I got a call from my sister in Bluffton wanting to know how to get rid of moles in her yard. Says they are ruining it. I don't think I have ever even seen one so I had no idea what to suggest. Some of you in the area willing to share your secrets for dealing with the little critters?
This message was edited May 24, 2008 8:16 PM
What do you do about moles in coastal area?
1) Curse them
2) Ignore them
3) Set my Jack Russell Terriers on them (although they may be harder on the yard than the moles). The Jacks are pretty efficient, however, and they enjoy this task.
4) Kill them using a harpoon trap
I usually opt for 1 & 2, and 3 is usually accidental.
Jenny
This message was edited May 25, 2008 1:24 PM
That is a real catch 22. Moles eat grubs and if you kill the grubs you eliminate their food source and they will go away. This is not an overnight fix; it takes a season or two to really start working. Sadly, you will also kill the earthworms which are pretty good to have around.
Moles do not eat roots of plants like the voles you have in the Midlands but they make large tunnels and expose plant roots to air which often does some damage when the roots dry out. A friend lost a 30 year old camellia to moles last year.
The traps work but are pretty useless against a good population. Some plants are said to repel moles like Castor Beans. There are some baits on the market that are marginally effective.
Think positively, some folks love that the moles aerate their soil for them.
LOL Jen, we cross posted. Can I borrow one of your Jacks??????
Mole trap, we got wind mills and they are ignoring the wind mill, hasn't stopped them at all.
Lavina
If you really want them gone you need to kill their food, grubs. For some reason I seem to get moles when it's dry out??? Maybe I just don't notice them when the grass is full and thick?? I was attacked by chinch bugs last year so what I killed those off with probably killed off the grubs. Hit the lawn again this year with bug killer to get it back in shape. I tried to go organic for 4 years and then year 5 the combo of drought and a little to much fert. lead to the chinch bugs. I couldn't get rid of those last year without going nuclear. LOL. I don't mind a few moles running around but if your getting invaded you need to do something.