Home : Bugs and pests : Mole Menace

Mole Problem? Keep moles out of your garden or yard

Moles are not really bad little animals, they just like to share our gardens and yards making a home for themselves. If you are having problems with moles eating your bulbs and digging in the yard, then have a look at the following

Using glass milk bottle, dig holes in the soil and insert the milk bottle so that just the neck sticks out. Do this anywhere that you want the moles to keep away from, and where you know that they are living right now. The noise created by the wind blowing over the bottle necks will drive the Moles mad. They will pack up and move to another home away from the milk bottles.

Here is another thing that Moles dislike: Eucalyptus leaves. You can buy eucalyptus leaves from herbal stores, home centers and some flower shops. Push the leaves down the holes that the little moles have left behind.

If you are an experienced gardener, you may already know that Moles will damage and eats the roots of your cultivated plants in the garden. Next time you are digging a trench to plant your young seedlings be sure to line it with fine gauge wire netting so that the mole will not be able to 'get to' your plants.

Moles also hate vibration. So another great idea is to buy a few children's pinwheels. The type that move around in the wind. Place them around your garden where moles are a problem and you find that they will be soon heading elsewhere.

Do you know someone that clips their dog hair. If so ask them for some of the dog hair. Stuff the dog hair down the mole holes. The moles will hate it.

