Perhaps you've found a solution by now. If not, this is what works for me in VA. Tried everything for many years, including traps, castor oil, ex lax (yes - the laxative), and finally stumbled on an an effective, simple means of ridding my acre of lawn of moles fairly quickly. The plunger traps work fairly well if you find a well used tunnel, depress a small section with your foot by stepping across it, and place the trap there. A better way requires that you spend about a half a day at home: Here's what I did: 1 - Tamped down all mounds and tunnels in my yard. I had three sections in my yard effected. 2 - Went inside to watch a football game. 3 - Came out at halftime to check for new eruptions. 4 - Found two in my yard occupying about a square yard or so. 5 - Since moles can't magically flee through compacted soil, they were now confined to a small area. Took a sharp object and progressively pierced the entire erupted area, compacting as I went. I used a two pronged skewer, what you would use to roast hot dogs over a fire, but any sharp object will do. 6 - Repeated as necessary. Advantage to this method is that you can go about your business and don't have to sit in your yard all day, watching your grass grow. Did this on a Sunday a few weeks ago - not a mole since. Good luck

1. Yes, Terriers will encounter things they shouldn't, That's why they are terriers! :O) Always monitor them if you are afraid of wildlife. 2. Moles vs. Terriers. And they haven't dug them up yet? Well, probably better they don't, but our dogs dispatch them quickly. 3. Moles part two. **WARNING*** Graphic content follows... One thing I used to do is wait until the warm part of the day, say between 10-2 (varies) and hunt the little buggers when they are active. A pitchfork will take care of them below ground quickly and out of sight. Watch for the tunnel... be careful how you walk, they can hear your footsteps. You can see them as they tunnel and... well, you know the rest. Squashing the tunnels does seem to help too. 3a. If you are completely squeamish then I'd ask a really good friend or relative come help. 4. I've never seen any of my black racers eat anything larger than a lizard. 5. I HATE MOLES! LOL

Helen, I am glad your dog survived that health crisis. We have a lot of dogs and cats and that's why we don't use the poison pellets here. Elaine, It is the seeds of the castor bean plant that are incredibly toxic since they contain ricin. The plants themselves, or the oil, are not an issue. In fact, castor oil USP is an ingredient in soap (even some hobby or artistic/crafty soapmakers use castor oil in their soaps) and is used as a substitute for cocoa butter in some chocolate. You'll likely never see castor oil on a label though, as they use a chemical name for the formulation of oil they use in chocolate. I grow several varieties of castor bean plants as ornamental plants and have done so ever since we moved here, though I don't necessarily grow them every year. I've never had a dog or cat even chew on a leaf as far as I know, and none of our animals have mysteriously dropped dead. Sometimes deer eat the leaves of the castor bean plants as well as the leaves of the datura (I feel like they have to be desperately hungry to eat either of these two plants), and I haven't ever found a dead deer lying in the yard either. The level of ricin found in the foliage is very low compared to the level in the seeds. The processed castor oil we purchase in the USA is from oil extracted from the seeds, which resemble beans although they are not true beans. The oil from the seeds is soluble in oil but not in water. Would I let my animals be around the seeds of this plant? No. I start the plants from seed in paper cups with bird netting placed over it so that a dog or cat cannot chew up the cup of soil-less mix and accidentally eat the seed. They've never done such a thing with any plants, but the cats love to nip off young bean plants and eat them (well, humans eat bean sprouts so why not cats, I guess), so I keep the seedlings well-protected so the pets cannot accidentally ingest the seed. Some people who grow castor bean as an ornamental just remove the flower heads and dispose of them in the trash after the plants have bloomed. That ensures pets or children won't get their hands on the seeds. In order to gather seed to use the following year, I sometimes do let the plants set seed late in the season, but I watch the plants carefully and when the capsules are starting to split open, I cut off the flower stalk off the plant and put it someplace out of reach of the pets so the seeds can dry. I haven't saved any seed in several years, so this year I purchased seeds to plant. I also don't plant the castor bean plants near the fenced dog yard, which is where are dogs spend almost all their time when they're outside. The only time they are out of the dog yard, we are with them and we take them out in the back pasture to run and play....and I don't grow castor beans there. In general I garden organically, though I've used Roundup a few times and it certainly is not organic. I don't even use some organic pesticides due to their toxicity. Just because a pesticide is organic in nature instead of being synthetic does not make it safe. However, I use mole and gopher repellent products that contain castor oil with no fear whatsoever. Keep in mind that the castor oil only repels the moles and gophers---it does not kill them. The use of these repellents is considering a humane method of controlling the targeted pests....more humane, for example, than killing them. Dawn

I sure as heck wouldn't invest in sod until I figured out what the problem was! Moles excavate largish tunnels while voles are often seen above ground. Have you had any other plant damage other than the grass? Grass, by the way, can be killed by being exposed to the air in the mole's tunnels. So, just how ' little' are these hills, air holes, and tunnels? You are describing mole crickets to a T, you know. Size matters. Mole crickets are causing plenty of problems at this time of year. Just check out some of the other posts in this very forum.