny bit more scent to improve my chances. Put a small amount of peanut butter on the trigger about the size of a matchhead. Do not over bait as this will give the animal a chance to steal the bait without getting caught. Using some peanut butter the size of a matchhead will make the animal work hard to get the bait and will cause him to trip the trap instead of stealing the bait.
Set the traps very close to the holes in the mulch. Cover each trap with an overturned flower pot or similar object with a hole cut into the side for access. This will keep you from catching songbirds or having your dog stick his nose where it does not belong. I have used plastic containers like you see for sale that are intended for a couple uses and then thrown away. Place a rock or other weight on the top to prevent the plastic from blowing away in the wind. Covering the trap also has a couple advantages , it keeps the bait fresh and small animals like voles and mice feel safe hiding under them which will increase your chances.
To poison the animal use any standard mouse or rat poison. You can get pellets or blocks. Blocks work better as the animal has to gnaw pieces off in order to take the poison away instead of stuffing it's cheeks to carry away to store for later consumption. Place the blocks into the burrow so your dog or another animal cannot readily get to eat the bait. BTW-Mouse and rat poison rarely has any effect on dogs or cats unless they eat several pounds.
Poison takes a little while to have an effect as it is a cumulative effect as the poison builds up in the animal's system.
These tips will only work if you have voles , shrews or mice. The poison will work on chipmunks but to trap a chipmunk you will need a larger trap like a rat trap.
This will not work for moles , that is a completely different process.
If you are interested in hiring a professional , I know of a guy in the St. Louis area who is very good and highly recommended.
Jeff Holper - Holper's pest control.
http://www.holperspest.com/home.nxg
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-hJYrR_-gw
.50 caliber Pellet gun that will earn u stars in the "red-mist" society
.50 caliber Pellet gun that will earn u stars in the "red-mist" society
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Sound like he is using Talprid or a similar product. It is a little pricey but does work for moles tunneling through the yard.
The reason it works well for moles is because they are insectivores and will only respond to a insect flavored bait.
Voles need a rodent poison based on nuts , seeds or grain.
I would call the CIA if you suspect you have a mole. They are tops at locating and getting rid of them.
Honestly, the solution is simple. Snakes. Catch or buy a couple of snakes and introduce them down the hole. Your problem will disappear in a couple of days.
Here in California we use Gopher Snakes which are indigenous to our area, but they or a similar breed, may be found near you as well.
HTH
Here in California we use Gopher Snakes which are indigenous to our area, but they or a similar breed, may be found near you as well.
HTH
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