Are you tired of a consistent experience of the loss of the aesthetic appeal of your lawn? The beauty of your lawn should never be compromised. Here is the surest way to keep the moles in check. The moles dig underground tunnels that easily dislodge the plants and the grass on your lawn. It makes the root dry up leading to massive destruction. While their negative effects on your lawn cannot be overemphasized, it’s imperative to use environmentally friendly mechanisms to eliminate them. This article will outline numerous natural ways that will perfectly eliminate the moles while maintaining the serenity and safety of the environment. These methods combine an outstanding efficacy and simplicity to offer you valuable moles elimination tips.
How to Recognize and Remove Moles in Your Yard
The earlier you recognize the presence of moles in your yard, the easier it will be to control them.
You should always be on the look out to identify early signs including:
- one to two inches runways on the surface;
- mole holes and drying of the grass around the mole hole.
The development of mole hills indicates that the moles have already infested your yard. It is a clear indication of the existence of tunnels. At this juncture, the moles should be controlled immediately to avoid damage to the plants on the lawn.
Top 6 Natural Methods
The need to get rid of the moles from your yard arises when they start to burrow and raise mole hills. This greatly undermines the growth of grass on the lawn and makes it ugly.
The proximity of the lawns to your house makes it necessary to identify and use methods that are safe for human beings and the surrounding environment. The surest way is to avoid toxic substances and use natural methods that are readily available and equally effective.
Different natural methods that use other methods apart from harmful and corrosive chemicals and reagents include:
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Trapping:
This is the most effective and reliable method of controlling the moles. The traps are designed in such a way that they can fit in the tunnels. They can also be stationed around the mouth area of the mole hole. You should put the traps immediately you notice the tunnels. Study the tunnels to notice signs of recent activity; you should aim at setting the trap in the most active tunnel.The intention is to identify recent activities on the tunnel. This can be signified by the changes in the size of the mole hills or the tunnels. You can detect these changes by making marks on the burrow. You can then observe whether the burrow is raised after some days.
Also, moles dislike light entering into their tunnels. You can make a small hole on the top of the raised tunnel. If the tunnel is active, the hole will not be there the following day. If inactive, the hole will remain. Additionally, you can use your heel to crush a small section of the raised part of the tunnel.
- Use a landscape flag to mark the spot.
- Avoid crushing the whole tunnel since it can translocate and dig a fresh tunnel elsewhere in your lawn.
- After 12-48 hours, check whether the mark is still there.
- If its tunnel is active, the damage will be repaired. Vice versa is true.
- Repellents:
Spray natural mole repellents such as castor oil repellents around your lawn. When they cannot withstand the prevailing conditions, they will disappear into a friendlier environment. - Chewing gum:
There is a general belief that chewing gum has an attractive smell that entices the moles to ingest it. The gum is strategically placed at the entrance of its hole. When ingestion occurs, the mole chokes on the chewing gum and dies. However, there is no proof whether this method is effective. The premise of the doubts on the efficacy is the fact that the moles are insectivores. - Ultrasonic and Vibration Devices:
These are devices that use electric current to produce intermittent vibrations. There also exist devices that use solar energy. The moles don’t like excess noise. The vibrations irritate the moles and they escape from your lawn. - Removal of grubs:
One of the surest ways of chasing away the moles from your lawn is by starving them. This can be achieved by getting rid of the garden pests such as Japanese beetle grubs, which serve as their main food source. Environmentally friendly chemicals should be used to get rid of the grubs.
GrubEx is an ideal product to eliminate the grubs and starve the moles. You should use it annually to prevent Japanese beetle infestation. It is recommended that you apply GrubEx during spring/early summer before the insect’s hatch. The product has enhanced ingredients to ensure total elimination of grubs and consequently a natural death of the moles. - Putting Physical barriers: This method involves the use of physical barriers such as trenches and wire screening meshing.
