# Mole Control



## k9wernet (Oct 15, 2007)

Just curious what folks have done about mole control. My dogs have absolutely trenched my back yard this spring digging up tunnels -- looks like a WWI reenactment. The EP actually caught one and brought it up on the deck yesterday. Nice, soft mouthed retrieve, not a blemish on the ugly little bugger!

With the dogs spending a lot of time out there this summer, a two year old that plays back there, and one due out of the oven in June, I don't like the idea of trying to poison the moles or the grubs. Yesterday I bought one of those traps that drives spikes into the tunnel, but I'm limited as to where I can put it to keep everyone safe.

Anyway, if you have any creative solutions, let me know.

KW


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## 2ESRGR8 (Dec 16, 2004)

Grub-ex.
Get rid of the food source and the moles will go away.
My neighbors terrier mix is wreaking havoc on his yard too.


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## BradU20 (Jan 17, 2005)

2ESRGR8 said:


> *Grub-ex*.
> Get rid of the food source and the moles will go away.
> My neighbors terrier mix is wreaking havoc on his yard too.



You are pretty much wasting your time with all the other methods. 
This one is simple and relatively harmless to the family.


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## slowpoke (Jan 30, 2001)

BradU20 said:


> You are pretty much wasting your time with all the other methods.
> This one is simple and relatively harmless to the family.


That is what I found out.


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## bearmak (Oct 8, 2003)

Garden hose and a pitch fork.


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## ArrowFlinger (Sep 18, 2000)

I have the best mole trap in the world, but it is a little impractical for you. My built in swimming pool catches tons of the little buggers.

The one year that the moles started tearing up my yard. I used GRUB-ex and they moved over to my neighbors yard. So the stuff does work.


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## k9wernet (Oct 15, 2007)

slowpoke said:


> *Sorry Grub-ex. don't kill the worms and that's what the moles eats the most. *That is what I found out.


Yeah, the moles seem most active in my vegetable garden and flower beds. In tilling up my garden yesterday I uncovered one grub and bucket loads of earthworms. My lawn does not have the tell-tale dead spots that would indicate grub infestation.

I did a little reading and the grubex poison is called imidacloprid. Though it seems to be pretty safe for mammals, I did find that *Imidacloprid is toxic to upland game birds :yikes:!!! http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/haloxyfop-methylparathion/imidacloprid-ext.html*

It works by absorbing into the roots of plants, then poisoning the insects that feed on those plants. Thus, it doesn't work on earthworms. I want the worms in the garden anyway.

It's also been associated with the decline in honeybee populations, which might be something to consider if you have flowering plants (especially clover) growing in your lawn. The imidacloprid from one Grubex application can stay in your lawn for up to three seasons.



bearmak said:


> Garden hose and a pitch fork.


Actually, I did try to flood them out last year. Didn't seem to do much.

KW


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## Shotgun Kennel (Feb 9, 2007)

I have five versatile mole killers seeking them out. I fill in the trenches when they are done. Along w/ grub ex it is worth it.


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## wally-eye (Oct 27, 2004)

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=281592

Lots of info here.


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## mcanes1 (Jan 22, 2003)

I've done the grub x for a few years. It works, but my lazy neighbors dont'. So the moles return after a year. What I do now, is dig out their mounds and put in broken glass with the dirt when refilling. Twice the varmits, came out and tried to make a get away to the neighbors, only to bleed out. I've got reason to be vindictive, so far they've taken out a apple tree, and a maple tree by eating on the roots. They also ate the roots on half of my raspberry patch, to the point I'm thinking of rototilling it all up now. This past fall the dang things went after my 30' sugar maple. Tunnels coming from my neigbors to the tree then surrounding the tree. The 12 gauge suggestion from the other thread might come into play real soon.


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## k9wernet (Oct 15, 2007)

12 Gauge option won't fly due to my close proximity to the neighbors. They get visibly nervous watching me load a cased gun into the trunk to go hunting! Plus city ordinances....

I've never heard of moles eating plant roots. I guess I thought they were carnivorous. Now I know grubs will eat plant roots. Are you sure you don't have a serious grub problem? The grubs would attract the moles to the same area.

I like the glass idea! However, with my dogs digging up the tunnels, that's not really an option for me.

