Moles - pests/animal

We recently bought a new (to us) home in the country with 5 acres & has sandy soil if that makes a difference. Moles are really working this lawn over. I did some research on line via Google & really, the only info I could find was to get mole traps & I know nothing about mole traps and in all honesty, I'd prefer not to fool with traps if possible.

Are their any alternatives? I am wondering if I push a hole in each mound with a broom handle or something & drop moth balls in their tunnels, will something like that run them off or will I absolutely have to kill them to get rid of them? If so, other than traps, what alternatives do I have to kill them?

 

I don't like to use poisons because of the chance that a non-targeted animal my get to poison. If you want to go that route there are ones made specifically for moles. The poisoned bait is shaped and feels just like an earthworm.

I use mole traps. They are spring loaded and install above ground over a tunnel. When a mole passes by it springs the trap driving spikes into the tunnel. The critter is killed and left underground so there is no body to deal with.

 

Although earthworms are beneficial they and other lawn bugs serve as the food source that attracts the moles. Eliminate the food and eliminate the moles. The mothballs might make them move a few feet but they can create new tunnels faster than you can fill them with the mothballs.

We have one to get rid of at a relatives house. It has been seen collecting the bird food that falls to the ground around the feeder. I'm going to try to place a regular mouse trap in a protected area so the birds don't get at it and cover it with bird food, probably several traps.

Bud

 

Google "natural mole repellents". I think that peppermint was one of them. If not ammonia will send them running. Find an old time local yocal. He'll know what to do.

 

After 20 years of mole hunting forget all the krap that is out there regarding poisons, worms, smoke, etc, you are just wasting your time and money.

I have had these damn creatures tear up my current 1ac yard for the past couple of years. As in the past I set out with two of the pinch style traps and spent a dedicated week to flatten tunnels, finding active tunnels, setting, and moving traps and finally caught the MF.

That was in the spring and so far, mole free.

It takes time and effort, and physical traps, but it can be resolved!!!

 

Trapping is the only really effective method I've ever seen.

 

I have heard others talk about various poisons and whatnot, generally with minimal limited success, but I have always found the spike type traps to be very effective. You can get them at Ace Hardware and other such places, and the are very easy to use; tamp 8-10" of an active tunnel down with your foot, push the trap into the ground, set it, and you can tell at a distance when it's tripped. I have four traps, and generally set them in pairs, maybe 15-20' apart, because you can't tell where the little buggers are working in there. Obviously you want to do something now, but I keep an eye out in the spring, usually not long after the last snow melt, set the traps, and that's the last I see of them until the next year or two.

 

I dont see where anyone mentioned a specific "type" of mole trap. There seems to be several different styles/types. Below is a link to the HD mole trap selections. I think akapedro may have been referring to the "plunger" type. Would you guys look at the selections here & let me know what you have tried, please.
Search Results for mole trap at The Home Depot

 

Yes, they call it a plunger type, but the Victor model 0645 on the second row is the one I use. May not matter for you, being on sandy soil, and the traps probably come with instructions anyway, but I always push the spikes into the ground a couple of times before setting them so that I know they are going to go all the way down when they trip.

 

Thanks Pedro..............

 

Anything with spikes is krap. Loose soil, sandy soil they will simply push up, trust me I long ago threw them away.

Pincer type traps are the true saver, you dig a 6x6 pit, slope the bottom to match the trigger, fill in some loose soil then clean up the results.

Experience, use it!!

 

Ok thanks Marq...............

 

The old farmers always said moles dig at 10 and 2. Being it is 11 am dst here in West Kentucky, that's one dead mole I just dug up. Been digging moles for years around these times. I see them digging, sneak up bare foot behind them and shove a sharp-shooter shovel in the ground about 6 inches behind where I see the ground moving. Pop them right out of the ground.