Getting Rid of Moles in Your Yard

Moles can make your yard look really messy in a very short period of time. They are notoriously difficult to eliminate from your yard and often require professional assistance. This is a guide about getting rid of moles in your yard.

Solutions: Getting Rid of Moles in Your Yard

Read and rate the best solutions below by giving them a "thumbs up".

Castor Beans for Mole Control

I have been bothered by moles routing through my garden eating my earthworms. I read that the castor bean was poisonous. I grow castor plants, so I put a dozen seeds in a run. The seeds were gone in a few days, and I haven't seen any signs of moles since.

By Jerry W. from Wells, VT

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Getting Rid of Moles in Your Yard

From what I have read, moles are difficult to get rid of. There are lots of things that people try with mixed results, such as putting garlic down the holes. The best solution I found was using castor oil.

The theory is that worms, which are part of a moles diet, are coated in castor oil which makes them less tasty and the moles will move on to another area. There are castor oil repellants commercially available, but I was able to find a recipe on WA state fish and wildlife page.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unrefined castor oil
2 Tbsp dish soap

Directions:

Combine and blend in a blender.

After the first mix, add 6 Tbsp water and blend again.
Take this concentrated mixture and add 2 Tbsp to 1 gallon of water, place in a sprayer and spray liberally in areas where the moles are active and areas that you want to be protected.

This works best in areas where the ground will be watered from time to time. The treatment should last 30-60 days and may need to be reapplied before the moles relocate.

Source: http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/moles.html

By StellaBella from Manchester, WA

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Castor Oil Mole Repellant

Moles don't like Castor oil. Try this solution and be sure to let us know whether it was successful.

Ingredients

1/2 cup castor oil
2 gallons water

Directions

Pour this solution around the perimeter of you garden or lawn and keep some on hand to pour on mole mounds when they appear. Continue doing this for a month.

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Keeping Moles Out of Raised Beds

Put a galvanized hardware cloth in the bottom before adding dirt. This will keep voles/moles from eating your plants. Without it the critters think it's their buffet! Also, putting plants in wire cages helps too! We have so many of these critters.

By Syd

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Mole Deterrent

I heard that instead of trying to get rid of moles, which can be difficult, it is better to get rid of their food source. Here in Florida, they love grubs, so by eliminating the grubs the moles will move to another area.

I just treated my lawn so time will tell, I guess. My dog makes it worse by digging along their trail in an effort to catch them. I hope this treatment is effective.

By dorstesha

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Questions

Here are questions related to Getting Rid of Moles in Your Yard.

Ground Moles

I live in Illinois and this Summer we hardly had any rain and it's been extemely hot. I have lived in my house for 14 years and this is the very first time that I have ground hogs or ground moles making tunnels in my front yard. They have eaten up my entire Hosta plant. What is the best way to get rid of this pest so it doesn't come back next year?

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Catch and Release the Mole

By J.Kevin L. (Guest Post)06/23/2008

Theres no reason to kill the little fellow, just do what I did and find his hole stick a water hose in it and then fill it up. Surprisingly you will see him come out of the ground from another hole that you weren't aware of and then you can put him in a bucket and take him to the park and release him safely. If your lucky when ever you go for a walk at the park you may see him building a new home and then feel good that he is still alive and happy. Thanks for reading, from Kevin L. in Arlington, Texas.

Remove the Food Source

By Carol (Guest Post)08/30/2005

The main reason for moles is that they are after the grubs(an insect) in your yards. So the easiest way to get rid of them is to go to the garden center and get something to kill grubs and the moles will leave too. It's no too hard really, you could pay a professional to rid your yard of grubs but it is not hard to do your self.

