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Kill Moles

The mole is a solitary animal that spends much of its time underground. It is similar in looks to voles and groundhogs, except that moles have a nose without any hair on it. It has wide paws with claws designed for digging and, just so you know what you are looking at, moles don’t have ears that stick out above their fur.

Molehills and groundhog burrows can be identified separately, too. The molehill has a perfectly conical mound of dirt that rises about ground level, while the groundhog burrow is actually a hole, or a sunken patch of earth.

The mole is constantly feeding. It finds food without the use of it eyes. In fact, many moles are actually blind. The mole uses its nose to smell prey and it has specially developed sensors that can detect ground vibrations. The mole feeds on grubs and earthworms that fall down or dig up into the mole’s tunnel. The mole will dig deeper tunnels in the winter when the invertebrates descend lower to avoid the frost line, and, conversely, moles will dig shallower tunnels during warm weather when worms and grubs are closer to the surface.

If a mole is terrorizing your lawn then it might be that there is a lack of insects in your lawn. Fewer insects means he needs to dig more tunnels to find food. That is why spraying insecticides that kill grubs won’t necessarily drive away moles. In fact, many repellents won’t work either because the mole can always dig new tunnels that are deeper or further away from whatever is bothering it. They are digging machines capable of digging tunnels fifty to one-hundred feet in a day. That would be equivalent to humans digging Boston’s subway system in a week or two instead.

Most of the time a mole will not stay in one place for too long. They like to go where the food is and many reports of a mole infestation being cured by a magical remedy like bubblegum or manure might simply be that the mole has moved on to better hunting grounds. In cases where a mole does not want to leave but is still doing a lot of damage, mole extermination might be the only solution.

Probing mole runs

If you are bent on killing moles, there are many kinds of mole baits on the market. Talpirid and TomCat mole baits both are shaped like worms and use the chemical Bromethalin for their active ingredient. Bromethalin attacks the nervous system in moles, but is in small enough concentrations in the baits that it won’t kill dogs or cats that accidentally eat a small amount of it. It will, however, kill moles that eat small amounts of the product. The makers of these two products will swear on a stack of bibles that their product is more effective than the other, but the truth is that these two products are similar. Both have the look and feel of earthworms, both use the same active ingredient, and both can kill moles.

Other products can also kill moles. Many mole pellets like Mole BeGone, Mole Go, Mole Patrol, and a variety of others can kill moles. Some of the pellet treatments use Warfarin for their active ingredient, which is an anticoagulant. Some rodents such as mice and rats have a resistance to Warfarin, but most moles do not. The problem will be to get the mole to eat your bait because the mole diet is made up primarily of fresh, live insects, but the mole will eat bait that it thinks is palatable. The texture and appearance of the worm shaped baits might make the mole more likely to eat them.

Mole mound

All baits must be applied to tunnels that show mole activity. Before applying bait you should actually see the ground move as the mole moves through his tunnels, or know that the mole is repairing tunnels that you have flattened by walking on them. The bait should be dropped into a small hole made with a stick or rod down into the tunnel. Cover the hole up with a piece of turf or a rock. The mole should not sense that their tunnel has been disturbed. The bait should be applied every ten feet or so along the length of the most active tunnel. The bait should never be applied above ground where another animal might have access to it.

One problem with mole bait is that it is expensive. One set of twenty Talpirid worms could run you as much as fifty bucks. Yikes! It might be worth it to try a few other methods of mole control first before you invest in fancy-pants mole baits. You can save yourself some money if you put out your lawn chair on a nice warm evening, open a cold one, arm yourself with a shovel and watch for the first mole-train to come by.

Comments

Kevin McDonald
26 Aug 2008, 23:26

I think I may have moles but I really don't see any tunnels, just alot of small holes in the ground about 3 - 4 inches deep, new ones every day. I recently treated for grubs. The number of small holes in an area is increasing. i first noticed them in the back yard thinking our Lab had dug them but they were too small in circumference. they now started showing up in the front yard after I had the back yard treated for grubs. I have now treated the front yard as well. Are these moles and am I not looking in the right places for the tunnels?

KMcD

Ask the Exterminator
27 Aug 2008, 08:28

Moles leave mounds of dirt around their entry and the tunnels they dig can easily be seen on the surface. Doesn't sound like moles.

Small holes can be created by lots of different animals including chipmunks and snakes.

melisa
01 Sep 2008, 10:43

Do moth balls work to keep away moles? What other methods than bait can be used?

Ask the Exterminator
01 Sep 2008, 21:57

Moles can eject moth balls from their runways with ease. So, I would give moth balls a big zero for their ability to keep moles at bay.

If you don't want to try the Talpirid you can aways set traps.

Candi
23 Sep 2008, 00:31

Is it true that bubblegum works to get rid of moles?

Ask the Exterminator
23 Sep 2008, 09:35

Moles eat live, fresh food like insects and worms. Chewing gum of any type does not fit the bill of fare. It is a myth that has persisted on the web for many years, but it is not true.

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