Moles found my yard, now what?

[zendog]

I've suddenly started noticing lots of ridges in my front yard and when I step on them they collapse, so it looks like moles have found my front yard. The yard is part grass, but a lot is garden, including greens, garlic and onions in the Spring and peppers,herbs, dwarf tomatoes and maybe an eggplant or 2 in the summer, plus lots of flowers.

I'm not sure they'll be a problem in the garden, since they are probably just feasting on the grubs under the grass I think. So the first thing is, besides the slight nuisance of the tunnels making the ridges and soft spots in the lawn, is there any reason I should try to get rid of them? Will they get into my veggies and uproot or undermine them as well?

If I should get rid of them, what are some safe ways to do it? It is the front yard and there are little kids, cats, dogs, etc. on the street, so no poisons or baits please. But maybe some type of underground trap?

Anyway, I'm a mole novice. I'm completely open to live and let live as long as they let my veggies and flowers alone.

Thoughts?

[Labradors]

You are right, they are after the grubs and there's a bactericide that will treat the grubs. If they are Japanese Beetle grubs, so much the better, because the beetles eat all sorts of leaves and flowers.

Linda

[GoDawgs]

I've got 'em in my yard and also in the outer pathway around the garden perimeter. However, I've not seen any damage to plants in beds near the perimeter walkway nor have I seen any ridges inside the raised beds so I've not bothered to deal with any grubs.

Two of the cats have great fun with them, though. Sometimes I'll see a cat at a ridge, intently listening. And if you look closely at the ridge by them you can see the slightest movement underground. Then the cats will get into attack crouch mode, pounce on the ridge, dig frantically into the tunnel and stick their arm up the tunnel as far as it will go. They're not always successful but they do catch a few now and then.

What blows me away is how fast those moles can dig. If I take one from a cat, walk away and then set the mole on the ground, it immediately starts digging and in no time flat it has disappeared. I mean like maybe the count of ten or less. Simply amazing!

[SusieQ]

I had moles and tried EVERYTHING. Then one day I tried a product (online) called The Cinch Trap.

Moles no more.

[brownrexx]

Moles will not hurt your garden. Here's an easy way to remember. Moles eat meat AKA insects and grubs.

Voles eat vegetables.

Voles look like mice with little short tails

[mikestuff49]

I had a terrible year with Japanese Beetles and then I had moles. I believe that the moles were there for the Japanese Beetle grubs.

I put down milky spore granules https://amazon.com/gp/product/B000BWY87 ... UTF8&psc=1

This last year I had hardly ant Japanese Beetles and no moles. We'll see how this year goes. The milky spore should stay in the soil for years.

[pondgardener]

[mention]zendog[/mention], in Craig LeHoullier's book "Epic Tomatoes" he recommends spreading castor oil-infused pellets as a repellent. Or if moles are getting too close to your planting areas, you could also try a mixture of 6 ounces castor oil in 2 gallons of water with 2 tablespoons of detergent. Use a sixth of this mixture for 1,000 square feet of soil, spraying the soil before a rain or watering afterward so it will soak in. I don't have any personal experience with moles, just sharing information gleaned from other places.

[pepperhead212]

While the moles may not be after the plants in your garden, if one is in the way as it is chewing a tunnel, that's it - you will see it wilted later. A friend had them in his garden and would get a plant every week or so that was killed this way (I think he tried the castor oil, and it helped some, esp. the second year, but then he moved). So don't believe it when you see that they won't bother the plants - maybe not on purpose, but they do!

[worth1]

I grew up with moles I think they deserve thier place here to eat grubs.
Never had a problem with them.

[MissS]

The moles in your yard are there because they have a food source which is grubs. If you treat the yard for grubs then the moles will move on. I did this organically with Milky Spore. This is a product that infects the grubs and then kills them. Once your lawn and gardens are well inoculated with this bacterium it lasts for ten or more years. Of course there are chemical treatments as well that you apply annually which are available anywhere that sells lawn fertilizer.

The Milky Spore works great for me. It reduces the Japanese Beetles by killing their grubs and the moles are gone as well. For me fighting the grubs has been win/win.

