Question
Jim - I have a increasing mole problem in my backyard.  I live in FL and my property backs up to a lake . . and each year I seem to have a bigger issue with moles.  Is there a easy effective way to get rid of these little boogers?

Answer
Hi Shane,

About burrowing Rodents:

These seem to be a common problem and one which seems to exist in proportion to a homeowner's distance from an urban center.

A mating pair of moles can produce 1-4 offspring with multiple broods per year, so their numbers can rapidly get out of control. They can damage lawns and garden/orchard crops and be hosts for fleas, ticks and other problem parasites.

 Both moles, voles, gophers, ground-squirrels and other rodents feed on insects, and insect larvae or "grubs", as well as certain roots. They will form elaborate under-ground tunnel networks and make their rounds looking for food.

Most root-zone insect larva are produced from mid-to-late summer beetles such as the common 'June-Bug' or 'Japanese Beetle'. So, work to eliminate the adult beetles to decrease larvae populations; this is one main control measure for problem rodents.

In theory,...If you can eliminate some of rodent's  food resources, they will often move on to more profitable hunting grounds. Again, the grubs exist mainly in mid-late summer, so spray for these at that time or whenever you detect their presence. In Hort-Zones 7+, look for the grubs in the winter months and wherever the top-soil is the warmest with full-sun exposure (such has near reflective brick walls, etc.) Dig up 6-8 inch deep random  samplings of your lawn to see if grubs are present in the root zone.

Lawn and garden centers will sell several 'grubicide' chemicals you can either spray or spread on the lawn to keep the rodent's food supply at a minimum. Common examples of grubicide chemicals are 'Sevin' (carbamyl or methyl-carbamate) and esfinvalerate which is supposed to be as effective as the now banned Diazinon, which was the old standard grub poison.   


Remedies for Burrowing Rodents:
Local Lawn and garden stores or Farm Supply stores usually have commercial contraptions and chemicals to control problem rodents. There are also various home-made formulas and strategies to try. Unlike mice, the burrowing rodents will have to be attacked in their natural domain,....the root-zone of the soil.


Organic Remedies:

 Attracting birds and toads to your lawn area can do much to decrease the population of the larva producing insects mentioned above. Electric 'Bug-Zappers' will also kill many of the larvae producing bugs in the area.

Organic gardeners claim that planting certain "bitter-rooted" or poisonous plants is also a good eradicator of gophers and moles. Castor Bean, Tagetes (Marigold) and Atropa ('Angel's Trumpet') are examples. Web-search the organic gardening web-sites and forums for more information concerning these less toxic means to control all sorts of lawn and garden pests.


Traps and Repellant Devices:

 There are commercially available traps for moles, voles and gophers__(search this website: "HAVAHART TRAPS."....www.havahart.com).  

 There are also devices you can buy which will generate a sonic vibration in spurts, and this is supposed to frighten the rodents away.  I do not know how well these work.



Tunnel-Network strategies:

Sometimes you can flood their burrows and the animal will come to the surface to be caught or killed on the spot.  Flooding will sometimes kill the pups in the nest as the adults escape.

Ways and means to direct auto-exhaust fumes into the tunnels will kill the animals humanely due to the effects of carbon-monoxide.


Chemical warfare:

Most garden centers will have one or more 'rodenticids'  to either repel or poison burrowing rodents.   Some products are based on organic methods to simply make the animal's root-zone life repellant.  These formulas may contain Naphthalene (aka 'moth-balls') and Castor-Oil and other chemicals the animals find noxious. Other formulas may contain salts of arsenic. These can work very good, but be warned that they do contain a deadly poison which you must keep away from pets and children.  Arsenated formulas should not be used if you are near wells or other water sources.  Any granular or pelleted formula should be handled while wearing latex gloves; the animals can detect the human scent.


If you can find a burrow opening or access one of the animal's tunnels, you can use a variety of home-made or commercial formulas to pour-down the tunnel-works to either kill or repel the rodents. Of all of these concoctions, nothing probably works as good as Muriatic acid (see below).  Some of these 'organic' formulas will contain castor-oil, naphthalene, hot chili-pepper juice, etc. (again search the organic gardening web-sites for more about these home-made formulas).

Some reports claim forming sweet bubble-gum into shapes that resemble earthworms will kill moles.  Place the gummy-worms into the burrow openings.  The moles will eat the fake worms, but cannot digest the gum, so this will kill them.  The problem with so many of these home-made and organic remedies is that proof of efficacy of action is hard to find or document.



At the hardware store you can buy "Muriatic acid" (or 'hydrochloric acid'). This is  used for swimming pools and to clean masonry).  Pour a cup full of this into a tunnel opening and cap it closed, the fumes of this acid will sometimes do the trick.  This is a very volatile/fuming chemical and should be used with caution.

 In summary, your best bet is to eliminate the nuisance rodent's  food source and try to reduce their numbers; but if you do live anywhere near a wild area, they'll be back...almost as bad as weeds sometimes.
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I Hope this has answered your question(s)!

Visit my Lawn & Gardens webpage for more Lawn and Garden Tips, Facts and Links:
http://hometown.aol.com/eilatlog/lawnol.html

Your Questions and Comments are welcome at ALLEXPERTS.com

___ Jim Gibbs,
    Microbiologist/Botanist

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