The above picture is a mole.  Most of us don’t like moles because they can cause mass destruction of a lawn or garden.  I moved into my home last August.  I have been living there almost one year.  When I moved in the moles had established a small kingdom in my lawn.  I hated it.  I felt helpless as to how to fix the issue.  Many of you may feel the same.  So what did I do?????????????????  I did my research.  I learned about the mole.  I studied the mole activity in my lawn to confirm what I had learned.  Then I set out on the war of attrition.  I set out to reduce their numbers.  I began to catch the moles.

In a little less than one year, I have caught 25 moles.  Last night I had my 25th anniversy.  I got my 25th mole.  What satisfaction it was.I have found two major and permanent tunnels used to enter my property.  I now catch the moles before any damage can be done.  Here are some fast facts about moles and what you can do to get rid of them.

• Trapping is the only effective way to manage moles.  They eat insects and worms so they are not interested at all in poisons.  All research that says poisons work is performed by the poison manufacturer and is biased.
• Moles can dig new tunnels at a rate of 18 feet per hour and they can travel through an established tunnel at a rate of 80 feet per hour.  This is true.  I have captured a live mole and put it in a box of soil to monitor.  They are quite fast and they can gobble up a worm in no time.  Very interesting.
• When trapping a mole, you must find the permanent tunnel that they are using.  The mole hill IS NOT THE PERMANENT TUNNEL.  The vertical tunnel in a mole hill LEADS to the permanent tunnel that is usually around 1 foot to one side of the hill.  Use a steel probe to find this tunnel and put your device there.
• Home remedies do not work.  Car exhaust in the tunnels, flooding, smoke, razor blades, glass, gum, etc.  These do not work.  Mole activity can be sporadic and this makes it “appear” that these strategies have worked but in actuality the moles are just moving deeper or to another location.
• Moles are so soft because of their special hair structure.  Their hair is on a folical that can pivot in all directions so that it can easily move forward and backward in a tunnel without at problem.

Here are some great links to do your own research on how to deal with moles in your landscape.

Mole control from Ohio State University

General mole information

Washington State University mole identification and activity

Wildlife management

The best site for mole information: THE MOLE MAN.

Michigan State University how to identify a moles activity

The biology of moles

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