Visitors comments

Mole do not eat roots-bulbs Comments By: Brian Iverson on 2004-09-17 All the articles, pamphlets etc that I have read say moles eat grubs & worms. They may disturb plants in their travels, and may end up killing them, but they do not eat them. Sometimes mice and other critters will find a home in the moles burrows and they will eat roots/bulbs, etc. Most 'scientific advice (garden centers, cooperative extension services) say traps are the only effective deterent and pssibly spraying the lawn with a castor oil mixture. The castor oil will make the grubs etc taste bad. Moles will however, move next door and will return if/when the castor oil is leeched from the soil. Re-apply as needed.   moles are killing my garden Comments By: onky on 2006-02-05 i've placed a mole trap in my garden in the mole tunnel but he mole just diggs around it,what can i do. TipKing says: Moles can smell your scent on a mole trap and will avoid it. Leave the mole trap outside for a few days and wear gloves and be very careful when you place the trap not to touch too much soil.   Cheap and cheerful Comments By: Tracy Steel on 2007-12-28 I need a remedy thats very cheap as I can ill afford expensive pest control at this time of year. I know you have mentioned milk bottles and pin wheels but do they work? I have read on another site that sound does not travel underground so this is inaffective.....please help as my garden is very small and 12 hills have almost covered it...   my cats are bums Comments By: ollie tabooger on 2008-04-13 we have four cats that all go outside and nothing has happened to our mole issue and i want to try your method with the glass bottle but i have a feeling it won't work   Human scent no problem. Comments By: The Moleman on 2008-06-14 If human scent would deter moles, funeral homes would be grinding up bodies and emptying porta potties just to make and sell a product.   moles in your garden Comments By: ann on 2008-07-02 hi if you have a mole problem in your garden and want to control it.contact the British mole catchers register through google they will find you a mole catcher or if in Lancashire try www.lancashire-molecatcher.co.uk   mole deterent Comments By: Ross on 2008-07-11 I've tried everything, sonic devices, frittilaria bulbs (like sork bulb also tried), children's sand castle windmills, a jeyes fluid and water mix (started, but it came back). Traps look barbaric and just wanted to persuade it to leave. 69p per litre Lidel bleach (neat) and haven't seen it for 5 days now! And its rained and rained and rained when worms come to the top and moles follow!   Mole deterrent Comments By: randfmoore on 2008-11-03 Would chile powder placed in the tunnel be a deterrent? It deters elephants in the Zambezi valley from eating the farmer's crops.   Mole traps the best of the rest. Comments By: Mark Clark on 2009-02-14 I find it strangely ironic how many times as a traditional mole catcher i am called to a job as a last resort.The client usually stating that they felt my methods(instant death via humane trap)were to harsh for the poor little mole,but no remorse was shown for the free administration of.....bleach,jeyes fluid,creosote,petrol,white spirit etc.etc.etc poured generously into his burrow.A mole deserves better than this.If the little fellow in his black velvet coat becomes a problem for you at least give him the chance of an honourable death,hopefully by the hands of a traditional mole catcher.We trap these animals professionally but we never treat them cruelly or disrespectfully and nor should you.   Solar Mole Repellers Are Best Comments By: Andrew Howat on 2009-02-16 Moles in the garden are not harmful as such, but they can make a right mess of your garden by the tunnels and chamber systems they dig. They are attracted to gardens because of the earthworms and other insects that live beneath the soil but they are not harmful to plants and roots – the havoc they can wreak upon your garden is simply a by-product of the kind of lifestyle they lead. There are several different methods of dealing with moles and ways in which you can deter them from using you garden in the first place. I've been using solar mole repellers that I bought online. They seem to be working very well, my lawn is completely untouched!   mole madness Comments By: The Devon Molecatcher on 2009-03-27 For the record: Moles are insectivores-only eating insects-mainly worms. They do not eat roots, plants, leaves etc. Tunnels can go down to 2 feet + Sonic things will NOT work, neither will: bleach,jeyes fluid, diesel, windmills, p***ing in the hole, exploding the runs,empty bottles making noises. Defra and Natural England do not support or recommend live relocation, live trapping will soon be banned. I love the mole when he stays in his in environment, otherwise they are history. On farms they create Listeria leading to the painful death of both sheep and cattle, crop yield with mole infestation is reduced by up to 30%. Sports field injury to children tripping in mole spoil, horse injury due to mole excavation, machinery blades blunted through stones thrown up   little s#*ts Comments By: madman on 2009-04-19 im going to try dynamite and see how that goes ill keep ya posted . unless it all goes wrong that is   Maybe binging! Comments By: Ross on 2009-06-18 Have had a garden mole for 2 years! Came into ours from neighbours, see what we did to it below, but it remained until now! Crown Fritillaria bulbs Sonic deterrent Scissor traps (acclimatized before inserted) Jeyes fuild Neat Bleach Ammonia The later 3 it stayed quiet for a a couple of days, but then returned! Thought ferret, but others say won't work, thus thought earth worms coated in salt, as salt is poisonous if too much taken and the smaller the creature the faster the heart beats (why rabbits only live 3/4 years, yet live on greens and your mother says greens are good for you!) However too much salt for a worm is also poisonous, thus just put a handful of earth worms (for fishermen) down its hole beside the scissor trap - thinking drawn to the worms and get trapped! However 10 days on, traps still untripped and NO mole hills either! Thus has it binged to death on worms? As we know 'too much of a good thing is bad for us'?   