When to go after moles

[braumeister]

We've had a lot of mole activity lately, and they're really tearing up the lawns all over the block. I talked to a couple of people and they said don't bother because they will be gone when the cold weather hits. Seems to me that just means they hibernate.

So I wonder whether it would be better to get them dealt with now or wait until Spring when they start again. Suggestions?

 

[skipro33]

I've had good success using Tomcat Mole Killer worm bait. I use a bamboo skewer to find a raceway, then poke a worm down in there while using gloves to keep my scent off the bait. Tamp down the raceway so you can see if a mole has used that run lately first. Then after you place the bait so you can see if the mole returned. Not fast but I also do not have to deal with a dead mole for disposal.

 

[sengsational]

I've (unfortunately) had lots of experience.

The thinking that I kind of believe (nothing is certain, it seems, in this realm), is that getting 'em now is better, before the babies are produced.

I've been fairly successful mole hunting, but it's something that requires a bit of attention spread over a long time. IOW, monitor a lot, and act decisively when the time comes.

My experience is not applicable nation-wide, I don't think, because we don't have the same situation here in the SE US as other places. As usual, when I can't find a good video, I make my own (marginal) video. I searched for "sengsationa1 mole southeast" and it was the first in video results:

My routine is to set Tomcat and Victor traps at the first sign of trouble. That way I don't have miles of tunnels to smash in order to find the active tunnels. I have 2 Tomcat and 3 Victor, and often I set all 5.

 

[MRG]

I trapped them for a while, got enough moles to make something. Eventually they got out of hand and we had an exterminator bait them. No more moles.

 

[davebarnes]

I ask my doctor if they are cancerous.
If not, then I ignore them.

 

[Freedom56]

We had a mole problem years ago in our vegetable garden. We went to Home Depot to buy traps. My wife wanted a catch and release trap (don't ask why). The guy at Home Depot suggested buying pinwheels and stick them into the ground around the garden when the moles are active. He said the vibrations are at the right frequency to drive moles away. I was skeptical but bought pack of 10 pinwheels and we stuck them into the ground and they were gone. This was a much better approach than buying the electronic version. The pinwheels cost about $2 for ten of them.

 

[rk911]

I ask my doctor if they are cancerous.
If not, then I ignore them.

 

[travelover]

I use the Victor trap with the lobster claws and if that doesn't get them after awhile, I stick a metal electrical conduit hooked to the lawn mower exhaust pipe down in the tunnel. I live in the PNW so we have the mounding moles here.

 

[homestead]

I put some poison mole pellets in all the holes in my yard about 6 weeks ago. Haven't seen any more activity since then until today when I found a large dead mole (5" long) on my lawn.
He wasn't anywhere near the old mounds in the yard so I suspect a neighbors cat got him and left him there.

 

[mountainsoft]

I have been battling moles for years, sometimes with success, most of the time not so much. For a year or two I had decent success with the Victor mole traps, but then they just stopped being effective.

Our moles generally don't leave tunnels along the ground. They dig tunnels down deep and popup randomly in the yard. It's very rare for them to ever popup in the same place again, but I've had them push up right beside the Victor traps without setting them off.

So, I've been trying the Tomcat mole bait worms the last year or two. I "think" they are working, as the new mounds do seem to stop after a few days. The problem is this is fairly normal behavior around here anyway. They'll tear up one section of the yard, wait a few days, then move elsewhere and do their damage there. So I don't know for sure the baits are really doing anything, and they're rather expensive to use frequently.

On rare occasions we see another type of tunneling behavior. They dig tunnels just below the surface of the ground, going in every conceivable direction. They can easily push up nearly every inch of a 5'x5' area overnight with no way to tell where the tunnels start or end. There's too many tunnels to even stomp down. Sometimes I'll pull out my hand tamper and try to flatten the ground again, but most of the time I just let it settle naturally.

It's really frustrating, but I have yet to find a good solution.

 

[travelover]

...........It's really frustrating, but I have yet to find a good solution.