Moles Tearing Up My Yard

We are having some serious issues with ground moles and the many tunnels they keep digging in our yard. Our next door neighbor keeps throwing bread out in her yard. Can someone tell me if moles also feast on bread? She will not stop doing this. We also have a problem with ground squirrels and the many holes they too dig. This is getting out of control. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

By Sandy from IL

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Kill the Grubs

By Lilac12/02/2009

I don't think moles eat bread. They eat insects and are especially fond of grubs. If you can find a biodegradable organic insecticide (I think there are such things) spray the yard. With no food, the moles will leave. If insects are eating the bread then the moles might just move next door.

Getting Rid of Moles in the Yard

Would anyone know how to help get rid of moles in my yard? They're turning it into a sponge. I've tried all the commercial products and the spinner things to no avail.

By Crystal F.

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Get Rid of Mole's Food Supply

By candleglows04/02/2012

Getting rid of moles is a problem for a lot of people. I learned if you have moles you have grubs which is a white worm that lives under your grass and you would never know they were there until you see the moles, and they are what the moles feed on.

I found by running a rolling spike across your lawn which puts holes in your lawn, which is called an aerator (you can probably rent one or borrow one from someone who has a farm). This helps with the getting rid of the grubs which you will then have to buy some Grub Ex at your local home improvement store. Spread it over the lawn using a spreader with the holes in the ground.

It makes it easier for the grub ex to get into the ground to do what it was made to do, get rid of the grubs. The primary goal here is to get rid of the grubs first and once you get rid of them you get rid of the moles.

Ridding My Yard of Moles

How do I get rid of moles in my yard?

Hardiness Zone: 8b

By Debbie from Fremont, CA

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Try Cotton Balls and Castor Oil

By sillepeanut06/02/2010

My ex-husband swears by using cotton balls soaked in caster oil. After soaking cotton balls you just drop them in the mole holes or open a tunnel and drop in the moies don't like the oil on there skin and I think the smell also.

Getting Rid of Moles

I live in Cape Town, South Africa. Does anyone know how I can keep moles out of my garden?

By June from Cape Town South Africa

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Block Garden with Wire Screen

By PIKKA07/25/2010

Good grief, from Portland, Oregon, to Capetown, those pesky diggers are everywhere. My sis in law tried hair and steel wool down the holes and only minimal success. I would think anything physical that would impede comfortable digging for them, since their skin is sensitive. Maybe she didn't use enough hair.

They do aerate the soil and bring up minerals for plants, but that's no satisfaction when your flowers are imploding.One might put down wire screening of some kind in flower beds about 12 inches down and form it into a box with sides and replant dirt and plants.

Or if one had access to a thorny bush lay branches about 16 inches below plants. It would take some time to decompose, probably good for 2-3 years. Perhaps rose bush clippings.

Anybody know what discourages moles in nature?

Getting Rid of Moles With Moth Balls

Do mothballs really get rid of moles?

By Beverly from Kansas

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Try Grub Killer

By mcslacker03/24/2009

You need to get a lawn fertilizer type product that contains grub giller. Grubs are these gross white worm looking bugs that live in the roots of the grass & attract the moles as the moles eat the grubs. Follow the package directions. It is usually best to do the application before a good rain and this is also a good time of year to do this. Be sure to by enough product to get the job done right the first time! If you don't get the problem under control it can become quite costly. Friends of mine actually had to remove their whole lawn and replant it. Good luck!

Getting Rid of Mole, Voles, or Gophers

Is there an easy way to rid my yard of voles, moles, and gophers? They are destroying my lawn and shrubs.

Hardiness Zone: 5b

By Dee from Long Island, NY

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Try Castor Oil and Cayenne Pepper

By floydtheduck11/16/2010

Castor Oil and Cayenne pepper work pretty well. The Castor Oil has to be an industrial grade (you can see if you have Murphy's Castor Oil around the house). They don't like the smell of the pepper or oil.
The trouble with moles and voles is they dig, and most products out on the market only hit the surface. If you're only concerned about your garden or other small area, try stirring up the soil a little and put some cayenne pepper and castor oil in there. Ammonia is also a strong smell that will deter them.