Trenching involves digging a trench around the lawn. This is practical for small lawns as opposed to big gardens. The trenches prevent the moles from accessing your lawn thus making it safe from the attack.- The wire screen mesh can also be put to prevent the mole’s access to your lawn. The barrier needs to be 30 meters deep and extend 5-6 inches above the ground. This method is laborious and may be impractical in large lawns.
Natural methods of controlling black moles
The black moles are majorly found on the ground surface. It becomes very easy to repel them since they are not hidden in holes. The repellents are placed anywhere or sprayed on the surface of the lawn and the smell will chase the moles away.
Due to their habitat, it is easy for the black moles to be detected by cats. You can also attract other predators to hunt the moles and kill them.
Removing the ground moles
The ground moles are majorly found in tunnels making it relatively difficult to control them. You need to select a method that can penetrate deep into the tunnels. This may include strong smells that will repel it. Additionally, you can use traps strategically positioned at the entrance or inside the tunnel.
There is a striking difference between black moles (also called voles) and the ground moles. The voles are rodents while the ground moles are insectivores.
As such, the black moles feed on the landscape trees, grass roots and flower buds. They are majorly destructive during the winter; they are uncomfortable with a warm environment. They have the potential to completely destroy the landscaping plants of the lawn. To help it achieve this, they have protruding front teeth for chewing the bark and roots of the lawn plants.The ground moles, on the other hand, are a summer problem. They feed on small insects on the lawn as well as earthworms. This explains why they prefer shady and cool areas where there are plenty of worms. They form underground tunnels from where they form evident burrows resulting into mole hills.
These differences make it necessary to use different natural methods to control the two types of moles.
Do You Need Natural Repellents for Moles?
The market offers tremendous options of natural mole repellents.
The following are the recommended options:
- Mole and Gopher Repellant
Price: $21.9.
This is a top ranked mole repellant. A single application of the repellent keeps away the moles for up to 4 months. It has the required tunnel penetration making it easy to reach the moles in whatever depths. - Yard Gard Organic Moles Repellent
Price: $43.95.
This is a natural method of repelling the moles. It is made of natural ingredients; Contains castor oil, limestone, red pepper and binding agent. This makes it environmentally friendly and safe to use for a long time. It is advisable that you water the lawn before application for a long lasting effect.
- Defenders Mole Repellent Scatter Granules
Price: $7.5.
It is a biodegradable repeller granule that are humane and can be used in the presence of children and pets. The pellets aren’t harmful to the plants making it ideal for a plant-covered lawn. Its main ingredients are plant oils. When applied in the field, they taint the mole’s food source leaving them with scarce food. As a result, they migrate to find other conducive environments. - Lawn Mole Castor Oil
Price: $54.25.
This is a simple and easy-to-use natural repellant. It is environmentally friendly. It is effective against both black and ground mole. It has a long repelling effect that can last for months.
Further details can be found here.
Natural Recipes
There are various DIY mole removal methods that can be used at home to eliminate the moles. These methods are easily prepared at home before application.
They include:
- Castor Oil,
- Cayenne pepper
- and liquid detergent.
This causes major irritations to the moles. They can’t withstand its presence and they will quickly migrate to colonize other places. You can easily prepare the mixture by quarter cup castor oil with 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper and 2 tablespoons liquid detergent. Add six tablespoons of water and seal until fresh mound appear. You then spray it in your yard, the mole hills, and the tunnels.
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Mole Plant. This plant should be planted at the edges of your lawn. It has a mole repelling effect. It is also effective against the larval stages of Japanese beetles, which is a primary food source for the moles.
The plant is invasive. Always ensure that you remove the flowers before seed development. 
Neem Oil. This oil works by reducing the food source for the moles. It significantly reduces the population of grubs. This starves the moles and they move to other places in search of food.- Garlic. The moles hate strong smells. You can successfully use garlic to repel them. This is achieved by crushing the garlic and placing them inside the tunnel or at the entrance of the hole. Other smelly substances including rotten food or walnut leaves can also be used.
How to Eliminate Lawn Moles Fast
Are you desperately in need of the quickest method to eliminate lawn moles? The surest way to get rid of the moles is to kill them. This may be controversial but it offers a guarantee that there are no recurrence chances. Visit here to know how to kill moles.
