Neighbor got moles

I was startled by a mole and dropped a huge rock I was moving on top of it. I debated for about 5 minutes if I wanted to see the flatten mess that was the mole. Finally gathered enough courage to lift the rock. That little thing survived! It cussed and squealed all the way back to my neighbor’s flowerbed and into a hole it went.

I was glad that I didn’t have to clean up a mess. But I don’t hold out too much hope that this incident would scar the little critter for life so it would leave my garden alone. I read some of the postings regarding moles. Since the mole holes or mounds are in my neighbor’s flowerbed, many remedies that treat the hole itself wouldn’t work for me. I just want to discourage the moles from coming to my garden. Anyone had tried the vibrating gadget that you bury? My concern is my indoor cats and dog and whether the vibrating gadget would affect them. Anything else I could do without using poison?

Thanks.

castor oil products. they sell them in spray bottles to use on the end of your hose and also in granuals to scatter. they don't like the smell and stay away. just what you need. do a google search and you'll find something you need.

Thanks, debi_z.

I found one online
http://www.baar.com/moles.htm.

And Garden Alive! has a grandular product.

Take old (used) cat litter and pour it directly into the critter's burrow. Treat one or two times and your problem will be gone

Drop,

Did you try the kitty litter? If so did you have positive results?

All you ever wanted to know about moles and MORE.......

http://critterguy.museum.msu.edu/FAQ/Moles.html

Couldn't do kitty litter since the mole lives in neighbor's bed. And the neighbor is not the kind that cares about this sort of stuff. Moles hasn't troubled me since then, though. My battle is still with the darn rabbits.

I have a terrible gopher problem, too. We have an acre of vegetables and flowers and they're all over the place. It's Gopher Nation. I don't have cats so kitty litter is out. Wouldn't the scent based products stop being effective when water gets on them? Would like to try the sonic deterrent. Has anyone heard whether it's effective?

gayatri,

I saw this recipe for mole repellent. Looks like the caster oil concoction would last couple of months.


A 4oz caster oil bottle along with 1 cup of liquid dish soap (lemon scented if you have some) in your 20 gallon hose end sprayer. The balance of the jar filled with water. This will cover 2500 sq ft.Moles don't like the castor oil smell. Spray onnce every couple of months.

Are they moles or voles? Now don't get me to lying cause the habits of rodents is out of my area of expertise. But most of what I read looking for a solution to my vole problem said you will rarely see a mole out of their den or above ground. Either way guess they need to go.

This message was edited Feb 18, 2005 1:29 AM

I think the vibrating gadget helped with the voles in my front beds. The one I got was called "Mole Mover." They weren't eliminated completely, but numbers were definitely reduced according to the amount of tunneling I saw. Further evidence is that the batteries in the device died last week, and now the little critters are back with tunnels everywhere! As soon as the ground thaws enough to let me pull up the gizmo and feed it fresh batteries, I'll do so, and we'll see what happens.

drop,
what is the reason for the lemon scented dish soap? just curious.
debi z & franklin

Don't know the reason for the lemon scent, but I think a few drops of soap helps mixing of any oil in water solution.

Put new batteries in my "Mole Mover" but didn't tramp down all the tunnels from last week, so not sure if there has been any new activity. Also put some cat hair around the area. (This is right by my front door, so little piles of used kitty litter are right out!)

I am not sure, debi_z. May be as critterologist explained. I do think caster oil is the key.

Sorry that I can't be more helpful.

I have done the used kitty litter thing, and though it's gross, it does work. Fortunately, I have three cats to supply me for my acre and a half! Moles didn't come back at all to the back yard, and activity was substantially decreased in the front yard. We border a wooded ravine, so there was a mole freeway in the front yard. I tried MoleNots, Mole Gone (castor oil granules), dog hair, juicy fruit, flooding with hose and that squirty stuff you put in mole holes with a syringe. None had the results that the kitty litter has had. I am putting some litter in a covered trench along our property line to decrease the front yard traffic even more. Won't know if this is effective until it warms up more, but so far they haven't been back yet this year. A little litter goes a long way!

maybe I can scatter some and then put mulch on top to hide it....