I've also heard of using human hair. Never tried it, but some friends told me if you stir it in the soil that will repel them as well. I've even heard someone say they used to put a donut in the holes, and it actually worked! :)

Getting Rid of Moles

How do I get rid of moles? They are terrible this year in our area.

By Ginny

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Encourage Owls to Nest

By Cajun03/28/2012

Treating for grubs is very expensive and is only about 50% effective. If possible, encourage owls to your area. Talk to your State's Game & Fish Commission; if you have trees, install an Owl House.

The one nice thing is, once they nest and have chicks, they return every pre-Spring and do their hunting in the evenings. Nice to hear them chatter away because I know they're looking for those nasty little critters to show themselves.:)

Encourage Owls to Nest

Getting Rid of Moles

We have moles and maybe voles in the yard, leaving little mounds of dirt everywhere. When it was just in the lawn it was bad enough, but now something is in the veggie garden. How do we get rid of them?

By Zippy

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Put Hardware Cloth Under Garden Beds

By MooseMom07/05/2011

You may need to put hardware cloth under the planter beds to keep the burrowing critters out. Easier to do when you have raised beds, of course, but you could do it by digging out the regular bed soil, putting down the hardware cloth in a "U" shape, and re-filling the bed. Good luck!

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Moles Tearing Up My Yard

I have moles that are tearing up my yard and I don't know how to get rid of them. Can anyone help me with this problem? I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks.

Joanie from LA

Use a Pitchfork

There are lots of chemicals, traps, and weird devices that people will tell you will work, but I hate to tell you, none of them will do any good in the long run. I found one way that works, but it is a little gruesome. First step down the fresh mole tunnels, then come back in about 30 minutes and stand there quietly and watch for movement.

If you do this in the morning hours it won't take long, 5 or 10 minutes tops. Now comes the part you might not like. OK, take the pitchfork in your right hand and jab it in the ground two or three times in rapid strokes. The reason you do that is the tines are far enough apart that it will sometimes miss them on the first jab. I know it sounds awful, but it is far better than the traps or poisons; because your there to dispatch them in a hurry. If you can't do it, pay a young kid $5 a mole. I thought I had 20 or 30 moles in my two and a half acres, but after getting four this way, they were all gone. Good luck and happy hunting.

By Thomas

Try Juicy fruit Gum

Put on thick gloves and into each hole stick a piece of Juicy Fruit gum. The moles eat it and then choke on it. It sounds silly, but it is supposed to work.

By Laurie

Relocate the Mole

I dug where the newest holes were and stuck the garden hose down the hole. It took about five minutes of running the water when I saw it moving under the grass. I got a shovel and put it in a bucket and relocated it.

By Tammy

Sonic Repeller Might Work

These suggestions, particularly the chewing gum are inhumane. I'm on a quest to find a humane way to do it. So far, I've found a sonic repeller and will look for other methods.

By Lucy

Cats Hunt Moles

The outdoor cats I feed (they have adopted us) bring us dead baby moles, so perhaps an outdoor pet cat might solve your problem?

By Ann Marie

Getting Rid of Moles

How can I get rid of ground moles naturally? Thank you, Darlene from North Street, MI

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

(b)Get rid of ground moles safely with castor-oil(/b) organic mole repellents. Moles cannot digest oil-coated worms, and will seek nutrients elsewhere. You can get Scoot Mole ORGANIC repellent from Bird-X. This is their website: (b)http://www.bird-x.com/products/mole.html(/b) (07/10/2006)

By Sanchez

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

A while back I read about someone putting dirty diapers in the holes. I know I would stay out!(07/11/2006)

By Sarah

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

Get a cat! (07/11/2006)

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

JerryBaker.com carries big pencil shaped, battery operated mole things which emit pulsing vibrations into the ground the moles cannot handle. Last year I put one in each of my gardening areas and that ended the problem of moles for me. I left them in over the winter and the batteries are still going strong. (07/11/2006)