KW


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## mcanes1 (Jan 22, 2003)

k9wernet said:


> 12 Gauge option won't fly due to my close proximity to the neighbors. They get visibly nervous watching me load a cased gun into the trunk to go hunting! Plus city ordinances....
> 
> I've never heard of moles eating plant roots. I guess I thought they were carnivorous. Now I know grubs will eat plant roots. Are you sure you don't have a serious grub problem? The grubs would attract the moles to the same area.
> 
> ...


I quit doing the glass option, when we got our GSP pup, she's a digger.
As far as the plants goes. One year in our garden, I lost all my cauliflower and lettuce. Tunnels went up and down each row next to the plants. I dug next to the last surviving cauliflower and caught the mole in the act. I dug all over that garden and didn't find 1 grub. I was thinking the same thing originally that the grubs were eating the roots. 
When I pulled the apple and maple tree out, besides having very little roots left, I saw claw marks on the bigger roots. That's what makes me assume it was the moles knawing on the roots. They eat grass roots, why wouldn't they eat other plant roots? Who knows???
Fortunately for me, even though I live in a sub. There's state land behind me, gun fire is pretty common. Especially with some of the neighbor kids that go out there and practice shooting clay pigeons.


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## mcanes1 (Jan 22, 2003)

I haven't had any luck with the spring traps. But, my brother got a tip from a buddy of ours, so I'm going to try it. Pick a spot to put the trap. Instead of pushing all the dirt down. Remove 2/3's of it and just push down the other 1/3, gently. So that the moles don't have a lot of resistance when re-opening the tunnel. If the ground is packed back down, it's tougher to go thru, so they'll just go around. It's worked for him and my brother, so we'll see.
I wouldn't mind if they just left tunnels. It's when they make those big ugly hills of dirt that gets me fired up.


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## wally-eye (Oct 27, 2004)

As stated in the other thread I've tried them all and haven't had any luck until I purchased the easy mole trap from TSC. Has two big scissor blades and you set it over the run and step down on it with your foot to set it........nice and easy and I've had better luck with this trap than any other one.....


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## D Buck (Oct 22, 2004)

I had mole trouble. I used a solution of castor oil and ivory dish soap and water. . We have not had trouble for about 4 years . I need to try it again. I do not know the exact amounts to use . Maybe you can find it online. A pharmacist at K-Mart gave me the recipe. . Spray it with a pump sprayer.


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## overunder (Mar 9, 2009)

The only way to completely get rid of moles is to trap them. They eat earth worms. The poisonous worms seem to have worked for me. The spray is basically a castor oil solution which coats the worms and the roots. I've heard there is a trap called a black hole that is the best on the market. Personally, I have not used it. I just got a new beagle and was thinking of training him on moles! I'm just kidding, but I bet there would be a market for it. Imagine traveling around with your dog and charging $100 a mole. I bet some would pay it! Good Luck.


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## wyldkat49766 (Apr 21, 2007)

one cat, 13 moles killed and counting.


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## FindTheBird (Dec 18, 2004)

I had a serious problem a few years ago. My front yard is somewhat sandy and dry, and they separated the grass roots from the underlying soil. We hit a dry spell and the raised areas were killed deader than hell.

The next year I trapped 11 of the little bastages using (mostly) the gripper-type traps and the yard improved noticeably.


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## Sagio (Mar 19, 2009)

When I lived in Howard City I had two cats who kept the mole population in check. Then again they kept everything not much bigger them in check, but anyway... 

Since moving to Kentwood we solved the issue with poison worms, that was two years ago.


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## Greenbush future (Sep 8, 2005)

Nealbopper on this site trained his jack russel to get em and it is a site to behold when she zeros in on one and diggs and gets em. 6 pak and a lawn chair and you have entertainment for the night.


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## bumpbottom (Jan 3, 2006)

The nash choker loop trap works great beats the heck out of the spear type. They work better because they pull upwards instead of trying to push through the ground


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## dugal (Aug 17, 2006)

I got my first one, with a spear trap. I knew where his runway was. I hated him when he tore up my flower beds but now I feel guilty killing him for doing his job. Is there a way to live trap them? 

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=88973


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## k9wernet (Oct 15, 2007)

What exactly do you consider his job?


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