Just for the beauty of your garden Comments By: doug on 2009-06-22 killing them just for the beauty of your garden, i find ridiculous. as i understand they will attack roots if they are already infected with insects (moles don't eat vegies) or if they're in their way (but they prefer tunnels) they do mix the soil. i just can't believe ppl would actually go and extra mile and poison potentially themselves their kids and pets and live a big scar on our environment (i'm not a tree huger but i'm neither a tree knocker by choice) just to kill something that doesn't really harm them (maybe puts few dark spots on their frontyard) unless they truly didn't know about it. i think that our culture of exterminating anything that doesn't end up on our plate and the industry that can make a buck out of it adds to that. but then, now i kinda sound like one of those hippie tree hugger. well i don't know, i find them cute and harmless really, so i just had to give my 2 cents   mountains from molehills Comments By: Mike Rolite on 2009-08-21 I used to think that all you would have to do would be to rake the soil level every time a hill appeared and you would end up with a perfectly level lawn. I have now changed my mind as we have had over a hundred mole hills in our garden over the last few months and they are driving me mad. About five new ones appear every day. We bought a solar powered sonic repeller about a year ago and it seemed to work until my wife boasted to someone about how effective it was and next day they started. The lawn now looks like a ploughed field so I have just bought some jeyes fluid to try, hopefully I can drive them into the field next door which is where I think they came from originally.   The best way to get rid of moles Comments By: Jamie on 2009-09-23 Use a professional molecatcher check they are experienced.They provide quick humane trapping.Gardens and Farms etc. Here is one excellent one www.Lancashire-molecatcher.co.uk usually can put you in contact with other molecatchers over the uk   Mole Catching Charges Comments By: The Devon Molecatcher on 2009-11-06 pay about £50 1st mole £15 thereafter+ mileage   Traditional mole catchers Comments By: Cornwall Mole Catcher on 2009-10-20 The only way to deal with a mole, that has to go, is to employ a professional, NOTHING else will work. putting poisons or chemical down runs is not only stupid (you are poisoning your own garden) but the mole will be forced to dig fresh tunnels, so you end up with more mole hills.. remember that moles will go deep during summer (and in hard winters) so do not believe your mole has disappeared, he will be back just as soon as the worms migrate back to the surface again. If vibrations in the soil stopped moles, ever wondered why main roads often have moles alongside them?? if a 44 ton truck does not dissuade a mole, a kids windmill or sonic is not going to... Save yourself the cost of Sonic's etc and get a professional in. Better for your pocket, better for your garden and better for the mole, who at the very least deserves a quick death.   cost Comments By: anon on 2009-10-23 does anyone know - how much do professional mole catchers charge?   Mole menace! Comments By: Ross Grayson on 2010-01-03 anything says moles are seasonal? The bugger made a hole in my snow covered lawn this Dec (09)! Hence knowing moles don't like the cold, opened up his hole more! He did move nearer to my neighbour, so find a dead wood pigeon on my snow covered lawn, I gave it a decent burial - Mr. Mole got it! Completely persecuted this mole; tried salt, bleach, ammonia, fire, bigger holes, water, traps, dead wild animals, but it still loves my garden and won't go to a neighbour's that is never mown! Yes I know moles are territorial, so get rid of one and another could move in, but thought moles had sensitive noses? (Is it a honey badger I've got?)   Moles - recycling deterent! Comments By: Ross on 2010-02-13 Have a mole problem in my lawn for 2-3 years - if it was in the borders fine, but the lawn is a mess! Tried every known device/solution, even tried new ones like bleach, ammonia, more worms (too much of good thing theory) but never able to persuade it to move on! It even created holes when we had 4 weeks of snow - thought they were seasonal and liked the warmth? Finding dead animals (pheasants, quails, garden birds, mice, etc) in my garden killed by cats/fox/owl (Lincs Panther?) gave these decent burial down the mole's hole! Now with approx 3 in different locations, the mole has got the message and vacated my lawn to the open fields next door! Understand moles are territorial so it could return, but maybe, just maybe the smell of dead/decaying animals will linger for some years to come?   