While other methods are effective in chasing away the moles, they do not offer a permanent solution. This is due to the fact that the repellents are only active for a certain duration of time after which they lose their repellant properties. As a result, the moles will re-invade your lawn. It, therefore, becomes expensive to keep repelling away the moles.
Moles are creatures that can be both beneficial and destructive. They help in soil aeration thus boosting the productivity. However, they can destroy your plants and reduce the aesthetic value of your yard. Moles’ removal is the only way out to save your yard!
getting rid of moles is dead easy. killing them only creates vacant territories. buy some old fashioned moth balls , and put one in every hole under a fresh mound.
how often do you do this? 1x/month? quarterly?
Sorry I tried this it doesn’t work the moles just pushed them out
I tried Mothballs, but these smart little critters just pushed them up to the surface and out of the hole. I’m still looking for an effective method of majing those beasts scatter.
I not only have moles, but also have a wonderful duachand, he has my lawn a mess. I have sprayed with different kinds of stuff, the last was Dawn..still the digging goes on.I have tried moth balls, does not seem to work. I find them on top of the trails. I did find a new born, once..really scary..
I also have a dog that is trying to dig up moles in my yard. I feel bad for him because the dog wants to catch them as much as my husband wants to.
Your dog is digging up GRUBS which the moles are eating. Treat the grubs and you will kill two birds with one stone. I had a professional lawn service do mine, not too costly.
And it did the trick, that way no harm to your dog, or other pets. (wait an hour after they treat for dog to go on lawn)
We have an acre of land with no plants to feed gophers but I am sure it’s moles. We live beside woods everywhere. We have two small dogs that go out in the yard several times a day. The tunnels & mounds are EVERYWHERE! I don’t have time to chase them with a shovel & hammer! Help! I need an absolute method to kill or get rid of them & keep them out!!
Did you find any help at getting rid of the moles ?? We just moved into a house and they have destroyed the yard while it set empty !!! Please help if you found a way 🙁 🙁
I believe I have fungus moles in my basement. I seen black spots in the ceiling so I sprayed it with bleach an it put holes in the ceiling. So I would appreciate if you would tell me what to do. Thank you.
Veronica….I think you have what is called mold. Not moles. Good luck
I got rid of my moles ????( I think that is what they are ???) I haven’t seen them yet !!! I got rid of the ones outside with juicy fruit gum… but I am looking for a cure to get rid of them in my basement ?? !!!!!! Anybody got any suggestions ???? Castor oil,, no.. garlic…no… traps… no… warfarin …no….. HELP !!!!!
SIRS,I AM IN BIG TROUBLE.HAVE JUST BOUGHT 150 YEAR OLDHOME IN THE COUNTRY-FINGER LAKES AREA.HAVE RED SQURRELS,FLYING SQUURRELS, CHIPMUNKS.I READ ABOUT A TECHNIQUE TO DRIVE THEM ALL OUT,AND MARK THEIR ENTRANCE POINTS. IT SAID TO SET OFF INSECT BOMBS TO DRIVE THEM OUT EN MASS.THINK THAT WILL KEEP THEM OUT? AND FOR HOW LONG?
if you live in the Finger Lakes, it just comes with the territory…. squirrels, chipmunks are are part of the territory here. You cannot get rid of them
Two weeks ago there were 2 mole hills in our lawn, now we’ve got about 11. They’re spoiling my lawn well in fact there isn’t much grass as all you can see is mole hills. Please help x thank you
I have moles in my hydrangea garden – about 50 plants – the moles are everywhere. Going around the plants. Thanks
I had a real small ball of fir in my living room last night and then I saw another thought it was a baby mouse and one of the girls at work said it was probably a little mole. HELP how can i get rid of them Will a mouse trap and pbutter get rid of this too. HELP
I use chocolate syrup. its aromatic and will leer them right to a trap
there is no chance that the animal was a mole. they are very reluctant to come above ground as with their slow movement and poor eyesight they easily fall prey to anything which fancies them. a mouse or vole is much more likely.
