[PonderosaQ]

The new homestead has a severe infestation of moles in clay soil. 3 cats and a dog aren't doing much about it. What ideas have you found work to rid the place of them? With the number I've got I'll get no produce at all this year unless aI make a dent in the population. Thanks.

PQ

 

[countrygrrrl]

We've been hit hard here by moles. :no:

Make sure you have no piles of wood --- if you do keep wood, stack it on top of something (I have a bunch of old chairs that are stacked with wood and I have it on my deck leaning against a wall). Clear out other stuff, as well. They love hidey hole piles.

Use castor oil - liberally and often. Buy it yourself from a local drugstore and put into a sprayer thing and spray onto the ground! Best to do it after a good rain. Once you've saturated the soil with castor oil, water it in well.

It worked for me. Although the moles are back after last year's go round.

 

[Little Quacker in NC]

Do make sure they are moles and not gophers. And then do a search of the archives. We just had a discussion on those pesky critters! LOL Boy, they are a pain I know!

After that, call your local co operative extension service and see what they are doing for them.

We had a good radio discussion about them just a few weeks ago here and I got some good ideas which I have put into use. I'll report back by the Fall and tell if they worked. One is putting dog hair in and around an area you don't want to them to be. So far this is working but it's just now spring and they are just getting active. We'll see if this holds up through out the season! The second thing that people swear does the trick is Juicy Fruit gum, placed as far down the holes as you can reach. And no, they don't chew it..LOL..there is something in that flavor that repels them.

Moles are very territorial and don't put up with any others very close. Chances are you don't have very many at all, one mole can cover a bunch of square yards!

good luck, hope you get a handle on things and let us know how it goes.

LQ

 

[jerneeon]

Well, I say it's time for target practice.

 

[Guest]

When we lived in PA. we had a bad problem with moles. My husband put lime all over the yard. They went away & we lived there 10 years after that & never had another problem with them. Good Luck! Mary Lou

 

[Guest]

Since you have clay soil, the moles may well be providing some needed soil aeration.

Moles are usually after grubs which destroy crop roots. Treat for the grubs and you will probably see the moles vacate the area. No food, no reason to stay.

 

[Ozarkquilter46]

as a kid we used big glass coke bottles. Since coke comes in plastic now, you can use wine bottles it just needs that long neck. If you don't drink just go to a bar in its off hours and ask for a few emptys. We planted them in the ground with just the neck sticking up. It echo's above ground sounds underground and they cant take it and move on. Now the first one we planted my mom hit with the lawn mower and glass went every where LOL. After that whe would srpay white paint on the bottom of the bottle so she would remember where they were. That worked great. They were eatting our garden up. after the bottles they were gon in about 2 days and when we went to pay the rent ( he lived two house down from us) he said he had moles move into his garden about a week ago and were tearing it up LOL :haha: . I guess we found out where our moles went. Anyway she told him what we did and he tryed it and in about 2 days he said they had left his yard. If I remember right my mom planted one on each corner of our yard and one in the middle. But we had a big yard! Hope this works for you.

 

[bulldinkie]

You need a jack russell mine is obsessed every weekits something new.One week its mice,next week is moles ,next week is the rat thats living under the chicken house.Cats dont do much.

 

[Maria]

My rat terrier takes care of ours. Of course, she has an obsession with all rodent-like animals.... but that's a good thing on a farm!

 

[Laura]

Yes, a Jack Russel terrier, one that doesn't mind getting his nose dirty.

 

[mimsmommy]

Hey neighbors!
well, we are looking at a homestead property in Polk county Mo and the yard is just full of bumpy sinkholes. my dh thought moles were the problem, but there weren;t any "volcanoes", just sunken spots all over the front yard. What do y'all think? I would hate to do all the mole repel stuff only for it to be wasted, if it is some other critter. It is a really grassy spot, so the online info i found said it might be voles. Are voles a problem for any of you? if so, how are they recognizable from moles?
thanks! Mimsmommy

 

[GrannieD]

Hey neighbors!
well, we are looking at a homestead property in Polk county Mo and the yard is just full of bumpy sinkholes. my dh thought moles were the problem, but there weren;t any "volcanoes", just sunken spots all over the front yard. What do y'all think? I would hate to do all the mole repel stuff only for it to be wasted, if it is some other critter. It is a really grassy spot, so the online info i found said it might be voles. Are voles a problem for any of you? if so, how are they recognizable from moles?
thanks! Mimsmommy

The vole is the " country mouse" ..it looks like a mouse but lives in the field grassy areas..it has a tail about half the length of the mouse & is a bit heavier bodied...doesn't tunnel like the mole or have the same food needs...If you have grubs & earthworms moles love you...the vole is a seed eater above ground..generally doesn't come to the buildings like mice do...when you see a hawk hovering over a field thats what hes looking for.....GrannieD

 

[countrygrrrl]

I have both voles and moles. I've figured out the moles, but not the voles.

 

[PonderosaQ]

Thanks for all your great ideas, not one of you said use poison or gas which I appreciate. I'll certainly be trying out your ideas, maybe in different areas to compare the results. My dog will go after them but she is a cocker and gets so dirty with only cold water here it's hard to keep her clean. Not only do I want to protect my crops from being pulled down into their holes but the terrain is sloping, hard enough for me to walk on in the first place, with all these tunnels I keep sinking into them. I also have an 83 mom here and it's not safe for her either.I'll send a progress report later in the season.Thanks everyone

PQ

 

[imaquillen]

I put used cat litter down the holes and covered them back up. The moles moved on and didn't come back for a few years.

 

[Bernadette]

1. Get a soil test done. Chances are your soil is acidic and needs lime. Add it in the quantities that your test results indicate.

Moles/voles are eating the white grubs that are in your soil eating the roots of your grass. They thrive in acidic soil. When you sweeten the soil, it will help get rid of these grubs. When you are rid of the grubs, you have removed the food source of the moles/voles. The castor oil should help as well. You can also drop the castor bean seed down the holes, or plant castor beans to grow. Deer don't like them either. Be very careful with the seeds and plants, especially if you have small children. The plants and seeds are extremely poisinous - they are the source of Ricin - a deadly poison.