Can you get of rid of moles in my yard?

Question: Can you get rid of moles in the yard?

Answer: Moles are small rodents that can damage turf grass. Those tunnels just under the surface of the lawn are made by male moles establishing a territory and looking for females. The females spend their time deeper in the soil in small cavities. Both males and females eat earthworms, insects and some other soil arthropods.

Moles dig two types of tunnels: deep tunnels and surface tunnels. The deep tunnels (maybe 24 inches down) are used as runways and for nesting; they may be marked as "mole hills" of pushed-out dirt. Surface tunnels are runways which can be followed as raised ridges on the ground. Only a few of the surface tunnels will be active.

Moles in the lawn or garden are difficult to control, and there are a great variety of remedies. The home or hardware store will probably have several mole control products available. The most effective mechanical method I am aware of is the spring-loaded spikes that are placed over the surface tunnels. Fall is a good time for control, especially after a rain when mole activity is high.

The shallow, surface tunnels are easy to find and the ones to use for the spike traps. Look for a relatively straight ridge running along the soil surface. Poke your finger into these runways in a few places; if the moles repair the holes in a few days, then the runways are active.

The spike or harpoon traps can be effective if you first collapse a section of an active runway with your hand, make it about half the original height. Set the spikes on the runway so that the tips just touch the collapsed runway. The trap will be sprung when the mole works to reestablish the runway. Move the trap in 3-4 days if there is no activity.

For additional help call your local Orkin Branch office. They can assist you in the control of this pesky yard mammalian pest.

Related Questions

Orkin used the information above to also answer the following questions submitted by Orkin.com users:

Question: I have moles or gophers in my back yard. They have made tunnels and hills all over my yard last night. How can I get rid of them? Please help, my yard is being destroyed.