Anybody ever have moles/voles in their yard?

banslug

banslug

Cathlete
Every Spring, when all the snow melts off the grass, there are more and more trails and holes in my back yard. This year, they're now also in my FRONT yard!

I'm not sure if they are moles or voles.....I don't even know what the difference it, even!

The trails are not the raised, underground kind, but they are more like 'divot trails', as I call them, where the dirt is not mounded but fallen or sunken into the thin trails.

Has anybody ever had them in their yard and if so, how do you get rid of these things? The first year I had them, there was only 2 or 3 holes so I smoked them out with the fire-cracker-type smoke sticks (entertainment for the kids, too! LOL). But these last few years, they've just gotten worse. The holes they dig are around the outside of my basement Bilco doors, and now along my front sidewalks. But the trails go all thru the back yard into the neighbor's yard, which is where they originally came from a few years back.

Can anybody offer any suggestions? I searched and googled them, but you know how some of those remedies work (or don't).

Gayle
 
Gayle!

I don't have your particular problem, however we have ground squirrels that tunnel in our yards like prairie dogs do. The dogs thought they were toys (especially their babies), they began making a condo of millions of holes, teased the dogs and ate the wiring on my truck and DH's truck. Not pretty.

They are gone now after I poured straight ammonia down their holes. I know it sounds mean but it sure did work. The added plus was that I didn't have to resort to a poison which I am sure the dogs would have gotten into.

My DH says it smells like predator urine so they probably packed up and moved next door. Maybe that is worth a try? Good luck!
 
Last edited:
Oh Gayle, I feel your pain. I wasn't sure how to get rid of moles either and they drove us crazy for a long time. Fortunatley for us, we welcomed a new beagle into our home last summer and she kills them!!:eek::D The little stinkers must not hybernate, b/c Maggie has killed 2 of them this winter. She looks so funny stuffing her face in the snow and I used to yell at her for digging up the yard in the winter.....until I saw what she was doing. Now she can dig all she wants.....well, maybe not all she wants, but I'm sure much more tolerant of it.;)

I hear some outdoor cats hunt them too?

Angie
 
We have them and ground squirrels too and they leave round holes in the ground where they come up. We also have them in our pastures and I would love to get rid of all of them. I've tried ammonia, bleach and rock salt but none of them worked. I would like to know how to get rid of them because I'm afraid one of my llamas will step in one of their holes and break a leg or something. I'm always out in the pasture with my shovel digging up their holes (homes) in hopes they'll move somewhere else. We don't have as many as we used to but I don't want any of them!
 
I've never tried this myself, but have read that pouring used cat litter in the holes can drive them away.
 
Hi Gayle,

Another thought: Do you have any white patches on your lawn? If you do, it usually means you have grubs and moles love to eat grubs. So, if you kill the grubs, the moles go away. This is what happened to our lawn around 3-4 years ago. We bought grub killer and got rid of them and the moles w/in a couple of weeks.

Good luck!
 
Get a dachshund! I'm serious! When I had a dachshund I had NO moles or voles. Now that my dogs have gone on to their reward I have a big problem again, and I do grub prevention every year. :mad:
 
I googled and found this:
"One way to get rid of moles is to remove their source of food. If you have a mole problem in your lawn you probably have a good deal of grubs. Getting rid of lawn grubs will force moles to seek their food elsewhere and they may just move next door. Reducing the amount of watering your lawn receives will make a less inviting environment for worms and grubs.


A mole barrier can help to keep moles out of your lawn and garden. Hardware cloth or aluminum sheeting can be buried between two and three feet deep to keep moles from tunneling and a raised area of at least 6 inches will keep the moles from climbing over the barrier. This method is only practical for small areas and you may still have some moles inside the area of your barrier that need to be dealt with.

Castor oil is an excellent repellent for moles. In order to effectively apply castor oil you need to water the area thoroughly beforehand. Spray castor oil onto your lawn or garden using a spray bottle or lawn spraying device normally used for fertilizer or pesticides. After you have thoroughly doused your area with castor oil you will need to water it again to cause the oil to be brought down into the soil. The castor oil will remain until rain or watering causes it to dissipate and then you will have to reapply.

Planting chocolate lilies or “skunk lilies” around your yard can help keep moles away. The bulbs and flowers of this flower have a terrible, strong odor and moles find it distasteful. Try planting a few bulbs on each side of the yard and garden. Garlic is also a plant that moles will avoid so try planting some here and there around your property.