We just caught 2 MOLES in mousetraps inside my house. Any suggestions on getting rid of any others hanging around??????
i take great care of my lawn and every year i get moles but neighbors don’t even take care of their lawn and they never get any moles i don’t over water cause i was told moles like moist soil easier for them to get the worms i’m running out of ideas now i got a nice green lawn with yellow mole trails and big lumps popping out everywhere
I just found a mole eating my cats food in the house it is possible!
Yes it is. I caught one behind my fridge last night in a trap. It is not a mouse or vole as I know the difference. Black,long nose end of nose pink no fur. Didn’t see eyes or ears. I have caught many mice and they have big ears. Plus tail wasn’t long like a mouse so it isn’t impossible that they come into a house
Quit feeding the cat,if it gets hungry enough it will kill the moles.
I have been persevering with napthalene mothballs. they have deserted most areas, and there is now only one left. it has gone to the very edge. must get some more mothballs ! once in place they should last for a long time. they have never returned to the first areas . napthalene vapour is toxic , so if they do not leave , they will die.
MY GRANDMOM DOES NOT LIKE MOLES THEY MAKE OUR YARD LOOK BAD
I believe I have a mole in my basement. I was washing laundry and when I picked up the sheets, it was sort of burrowed in the sheets and when I shook out the sheets it fell out and ran behind the dresser that I have down there. What do I do to get rid of this???? Thanks in advance!!!
moles have to eat about their own weight in insects and earthworms every few days. they would starve to death in a house in a very short time. also they cannot run. they use their spade like hands to almost swim through soil. anything in a house has to be a mouse or vole.
My piece of shit neighbor had them & didn’t kill them but now they invaded my lawn , they’re everywhere. I’m gonna try everything I read here. Let U know how I make out. I’m away for 5 days, hopefully my 2 dogs will get them. They already got 2! They’ve pissed me off SOOO bad I’m starting w/ shovel & hammer method! LMFAO!
Let me be perfectly clear, Moles eat roots and in my yard they are, Nandia (all), Larope, I have tunnels right to them and have pulled them up and the roots are nubs, did not have a problem until they moved in, some of my Nandia were three feet tall and very healthy the others a little smaller, the youngest plants were two years up to the more mature at six years old and were all in excellent health, until. Just saying Mole eat roots.
sorry to say that moles are insectivores and cannot digest vegetable material. however , they will bite through any roots in their way.all our moles have moved away or died. moth balls are not expensive !
Moles can come in your house. Im sure not on purpose but they will come in, seen it first hand. I just caught him and let him out.
I have caught 3 moles in my basement with traps, but I want them gone for good. And yes in sure they are moles, any thoughts?
Lived in my home 35 yrs never had moles in my lawn till now tried everything im now puttin broken glass in 2 the new hills ,getting me really down
Hi where can I buy mothballs guys need to get rid of these moles asap I’ve had enuf of this its starting to get daily
Do moth balls kill moles?
Ever smelt moth balls?
I have used everything including traps but our moles were to clever and would set the things off with out being killed. Everyday for 3 months a watering can of water in every new hole and eventually they had enough of it and left. 2 years later they came back and repeated the water game and sure enough they left.
One of the most original means I’ve tried is to place a hose from a propane gas bottle into a tunnel under a new mole hill. The gas is heavier than air and runs down to the lowest places in the tunnel. This really works. I just let the gas run out. It can’t be smelled above ground. It is an expensive way to do it, but desperation has no budget.
As i have said before , we have acres of lawn , and moles keep invading. napthalene moth balls placed in the runs deters them , and once a good number have been placed in an area they will never come back there. you find a run , which has several heaps recently placed , and find the latest . open the hole , put a moth ball in and carefully seal up the hole with the soil. do another in the middle. napthalene is toxic , so if they do not leave , they will die. that is why i have to get them from china , as the EU bans them !
