Ok, I've suddenly got a mole problem! Any good ways to get rid of the little varmints? Thought about poison but got a lab and a pom-chi who are dumb enough to probably get into it when they're roaming around the property! Lethal/non-lethal don't make no never mind to me! Help!

You should start by mashing the mounds down flat. In no time you will see where he is because he'll push the dirt back up. Now you've narrowed down where he is, so depending on your soil type and where you live, you can do whatever works for you. A shotgun blast down the hole will kill it with concusion, a pitchfork (if you have soft moist ground and the mole is shallow) works well by just jabbing the tines along the hole's path (remember, you know where he is because you smashed the mounds down). exhaust from your mower will kill them if you can get a hose around it. I guess you could stand real still and practice your knife throwing skills at the appropriate time as well. Good Luck.

One of the coolest things Ive ever seen was a dog that went from mound to mound in a big pasture, pushing his ears forward to listen, and then after hearing something pounce down in the dirt and pull out the mole...lacking that dog, scissor traps with a small rock below the trigger are quite effective once you figure out how to use them.

Try teaching them to swim.

Bug killing chemicals on the lawn to get rid of their food and then they just leave.

Don't stomp on the mounds, that just kills grass. Remove the dirt and carry away in a bucket. Same effect, but better for your lawn.

Watch for active holes. Get a lawn chair, beer, and a mattock (wide pick axe). Set chair near active hole so that when you stand up your feet don't move. Sit in chair, drink beer, wait for mole to start again. Usually 5-10 minutes. As soon as dirt starts coming up, stand up, mole may pause, and then when they start again swing with all of your might bringing the blade of the mattock down into the ground about 2-3" on the far side of the hole. Lift up swiftly in the same motion bringing a fair amount of dirt up, and the mole will likely be flying in the air.

When the mole hits the ground, use the tool end of the mattock to go "boppity" on his head, and take him out. The mole will quickly burrow underground if you pause at all. THEY ARE FRICKIN" FAST.

My old Shelton neighbor laughed at me the first time she saw me do this, but after 2 hours and 8 beers I had 6 moles. I was at her house the next weekend, drinking her beer.

I still want to buy a Rodex/Rodenator though. If I ever get bonuses back at work, that will be one of my first purchases.

Dogfish........

Dooood!
Once again, it's a perspective thing. You have a postage stamp lawn......I have a pasture. I could really give a crap about killing the grass, especially if it involves carrying away the mound in a bucket. (Nothing personal, but the difference is hillarious)

OK, not necessarily a small postage stamp......but a yard that resembles a golf course vs. one cut with a full size tractor and 6 foot, 3 point hitch mower.

If you have a sprinkler system be careful with anything that penetrates the ground.

Hand-to-hand combat with the little beasties can be satisfying after they lay waste to your yard.

With the Rodenator you could charge admission as well as hire out for carpet-bombing missions.


American firepower.

I really, really, really do WANT a Rodenator. Hell even if I didn't have a mole problem I'd still want one! Thanks for all the tips. Leaning towards the shotgun blast/concussion idea just cause I've got a grip of 12 gauge shells. That and living in the country no one will complain (my neighbor across the roads caps racoons out of the trees at night).

I have 5 acres.

Are you my neighbor?

Dogfish.....you have 5 Acres of grass and you carry away mole mounds in a bucket?
Really??

C'mon!

I got the bucket......come on over.....

Start here......I have plenty to go around......

Get a pipe fitting that goes into the exhaust/muffler hole on your mower. Take the muffler off, attach fitting with a length of rubber hose long enough to go aways down the hole. Pack dirt nice and tight around hose/hole.
Start mower with full tank of gas, let run til empty .. . . .depending on size of "lawn" area, relocate and repeat. . . .

Oh, and you can still sit in a lawn chair and drink beer with this method as well. . . . .shotgun and mattock optional. . .


And Andy, he said shooting them out of his trees, not his dog house. . . . .

This is fine and dandy but no explosions.
WTF is up with that ?

Guess you could turn the key off and then back on a few times to add to the desired effect!

I have been trapping the little bastiges for many years. Every type of trap I have tried will work - sometimes. But these little gems are deadly. They are inexpensive and work even in really soft soil. The entire trap goes inside the hole, so you don't need to dig a big hole in the yard nor do you need a bucket over the trap.

Sorry, no explosions . . .

http://www.traplineproducts.com/

I use the Black Hole Mole trap, it has 8 hash marks on it currently. Easy and Works great. Dig hole, put in-line with run, cover.
We've got some biga$$ moles in Woodinville...

Poor little bastiges.
They're just doing their job....diggin' holes.

But there's a problem.
We just don't like where they dig their holes.
More specifically, it's where they place their piles of dirt.
It really is a cultural war.

They have been issued orders to aerate.
We don't like how they do it.

Some guys made a video of their anti-mole warfare. They ran a propane hose into a mole hole and let it penetrate all the tunnels. Maybe they knew what they were doing by standing way back when they set it off because the whole backyard blew up. Impressive.

Sounds like the Rodenator.
Carpet bombing for moles.

Andy I envy you ..." I have 5 acres ".

Can't wait for you to consult me on my 8.5 that I mow. Geezus..This year the little buggers are driving me nuts. Southwest side, southeast side and parts in between. Damn....Just Damn....

Traps are the ticket. I got quite good at it. One thing to keep in mind, moles are very territorial, if you kill one, bury it in the tunnel and that system won't be used for a year or so.

Get yourself some short pieces of blackberry vine and leave the thorns on... Shove it in down the hole... When the mole moves past the vine in the hole it will get scratched and those scratches will get infected and the mole will die... We used this on mtn beavers and it worked awesome!!!

[/quote]
Poor little bastiges.
They're just doing their job....diggin' holes.

But there's a problem.
We just don't like where they dig their holes.
More specifically, it's where they place their piles of dirt.
It really is a cultural war.

They have been issued orders to aerate.
We don't like how they do it.




[/quote]



I appreciate your compassion DD and thought it deserved recognition. We work dilligently trying to make perfect little green squares of grass and sometimes nature has the audacity to get in the way.

On a side note; part of beating your enemy is knowing your enemy.

like these morons?


just get the Victor clamp traps, and a couple buckets... you would be suprised how many hills 1 mole can actually produce... next, kill the food source, which is 2 things, 1 of which you dont want to kill of tho, those are Earthworms, and Cranefly larvae... kill the Cranefly, kill the problem... kill the earthworms, and you generate a new problem...

I started with a water hose. Don't work at all. In fact, I think they used the water to fill up little hot tubs and have a Mole Orgy.

Then I switched to scissor traps. Somewhat effective, but too frustrating when they miss and they take too long.

Then I tried the poison smoke bombs. Not just one or two, but a whole pack or two at once.

Haven't had a mole in a couple years. I think my yard must look like Srebrenica a few inches down.

since the traps are fairly cheap, the wisest thing to do is also get the Talprid worms, they are like 20 bucks tho (for 10 i think), place the worm, inside the jaws of the trap.... even if the traps miss, the worms will kill them... Victor traps are 5-7 bucks a peice... so spend 40 bucks, and your problem should be solved for years (they will come back, but you will have the traps and left over worms)....

if your close to me, i can come set them up for you... we used to get paid for each mole we brought in when i was doing irrigation/landscape maint and construction... pretty easy once you figure the little bastards out...