Moles in the Yard and Garden

Wildlife in the garden can be a mixed blessing.  Many gardeners enjoy watching the chipmunks or rabbits in the yard.   They are fun to watch and the damage that they do can be controlled and is usually minor.   Fences and chemical repellents usually take care of these nicely. 

 

Then there are those that are especially notorious for damaging and destroying the yard and garden.    Moles dig underground burrows that can damage plant roots and disfigure lawns.  Although it is not easy, it is possible to rid your yard and garden of these pests by depriving them food and water and shelter.  Traps can also be effective.  

Moles are torpedo shaped creatures weighing about 4 ounces.  Moles have strong fore paws that display outward for better digging.  They can tunnel 200 feet a day.  A gardener rarely sees moles because they generally do not emerge from their network of tunnels but to gather materials for nesting.

Moles feed on cutworms and grubs in large numbers and do not feed on plants.   They have an acute sense of hearing as well.    Here are ways to get them out of your garden and yard:

1.  Treat your yard with chemicals to kill the food source.
2.  Push the shaft of a plastic pinwheel down into a tunnel until you feel it reach the tunnel floor.  The vibrations produced when the windmill turns will prompt the moles to abandon the tunnel.
3.  Use a trap.

You can minimize the impact of the tunneling by lightly stepping down on the raised burrows and watering well so the plant or grass roots will not dry out.