We got a stray cat and she killed every one of them. No more more moles. We had three house cats and they wouldn’t touch them. We took the stray in, but she got too bossy with our other cats, so we gave her to a guy with more acreage and she is the star of the place, keeping it spic and span! They love her to death. The moles in our yard never came back, she must have cleaned up all the neighbors along with it.
A cat will definitely solve your mole, squirrel, chipmunk problem. When we had a cat, we did not have moles. My approach to getting rid of moles is three fold. First, I buy the “sound repellent” units from Lowes. They beep every few seconds and drive the moles away. I put one near every place I have mole activity. The second thing I do is use insecticide on the entire yard. I live in Florida, so it has to be done anyway due to the amount of pests. This gets rid of the mole’s food source. Finally, I spray the mole infested areas with mole repellent. Time consuming and expensive but it eventually runs them off to somewhere else. One more trick that is infallible. If you see where the mole is digging, run over it a couple of times with your pickup truck. It works!
My tried and true methods to rid moles. I use a half of a new Bounce sheet in the hole, then put the mothballs (3-5) in. pour bleach in hole, then top it with ammonia. I put a rock in hole. Hope this helps.
I’ve been encountering moles in my property. Ran over some tunnels with my mower and must’ve woken him up. Immediately saw him repairing tunnels. He was a big one (5 1/2″ long). Recently caugh two more smaller ones with traps. Take a 5 gallon bucket and put it upside down over the hole to mark the area. Remove and place 5traps around hole. Replace bucket carefully over the traps and hole. Check back in 24-48 hours. Like I said, I’ve gotten 2 this way. Now I need to walk the property more and compact the tunnels and repair/reseed for next year. I do find this coincidental that my neighbor hasn’t been keeping up with his property – mowing once every two weeks. Which means his grass is longer and keeps the ground moister. I treat my yard with the 4step fertilizer/grub control so I shouldn’t have grubs- but maybe plenty of healthy earthworms. Ugh I hate moles
These moles are really pissing me off!!! I have had enough. None of these “ideas” above have worked and I am calling BS from everyone who has said any of it really works. If I sell my home and move to an apartment I will not have to worry about the little bastards anymore!! It will not be my problem anymore! Did I happen to mention….. I HATE MOLES!!!!!!!!
Do mole atack or bite i have one in my house
Mole have been living in my house for over 6 weeks,he lives upstairs,comes downstairs while we are sleeping.He digs holes in plants and eats plants n mud,
we are sick of him ,tried everything,Our last straw is
glue traps,he is too smart,
now we put live worms on glue traps,hoping he gets caught tonight. Any other suggestions please reply at this email. Thanks.
Moles do come in the house. I just caught 2 with mouse traps. took into a place to have them verified to be moles. nasty critters are all over my yard too. can’t I just bomb all the holes?
Try fixing a peace of flexible steel pipe to the exuast pipe of your mower or small garden tractor,find a mole hole put pipe in it fill up round the pipe with mould start motor leave running fo 15 minutes should do the trick
Oh my so the moles were in your living room? I found a dead one last night on my couch and it did look like a small bowl but it was dead I picked it up with newspaper put it into a black plastic bag and put it outside this morning with my nursemaid came over I had her look because she’s a real country girl LOL and she said nope that’s a mole but I’m wondering how the heck you got in my house unless my dog dug the hole outside when I was walking here and she killed it embroiled in here, I read that it was already dead and she carried it in but I’m wondering how your mole or Miles came into your living room also? Do you have a pet that would’ve brought them in if not most ideally do not want to be inside they want to be outside under the ground
I use my 12 gage shotgun, when isee them moving.
Usually I don’t mind moles in our garden but lately he/she is eating through the roots of my chard plants leaving wilted tops above ground. Thinking about using moth balls but I don’t want anything toxic in our organic garden. Wondering if cayenne pepper solution might work. Any ideas of a non toxic way to move them out?
i have successfully used mothballs combined with garlic cloves and sprayed with castor oil. Spray castor oil around the house area only first. repeat and add another 12/15′ the next day. repeat until you get them away from your house. mothballs in their holes worked for me. i added garlic cloves too. but you have to keep up with it and not let them take over again.