There is an incredible amount of conflicting advice on the internet about how to get rid of moles. There are a lot of home remedies, like special juices or concoctions that you can make to scare away moles. There are guides on how to use mouse traps to catch moles, how to poison your own peanuts, etc. Almost none of these methods really work.
While many of the techniques discussed will work for catching other kinds of garden pests and rodents, moles are different. Moles bury below the ground and can go quite deep, depending on where the worms that they eat are.
Unlike rodents, they aren’t attracted to trash. They can be hard to predict and can often hide out far enough underground that you’d think they’re gone – When they’re really just being dormant.
The reality is, there are really only two ways to catch moles: Traps and poison.
Poisoned Worms
Poisoned worms are one of the most effective ways to kill rodents.
The synthetic worms created by scientists both look like worms and smell like worms to moles. Moles will be attracted to these worms and more or less can’t tell the difference between them and real worms.
The worms are laced with some sort of poison that’s lethal to moles but relatively harmless to humans, usually Bromethalin, though sometimes other poisons are used.
Sprinkle these worms near mole tunnels and where you know the moles tend to come out or bury in from.
Keep up the process for longer than you think is necessary, as there could be more moles hiding underground even after you’ve killed a few of them.
Setting Traps
Don’t use mouse traps for moles. Instead, opt for one of the specialized traps designed especially for catching moles.
The two most effective traps are scissor traps and harpoon traps. Scissor traps are best for moles that are deep under the surface, while harpoon traps are better for moles that are closer to the surface.
You can find these traps at local hardware stores. Note that often these two traps will be surrounded by other traps and tools for catching moles, most of which are ineffective. Just ignore most of the other available tools and focus instead on just the traps and the poisoned worms.
To set the traps, first spend a few hours, perhaps an afternoon or two just observing the moles. Watch where they come out, where they burrow and where they tend to run.
Look for paths that they often run. Some places they come out of are used just once or twice to catch food when it’s there. Other paths they’ll run more frequently. Think of these as their highways – It’s what they use to get from place to place. You want to identify these highways and lay traps on those highways.
Try to lay your traps where the tunnels are straight rather than where they’re curved.
The Last Resort
If you can’t use either of the above techniques to get rid of moles, there’s one last technique you can use that’s more time consuming and gruesome. You can do it by hand.
Go out into your lawn and flatten all the existing mole mounds. Walk your yard inch by looking for mole tunnels and stomp them in hard.
Then, with shovel in hand, wait. Perhaps get out a lawn chair and a book or some music. Now that the lawn is flat, you’ll be able to see when moles are tunneling as the grass or dirt will move.
Whenever you see the dirt or grass moving, pick up your shovel and stick it in where the mole is. You’re essentially killing the mole by hand, using the shovel.
Rinse and repeat this process until your lawn is free of moles. You might have to do this a few times until they’re all gone. You can also try using some poisoned worms near where mole tunnels used to be to get any moles that pop out when you’re not around.
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