Moles!

SkwerI

Treehouser
Joined
Sep 6, 2006
Messages
19,276
Location
central Florida
I've about had it with these moles around my yard. I've put down every chemical bug poison available (and a couple illegal ones) to no avail. I've sprayed down the yard with soap, I've put down 5x the recommended dosage of Dursban, I've sprayed the yard with Termidor, I've poured motor oil around the base of my foundation, and the damn moles still keep tunneling across my yard every damn day. My driveway is destroyed due to being undermined and then driving my bucket truck on it. I had to build a walkway to my shop to avoid tripping and breaking my leg in their tunnels. I just want to get rid of them.

I think there must be a large colony of them actually under my house. I can subdue them for a week or two at a time, then new tunnels appear that always go to the house.

I'm thinking of buying a bunch of mothballs and using a stick or something to shove them underground. I can bury them 6" deep at 6" intervals all the way around the house. They have a highly sensitive sense of smell so that might run them off for a while. Any other ideas?
 
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  • #3
I'm not willing to get a cat, dog or roommate at this point. I enjoy my freedom to come and go unrestricted and have no desire to assume responsibility for a pet.
 
till in vole block in the soil and replant your lawn.....or go postal
 
I guess there is a trade off for getting the beautiful weather all year! :P

Aren't moles hungry for grubs and beetle larvae? Have you tried getting rid of what they eat?
 
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  • #7
Yes, Fred. Hence the EPA Superfund Site level of pesticides applied over the last 5 years.
 
Have you tried traps, Brian? I googled up some pretty good info on a variety of them, but it seems like a difficult critter to catch, and you have to dilegently go about it forever.
 
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  • #9
Two different types of traps, they completely avoided one and they regularly trip and laugh at the other. I even sharpened the spears and filed down the trigger release. I set up two in a row so when they trip one and run off, the other might get them. Every single day I walk out to see them tripped with the tunnel continuing off under the house.
 
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  • #11
So dig up my entire lawn and landscaping to till the vole block into the soil? That could cost me thousands.
 
Remove their food source... grubs? You'll have to remove their food source too. Grass roots?

Kill the grass and gravel the yard.
 
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  • #16
I want one of these. :evil:

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<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wfX0FqS-4Og?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Grub-ex, it seemed to work for me applied twice a year. Or an outside cat, very low maintenance just leave a little food and water for outside for it.
 
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  • #18
This is the type of trap I'm currently using. They get sprung almost every day but no kills.

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  • #21
John, I've blasted the yard with Dursban and Termidor repeatedly. Assuming I still have live grubs, how would you suggest I reduce their population?

I have a vacant house next door and I have begun treating about a quarter of that yard as well in order to increase the perimeter of the dead zone.
 
You could plant castor beans .It's claimed that will drive them off .The problem is though that castor gives off richen poison .

Don't feel so bad though they are digging up my yard like crazy and just last week it was frozen solid
 
John, I've blasted the yard with Dursban and Termidor repeatedly. Assuming I still have live grubs, how would you suggest I reduce their population?

I have a vacant house next door and I have begun treating about a quarter of that yard as well in order to increase the perimeter of the dead zone.


Sounds like you've been doing what you can. Maybe Butch is right? Get in bed with them.
 
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