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

I have trapped moles and other varmints in a live trap.You can buy one at a local hardware store. I load it with sunflower seeds. When the trap is sprung I take it a few miles away and release the varmint. Let him bug someone else. I also have read about traps that kill moles but you have to find the run and plant the trap. Once killed you have to dispose of the animal. (07/12/2006)

By Dean

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

While growing up we had moles. My mother bought mole bean plants. Big, tall green plants with a thick stalk. After that we never had mole problems. (07/12/2006)

By ness1up2

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

Would those bean plants happen to have huge six-sided leaves? I hope so! I've been told the plant we have growing is what old-timers call "Castor Bean" plants. (07/12/2006)

By bekkicat

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

Poision isn't the answer. Instead, use P7096 Mole chaser www.tesco-shoping.com works every time. Just insert it in the ground and let it do it's thing. The moles will leave and won't return, just change the batteries every 4 months - that's it. (03/08/2007)

By Paul

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

BE CAREFUL! Poisoning moles in some states is illegal. Check your state laws! (11/14/2007)

By david

RE: Getting Rid of Moles

I've heard that ground cayenne pepper works well, if spread anywhere that moles have been. (11/22/2007)

By maria

Ridding My Yard of Moles

How do I rid my yard of moles?

Hardiness Zone: 6a

Reg from Wheatfield

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

They have those things you stick in the ground that rotate & make noise under the ground. I don't remember what they're called. Your local nursery would probably know. Don't listen to anyone who wants you to injure or kill them. There are humane ways to get rid of them besides the spinning thing. Try the page in this catalog,

http://www.gardeners.com/Garden-Pest-Control/default/StandardCatalog.GardenPestControl.cat

They have a lot of organic, safe products for maintaining the yard & animal control. (03/01/2007)

By Me

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

I had crane flies one year and lawn die off the next from the grubs that they lay in the lawn. The following year I had moles. I let them be and they ate all the grubs. All is well now. Usually the moles are attracted by something like grubs in your lawn.

Susan from ThriftyFun (03/01/2007)

By ThriftyFun

Ridding My Yard of Moles

Does anyone know how to eliminate ground moles and woodchucks from taking up residence in an and around our home. They can make horrendous holes. They have already made their presence know here in Charlotte, MI

Thanks.
Grammamare from Charlotte, MI

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

Moles eat the grubs and other insect under the ground. In May I spread grub killer on the lawn. I have used smoke bombs in the past, but the moles have to be in the burrows to be effective.This year I have put down a product called Moletox. I haven't used it before so it will take awhile to evaluate it. Oh, forget mothballs. The critters just move them out of the way. (05/02/2008)

By foxrun41

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

Use lime, its cheap and works well. (05/02/2008)

By PJ

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

For getting rid of Chipmunks: try sprinkling dried blood meal on the soil surface; it's odor is repellent to them. The blood meal also supplies the soil with nitrogen.

For Moles: Moles may hate the smell of soiled cat litter even more that you do. Pour some down their tunnels. Or mix 1/2 cup (120ml) of Castor oil in 2 gallons (8 liters) of water and drench the mole hills with it.

An organic vole repellent: If your vegetable garden or lawn shows signs of vole infestation try a fertilizer that includes Castor oil meal. This organic, but poisonous product enriches the soil and discourages rodents of all sorts. Distribute several handfuls per square yard (square meter) and water it in; the effects of the repellent will last for several months. (05/05/2008)

By Patricia

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

We have tried everything natural (so to speak) to get rid of our mole problem. We have woods on either side of us which made us wonder why our yard was the yummy place to be. Grubs. If you have moles you have grubs. You must get rid of the grubs and the moles will go away. I tried, Juicy Fruit gum, traps, mothballs, and Castor oil to no avail. The rescue cat did proudly bring us 2 presents (yuk). And the dog could hear them, but the holes he could dig were second only to visions of Bill Murray in Caddyshack.

