Get Rid of Yard Moles

Some homeowners swear by the hair on your head for getting rid of moles. That is, they say you can stuff human hair into those mole holes and the moles will pack up and leave.

If you need lots of hair, just ask at your barber's or hair stylist's shop. They should be glad to let you sweep up all you need into a plastic bag.

Does this really work to get rid of yard moles? Experts are dubious. They say that, at best, human hair might repel the occasional mole, but it doesn't seem to work even in the majority of cases - much less all of them.

The idea here is that moles eat grubs; therefore, if you get rid of grubs in your lawn, the moles will leave your yard or else face starvation.

It's fairly easy to get rid of grubs. You can buy pellets to spread over your lawn or press down into the soil that will eliminate them.

The problem is, grubs are not the main component of a yard mole's diet. Moles will eat them if there's nothing else around, but they much prefer earthworms. And even if you could, you wouldn't want to kill off those highly beneficial earthworms, would you?

All in all, getting rid of grubs is not a particularly efficient way to get rid of yard moles, depsite what some people might tell you.

If you can find a way to get your yard vibrating, you might be able to induce your moles to leave your property.

For instance, I've read that people who have windmills rarely have mole problems. This is because the operation of the windmills sets up a near-constant vibration in the ground, which moles hate. I would imagine that other heavy equipment (such as a generator?), running more-or-less constantly, could have the same happy effect.

Of course, not many people are in a position to need or to have a windmill on their property. In any case, installing one would be an expensive route to go just to get rid of yard moles!

It's an idea to ponder, though.

Some breeds of dog were made to go after burrowing critters such as moles and gophers.

A friend of mine says his Jack Russell terrier loves to stick his nose into those tunnels, grab a mole, and not let go. And if he can't catch them, he makes their lives miserable by chasing and barking at them.

Almost any terrier could probably be trained to help get rid of yard moles. After all, the name of this dog group comes from the French for "earth," because its various members were developed to hunt prey underground.

Some people say wiener dogs are great at this, too!

Even at their best, though, dogs are rather hit-or-miss when it comes to catching moles and other pests. They're certainly fun to train for this job, and then to watch work, but you probably can't count on them to completely solve your problem.

You can buy poisons especially made to kill moles. Your local hardware store expert will be able to advise you as to which ones work best in your area.

Personally, I shy away from using poisons against pests such as moles or gophers. First, I'm not convinced that any of them work as consistently as I would wish. But more importantly, I don't want to contribute to adding more toxins to the environment. And if you have pets or children, you need to inform yourself of the possible risks to them before employing any kind of poison.

Poisons do work to some extent to get rid of yard moles. If you decide to go this route, just be careful!

I have to admit that this one is kind of fun, and can provide some entertainment for you and your picnic guests. Just stick a hose into the nearest mole hole and turn on the water full force. Pretty soon those tunnels will flood and overflow, sending any moles down there scurrying. If you're lucky might see one of the little beasts come popping out of his hole riding atop a geyser!

The biggest problem with this method is that you can ruin your lawn with it. Between collapsing mole tunnels and all that water, your yard stands a good chance of becoming a sea of muck. (On top of that, you might run up a pretty big water bill.)

There are better ways to get rid of yard moles.

This ploy is similar to the human hair trick described above. Just scatter mothballs all around your molehills and shove them down into the tunnels wherever you find them. Supposedly, mothballs will get rid of yard moles in no time flat.

How effective is this? About as effective as the hair method - that is, so-so. Mothballs are relatively inexpensive, so feel free to give it a try. If it doesn't work, then you can move on to something more reliable for getting rid of yard moles (such as traps).

First let me say: I do not recommend this! The riskiness of this method to get rid of yard moles should be evident. I only list it because sooner or later you will hear someone describe it and even advise it.

In brief, you pour gasoline (petrol to our British friends) down one or more of your mole holes and then plug the holes with a rock or a rag or something. The fumes, if not the gasoline itself, will kill the moles in short order.

As noted, this method is dangerous enough - do you really want to have rivers of gasoline just beneath your sod? But if you want to risk, please please do not go to the extreme that a few individuals have of actually setting the gas on fire!

Trapping is the only consistently effective way to get rid of yard moles. Some people who've tried traps and failed to get rid of all of their moles might be surprised to hear that. The thing is, there are a number of differently designed mole traps on the market. Some work much better than others. And even the best ones must be used according to very precise directions in order to be effective. See the link below for more information about this.

All of my lens material on getting rid of moles, in downloadable e-book format.

Get Rid of Moles