What I found is that some of the mounds are dead ends just used to get rid of dirt. Others are part of the main tunnel route. The way to tell the difference is to take a core out of the mound and probe down inside with your finger. If it only has one tunnel leading to it, it is a dead end. If it has an entrance and an exit, then you can set the Victor trap spanning both tunnel entrances. I took a soup can lid and cut two slots in it and threaded it onto the trap's trigger, making it a larger target area to spring the trap. I'm on my way to making a small fur coat with the mole hides.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

I'm on my way to making a small fur coat with the mole hides.

I use moleskins on my feet to prevent blisters during hiking season.

 

[mountainsoft]

What I found is that some of the mounds are dead ends just used to get rid of dirt.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of our mounds are dead ends. I can usually find a single tunnel, and it typically goes down instead of sideways. They appear to do all of their tunneling deep underground, and only pop up to eject the dirt. Kind of makes trapping useless, and even figuring out which tunnel to put a bait worm in is hard.

I usually stomp down the first few mounds and see if they ever come up again. If so, those are the mounds I stick the worm in. I'm not very consistent though. I'll battle them intently for a week or two, then get busy with something else and they run amuck again.

Interesting tidbit. I once drained a 150 gallon water tank into the closest mole hole. The entire volume went down that hole without ever overflowing...

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Moles often take the rap for destruction caused by gophers, and they can coexist within the same landscape further complicating control measures.
I never intentionally killed moles as any harm done to plants is collateral.
Gophers OTOH need to go. I had the best results with the gas smoker method.

 

[Amethyst]

Too bad it's no longer safe to let cats run around outside.

When I was a kid, we had a Siamese who would catch 1-2 moles per day, until they were all gone. She converted my Dad to being a cat lover.

Then again, those were small northern moles. The ones in Florida are much bigger, with scary big claws. Might take a good-sized cat to settle them.

 

[travelover]

Unfortunately, the vast majority of our mounds are dead ends. I can usually find a single tunnel, and it typically goes down instead of sideways. ........

When I initially did my lawnmower exhaust to mole tunnel experiment, I squirted oil into the carburetor so I could see where the smoke exited the ground. It helped me see which mounds were in a line and which mounds were on a branch. Plus is was fun.

 

[MissMolly]

We had a mole problem for several years. Then a big old rat snake moved in. Bye, bye moles Moles are still gone. Rat snake is still here. I saw him a month or two ago. He's about 5 ft long.

 

[travelover]

We had a mole problem for several years. Then a big old rat snake moved in. Bye, bye moles Moles are still gone. Rat snake is still here. I saw him a month or two ago. He's about 5 ft long.

Is he available for rent?

 

[skibum]

I've had good success using Tomcat Mole Killer worm bait. I use a bamboo skewer to find a raceway, then poke a worm down in there while using gloves to keep my scent off the bait. Tamp down the raceway so you can see if a mole has used that run lately first. Then after you place the bait so you can see if the mole returned. Not fast but I also do not have to deal with a dead mole for disposal.

+1

 

[lrip]

My lab has learned to hunt and kill them. She waits very patiently for movement then jumps and digs them out.

 

[street]

I've (unfortunately) had lots of experience.

The thinking that I kind of believe (nothing is certain, it seems, in this realm), is that getting 'em now is better, before the babies are produced.

I've been fairly successful mole hunting, but it's something that requires a bit of attention spread over a long time. IOW, monitor a lot, and act decisively when the time comes.

My experience is not applicable nation-wide, I don't think, because we don't have the same situation here in the SE US as other places. As usual, when I can't find a good video, I make my own (marginal) video. I searched for "sengsationa1 mole southeast" and it was the first in video results:

My routine is to set Tomcat and Victor traps at the first sign of trouble. That way I don't have miles of tunnels to smash in order to find the active tunnels. I have 2 Tomcat and 3 Victor, and often I set all 5.

Excellent! Thanks for sharing that great video.

 

[mountainsoft]

When I initially did my lawnmower exhaust to mole tunnel experiment, I squirted oil into the carburetor so I could see where the smoke exited the ground. It helped me see which mounds were in a line and which mounds were on a branch. Plus is was fun.

I have a battery powered electric mower now. I don't think that would work for me.

 

[travelover]

I have a battery powered electric mower now. I don't think that would work for me.

Don't let that stop ya. https://www.amazon.com/Underground-Exterminator-Kills-Gophers-Groundhogs/dp/B0000BYDPE