Cats are one of the moles’ natural enemies. If you pour used cat litter into mole runs and hills you may be able to convince them that they should move to another area. Pour the cat litter into any run or molehill you can find and refill them until signs of the mole have disappeared.
Human hair is also a great mole repellent. Get some hair clippings from you local beauty shop or barber and sprinkle them into the molehills and runs. Moles dislike the scent of humans and they do not like the feel of the hair."
 
Love this thread! Where we are, we have gophers. It is so bad that the hillside behind our house is "crumbling" enough that our house is starting to lean that direction -- really bad news!! (it is compounded by bad decisions made in an addition that was made to the house). We are also planning on putting a garden in this year, so it's even more relevant. We have used gopher bombs, but not had much success. I'm going to try that wrigley's spearmint gum idea. We're also thinking about getting some feral cats from the rescue place.

At the elementary school, the gopher holes on the soccer field are really bad. Last fall they paid some guy to come out and he removed more than 100 gophers. The holes are really dangerous for the kids playing soccer!

-Beth
 
Gayle,

Not sure how much this will help, but we used to have a problem in another home we lived in (right before we were going to sell!!!) A friend of ours gave us his contraption of a 5 gallon bucket with a trap thingy to catch (and kill) them. It worked. I am sure you could google this too and find out what you need. Good luck!
 
WOW! Lots of great input and advice! THANK YOU ALL so much!

A couple of thoughts are going thru my head.

Every year I plant a garden and every year my plants have gotten bigger and bigger (I don't treat with ANYthing, just plant on Mother's Day and nature does the rest). However, last year was a HORRIBLE year and I barely got anything at all from it. I wonder if these bad boys ate my garden! This year, my plan of attack for my garden is to just 'play' with it and let my boys decide what to plant. I purchased a partial share in a local CSA/farm, so I don't need to rely on my own garden so much this year.

I had read about the grubs being an attractive thing for moles, but fortunately, there is no evidence in my yard of grubs...unless they're all underground also. There is no visible lawn damage, other than the voles/moles trails and holes.

I'm going to do the ammonia and wrigley's gum first. See how that works. I'll put my kids to work this weekend by going around the yard and putting one piece in each hole! I may need several packs! LOL

I am also going to the local Farm Bureau to see about those chocolate lillies and garlic plants.

I have a cat, who likes to go outside, but stays inside all winter long. I've been coaxing him out a little on the nicer weather days, but he's such a scaredy cat :eek: that he flinches at the slightest sound. I'm hoping that once he re-acclimates himself with the outdoors, he'll help too. He's cause baby bunnies in the past and brought them in my garage as loving gifts (much to the dismay and tears of my younger DS).

I'd LOVE a dog, but that's not going to happen right now. :(

And, just to try it, I am going to check the Farm Bureau for that trap too.

THANK YOU, again, all of you, for your suggestions!

Gayle

p.s. I'm going to become known as the crazy lady in the neighborhood who is seen putting gum in her yard, with a few traps laying around, walking her cat on a leash, watering her lawn with ammonia! :):):)
 
Last edited:
OMG! I'm dying over here! We just got back from the grocery store and I picked up Wrigley's Spearmint gum. Now the kids and I are wondering if we're supposed to use A-B-C gum (already-been-chewed)! LOL Too funny!

Gayle
 
banslug said:
OMG! I'm dying over here! We just got back from the grocery store and I picked up Wrigley's Spearmint gum. Now the kids and I are wondering if we're supposed to use A-B-C gum (already-been-chewed)! LOL Too funny!

Gayle
Click to expand...
No My hubby just put the sticks in the holes.
 
Apparently the gum sticks in their intestines and kills them. It cannot be digested. But, I heard they like the fruitier, sweeter kind.
 
Just a quickie update.

It's been a few days. First I put the Wrigley's in the holes, 2 days in a row. Then I started putting the used, clumped urinated-on cat litter in the holes. The holes that I covered with the litter are UNdisturbed, meaning no moles/voles came in our out those particular holes. My plan is to put a bit each day in each hole (I now wish my cat pee'd more often! LOL).

THANKS for all the input. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this home remedy works. The last thing I can do is foot the expense of bringing in the 'professionals'!

Gayle
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top