[clara]

Years ago, we had moles also in a part of the garden. They are under nature protection in Germany, so it's strictly forbidden to kill them. I bought solar mole (and mice) repellents, put them into the lawn and it worked perfectly. No more moles or mice since then! These repellents make some noise and produce some vibrancy in the soil - apparently those beasts don't like them. Nor did a neighbor who felt molested by the noise... So in summer when I see him sitting outside, I switch off the repellents. I personally don't care because our preferred place in the garden is rather far away (and we never had moles there).

[worth1]

When I lived up north the ground froze pretty hard and deep.
We had a side road by one of our hay fields that went to where the cows were and we were feeding them that morning.
When we came back by a mole had left a trial across the frozen road, this was not sandy soil and was as hard as a rock.
So I'm now back were armadillos take the place of moles.
Wanna trade.

[MissS]

Years ago, we had moles also in a part of the garden. They are under nature protection in Germany, so it's strictly forbidden to kill them. I bought solar mole (and mice) repellents, put them into the lawn and it worked perfectly. No more moles or mice since then! These repellents make some noise and produce some vibrancy in the soil - apparently those beasts don't like them. Nor did a neighbor who felt molested by the noise... So in summer when I see him sitting outside, I switch off the repellents. I personally don't care because our preferred place in the garden is rather far away (and we never had moles there).

I find it very interesting that these rodents would be protected. Do you know the reason for this? Are they very scarce there? Moles reproduce here like crazy and are very difficult to eradicate. They are a huge nuisance to homeowners and agricultural companies alike.

[Terranova]

We also have a mole problem, I don’t mind them so much, but the voles moved in. They use the mole tunnels. They decimated my potato crop in 2018, and have killed other things too...parsley and peonies, etc. I may try the milky spore this year.

[Growing Coastal]

When I had mole issues in a flower garden it was recommended to try putting mothballs down the holes, so I did. I found the mothballs returned to the surface in short order. The mole loved the soft, dug earth of the flower bed. I tried other things too but had no success. I left before the mole did.

[zendog]

Thanks all. Milky spore has been ordered and hopefully that will take care of the grubs and the moles will move on. I'd be tempted to let them be and leave the grubs as their food, but I'd prefer less beetles anyway and the idea of voles coming in is definitely a bit frightening.

[worth1]

From what I found in the short amount of time I have this morning moles are protected under the animal welfare act or something in Germany.
The only exception I know of is the killing of animals and or methods of for theological reasons.
This is for the killing and butchering of animals.
A mole is not a rodent.
It has rows of tiny sharp teeth.
I have seen them bite right through a leather glove.
At one time they made things from the skin of moles.

[clara]

Years ago, we had moles also in a part of the garden. They are under nature protection in Germany, so it's strictly forbidden to kill them. I bought solar mole (and mice) repellents, put them into the lawn and it worked perfectly. No more moles or mice since then! These repellents make some noise and produce some vibrancy in the soil - apparently those beasts don't like them. Nor did a neighbor who felt molested by the noise... So in summer when I see him sitting outside, I switch off the repellents. I personally don't care because our preferred place in the garden is rather far away (and we never had moles there).

I find it very interesting that these rodents would be protected. Do you know the reason for this? Are they very scarce there? Moles reproduce here like crazy and are very difficult to eradicate. They are a huge nuisance to homeowners and agricultural companies alike.

I don't know why moles are protected, but almost every wild animal is protected here.

[Tormato]

We also have a mole problem, I don’t mind them so much, but the voles moved in. They use the mole tunnels. They decimated my potato crop in 2018, and have killed other things too...parsley and peonies, etc. I may try the milky spore this year.

THIS! I've been there.

If you want to keep voles extremely happy, plant sweet potatoes.

[MissS]

Sweet potatoes, lily bulbs, pansies and violas, parsley all kinds of stuff. I once sat looking out the window and saw the plants shaking and then disappearing. They were being dragged right down the vole hole never to be seen again.

One day my young daughter announced that her hamster had had a baby. Well it could not be as we had no male hamster. I looked at the baby 'hamster there in her hand and it was a baby vole.