We thought about using used cat litter, but worried it would bring scads of feral cats to mark territory. So we killed the grubs, packed down the mounds when we saw them and are finally after 2 years mole free. I'm sorry I don't have an organic recipe for killing grubs, but we're going to try broadcasting sugar on the grass to kill weeds and hopefully it will kill some grubs as well. Good luck. (05/05/2008)

By Sunshineskid

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

We had moles a few years back and I bought these cylinder things that run on batteries and stuck them in the mole holes. Voila. No more moles, the things vibrate and make a humming noise. A year later they were still running, cost about $10 ea. (05/07/2008)

By Trinidad

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

Plant Crown Imperials. They are a bulb that smells bad and repels moles, voles, mice, and other rodents. They are hardy in zones 4-8, and are beautiful. Google them for more information. (05/08/2008)

By Jennifer

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

We use Ex-Lax. Chocolate to be exact. Break off a tiny square and put it in the hole. They eat it and it makes them very sick and they leave, never to return. Moles are an animal that has a memory for traumatic events. Ex-Lax to them is trauma. They won't come back. Good luck. (06/05/2008)

By Pheobie

RE: Ridding My Yard of Moles

Several years ago I used dish soap and mixed "very hot" sauce in it and poured it down the holes. It has been 10 years since we had any and now they are back so am going to try it again in backyard. Good luck everyone. (08/04/2008)

By Joanie

Getting Rid of Moles

I have a garden mole destroying my lawn and garden. Is there any sure fire way to help me get rid of this varmint?

Hardiness Zone: 7a

Pat from Fairfield, CT

Use Mol-Tox

I had moles dig right next to my "mole chaser". My husband and I had a good laugh over that one. I have found after trying many different things (I even tried the Juicy Fruit gum remedy). Only poison really does the trick. I use a product called mol-tox and have had pretty good results.

By Lisa in NY

Try Cat Litter

Put used cat litter on top of each dirt mound. The mole will think its a predator and will move on to another area. An employee at a hardware store told us about this and it worked for us.

By Rose Mary

Use Mole Poison

We tried everything we heard to get rid of moles. We even ran a hose from our car exhaust to a mole run, hoping the gas would either kill one or two of them or bring them out of the ground. The only thing it did was make our whole yard smell like exhaust fumes.

After setting traps, trying the windmill thingies and trying other "natural" things, we finally got rid of them by using a bait called Mole Patrol. We put it in a mole run, cover it up, and usually don't see any sign of the mole again. It took a couple of years of monitoring all the runs, but we finally have them under control. I think we had a total of 2 moles last year, a record low.

By Sharon

Mothballs May Repel Moles

I had moles one summer and the way I got rid of them was putting mothballs all over the places where the holes were; I haven't had any since and it has been two summers.

By boonjaras

Try Getting a Cat

I have 3 cats who are expert hunters. Thanks to them, I can have a pesticide-free garden, and they don't get sick from eating a poisoned rodent. They are indoor/outdoor, but love being outside the most. Every now and then they even share one of their conquests with me and leave me a present on the doormat. It's so nasty, but better than having a ruined garden.

By Barbara

Some Dogs Hunt Moles

My golden retriever mix is a "crack" mole hunter. She lives for sniffing them out and waiting for movement. When she sees the least bit of earth move, she points, waits just a bit, and then dives right in and yanks out the mole. I think last year she got between 15 and 20 of them. I don't mind filling in her holes either, it's better than the many mole runs I walk along to flatten on a weekly basis.

By Mary Moo

Try Drano

I've used Drano successfully. Put a tablespoon of Drano in the hole and add water. Supposedly, it burns their feet and they don't come back. It's worked successfully for me for several years, but Drano is rather expensive. Cat litter sounds like a cheaper remedy, hope it works.

By Candace