Mole problem again!! Comments By: Sue on 2010-02-14 When we moved into our house in Dec '08 there were a few mole hills in the lawn. Over a period of a few weeks the hills increased to about 50. After trying [and failing] to local the runs to put traps down, we get an exterminator in. He charged £81.50 and the job was done. We spent days renovating the lawn and getting it back to normal. In Nov 09 they were back so I quickly called the guys out again. This time it took 2 visits to get rid, at a cost of over £140. Today the damn things are back again!!!!!!   STOP! WAISTING! MONEY! Comments By: Chris Hems Mole catcher on 2010-02-15 The only way any moles are leaving your gardens is because they want to. All the money you guys are spending is a complete fallacy. Im a pro mole catcher. Dont you think if bottles in the ground or vibrating sticks worked i would use them?! Bite the bullet n call a pro. We dont even charge if you aint happy that the mole has been killed. I cover the DY post code area and i will be happy to come see your problem. all other areas in the uk are also covered by Pest-Force. Just go to there website and put in your postal code or area and say good bye to a garden full of moles, vibrating sticks, bleach, urine, etc. www.pest-force.co.uk or DY post codes call 01384 522 895 Tipking says: The above contact details are UK   You should all be ashamed of yourselves Comments By: elinor on 2010-04-12 Live in harmony with your natural surroundings - be grateful for all the life thriving around you. Don't be so self-centred and murderous. These are tiny creatures happily going about their life. Would you prefer a sterile world with only humans, no insects or animals. Stop killing the bio-diversity.   Garden moles - may have worked! Comments By: Ross on 2010-05-09 Updating this blog 6 months on; after burying dead animals, the fox had killed and left in my garden, down Mr. Mole's hole he does appear to have moved to neighbouring gardens/fields again! Maybe the smell of slowly decaying mammal is enough to encourage its buring elsewhere? Although scooping up 'road kill' for this purpose may get you odd looks?   I'm with elinor Comments By: Anon on 2010-06-08 elinor, I couldn't agree more. The fact that people seem insistent on going out of their way and spending so much money just to kill a creature for following its instincts to survive is ridiculous. Sadly a majority of our race have no problem abusing our responsibility as the dominant species for fickle novelty. The novelty of having a garden that's nice to look at; the novelty of taste when choosing to eat meat even though we have no need to anymore. This blog on http://www.hygienesuppliesdirect.com/blog/pest_control/?p=86 features a lovely little trap that SPEARS the mole. Oh, the humanity!   Beer bottle and a 99 cent pinwheel Comments By: Samantha on 2010-07-05 I had a mole creating holes all over my front lawn. I heard about this trick from a co-worker. I placed a beer bottle in one of the mole holes to the neck and placed in the pinwheel in it. I haven't seen it since. A nice humane way to make it go away!   If you like mole don't kill them. When it getts to much draw the line... Comments By: s Planton on 2010-07-18 I had one mole a few mole hills and no issues with him/her. Then one morning the place was alive with them. One hill was (and I kid you not!) one third of a standard wheelbarrows worth of soil. The hills themselves are not an issue but I have collapsing tunnels all over my land. The damage is huge and I have taken to trapping them. Traps work - end of chat! If you can't stomach it yourself - get a pro in to do it for you. On no account tip volatile fluids, bleach and other poisons into your own ground if nothing else they WILL affect your local water coarse. If you tip bleaches into the soil you contaminate a huge area and cause damage beyond belief. Farmers have to abide by rules regarding contaminating land and so do you. If you get caught or reported don't labour under any misconception that the law will ignore it. They WILL fine you.   Mole Catching Techniques Comments By: John Finnemore on 2010-08-19 I have been setting scissor traps for over 50 years and I have developed techniques that I now find mole catching so easy in all ground conditions. If the mole is digging around the trap, this means that the soil in the mole run, is not consolidated enough. I have produced a website to show how this is achieved. www.walcotefarm.co.uk   Scottish Molecatcher Comments By: H Smith on 2010-10-18 If you need advice with a mole problem then contact www.hsmithmolecatcher.co.uk Advice is free. If your mole needs to be removed then trapping is the best and only way,   Traditional Mole Catcher Comments By: Phil mclean on 2011-02-11 Any moles in Devon are cought with as little distress as possible and killed instantly. Using Kill traps - call Phil 01395 275584   moles and my house falling in??? Comments By: angie on 2011-03-25 my mom said her neighbors whole foundation fell in.. it was a few years ago. and i didn't pay attention. thoughtlessness on my part. but can that really happen?? i am living in her house now and i don't want that to happen. i can't afford a new house. it is a mobile home on brick 13 years old.. thanks   ewww moles Comments By: denise on 2011-06-20 saw a mole, he actually chewed the bottom of my morning glory, so needless to say i wont have those pretty flowers. need something safe for my pets, they go out on a leash,but dont want them near something dangerous   moth balls Comments By: pikeguy on 2011-07-12 i have always put moth balls about 3" deep, 18 inches apart around my garden. my yard is a total ankle-buster, but never a mole in my garden. (my grandpa's tried and true method).