I have discovered tunnels, right at the soil surface, of some type of rodents. My guess is voles or moles. I have lost Hosta & even a Japonica shrub in the past to critters. In the past month or so, I have not seen the coyote that patrolled the neighborhood. Now the rodents are back in full force! Because of the past coyote issues, we don't have outdoor cats around here. I have read through the suggestions here, &I am going to try the castor oil & the cat litter as well. Thank you all for the great ideas. Julie

Pine-Sol is the best mole deterrent. Just pour some into the tunnel. The mole moves far away from it. It doesn't work as well for gophers. They move, but not far. It's handy for keeping them away from prized plants, but it won't keep them out of your garden. Vibrating things don't work, and kitty litter never worked for me. The castor oil treatment works, but you have to do it again every month. Who has the time? Who has the money? We have a gopher thread going in the California Gardening Forum if you want to see more comments.

Is Pine SOl ok for the environment? Imean is it safe to soak into the soil? It has a strong scent... - perhaps they don't like having their sense of smell diminished.

I've never noticed any negative effect on the soil or on any vegetation. I don't use a whole bottle or anything like that. Maybe just a third of a cup or less. Just enough to smell up their habitat. It's got to be the smell that drives them away. It sure would drive me away if someone poured it into my dining room.

So true! I will certainly try it. I have lost many Hostas already. I can see the shallow tunnels in the grass & garden. I have also noticed an increase in ticks. I still have the Lyme from the last umpteen times I got bit! I guess the ticks come in on the deer & mice. Another reason to get rid of them ASAP.

and that squirty stuff you put in mole holes with a syringe.Galega, that just don't sound right... LOL
Sorry I cant help with the mole, vole, problem but I sure injoyed reading the thread. The little critters have'nt found my garden yet... but when they do I'll be ready for them..



Viv

jrush, those are voles and actually do more damage to plants than the moles do.

My large Japonica began to look poor a couple years back, & I discovered a hole right into the main root. The voles had tunneled right through it! I also lost many Hosta that year as well. They eat roots - dense, large, thick, small - you name it. You just notice a plant wilting, & it is too late. I am working on the cat litter & we set out a trap so far. The worst part is that the critters are lodging right in the compost pile! It remains warm all Winter long, & the scraps we add to it actually FEEDS the rodents. It is like the Hilton of vole hotels!

Does the kitty litter need to be used? I have 6 cats that use the great outdoors so I don't keep litter pans for them in the house. But my yard and garden are riddled full of mole, vole and mice tunnels. Apparently the odor of cats isn't enough to deter them. Is it the texture of the litter or must it be used by cats first?

I believe it's the odor of used litter that does it. But if the voles are used to the scent of your cats already, I'm not sure if it would be a deterrant. I noticed that kitty fur worked here for a few days, then used litter worked for a few days, then putting new batteries in the "move mover" vibration thingy worked for a few days.... but nothing seems to work for very long! The dang voles ate a couple more of my newly planted species tulips today.... one was just budding, too! I may never see them in bloom.... :-(

You have my sympathy critterologist. Last summer I had a huge sunflower coming along strong. It was a variety that produces multiple flower heads filled with dozens of blooms. One day I went out there to find the plant nipped off at waist level. Deer! Grrr...!

hi all you vole haters. i have just purchased a vole control system. http://www.volecontrol.com/product_shop.html
it sounds like it should work pretty good. i'm going to give it a try anyhoooo, cuz the $ i'm loosing in plants is getting out of control with these voles. i don't want to put down new plants, shrubs etc because i'm afraid they'll just be eaten up too. i'm going to start a new thread about plants folks have noticed voles don't eat.
please come and help me figure out what i can plant until this problem is under some sort of control.
thanks
debi z & franklin

We just went out and set a wicked-looking spiked mole trap that we hope will also work on the voles. We can't use poison, even with bait stations, as there are too many dogs & cats in the neighborhood, and somebody's pet could eat a poisoned vole. I'll let you know if/when we nail our first varmint! (and I mean "nail!" -- literally!)

ARE there any plants that vole WON'T eat? I have been told they will gnaw through almost any root that gets in their way. I placed cat doots out in the yard a few days ago, & so far the trap we set remains empty. Maybe a fluke, but I am hopeful!

i think they stay away from the poisonous ones, of course, and the smelly one's like alliums, narcissus...

We had a lot of rain & their tunnels were flooded, so the rodents had fled to higher ground for a couple of weeks. Now they are back, to cause further aggravation! I will be trying all of the above suggestions this season.