Bruce

I don't have a "sure fire" way, but I have had some success with a rather crude technique. What I do is find an active trail, open the trail with a hose and turn on the water and let it flow for at least a 1/2 hour. I usually try to find where the water is coming out -- it will come out some place -- and then move to another section. I think this is more like harassment than elimination -- they leave for other areas that are less of a problem.

Had a friend who's dog was a mole hunter -- never had a problem for long and I used him for a few days. Unfortunately, they had to put him down a few years ago and never have been able to borrow another. My Basset is worthless, but he's a great dog.

Hope someone else her has some ideas -- I could use them too!

Mike

Thanks for the idea, Mike -- I may try it.

Many, many years ago I had a pet ferret, which I took out for walks occasionally on a leash/harness. One day I was going around my dad's yard, and my ferret stopped, looked at the ground, and stabbed her sharp little nose into the ground and pulled out a mole! I was dumfounded, because I'd never fed her anything remotely near a live animal, and surprised as all get-out! Maybe I need another ferret...although I think the moles go pretty deep during the day. If I put my hand into the top few inches of dirt, it's surprisingly hot from all the sun we get.

I have a can of Golden Malrin fly bait for yet another critter problem I was having, and this stuff is incredibly potent. I'm wondering if I can take a piece of chicken or something and make a concoction somehow that I can slip into tunnels. Hmmmm.

I did end up buying a spike trap yesterday, and it was tripped this morning. But I think the mole was too deep for the spikes to reach it. It may take some trial-and-error to get it set at the right depth. The place I have it set might be a "den" area, and they've already killed about six square feet of grass in just ten days or so.

I'm too resigned at this point to declare war, but I'm going to keep trying!!!

-Bruce

Bruce

That's close to what the dog did. He would look and sniff, very patiently, and there must have been some movement or sent that caused him to straddle a location and use his nose to bring up the mole! Amazing!! I wish I had a dog like that. Moles are a pain and we in our area of St Louis County, have way too many. I see traps and those poison worms used all over my subdivision. Hard to get rid of. Good luck on your efforts. I wonder of you "fishing" effort might work?

Mike

Bruce,

I've had great (a relative term!) success with the spike traps. I've tried both the bear-trap type and the vertical spikes from Victor. The spikes were very successful when used in a very specific way.

Find an active tunnel. Gently remove a 8" section of the tunnel roof. Hard pack a "speed bump" of soil or even a solid object like a small section of wood into the floor of the tunnel. replace the sod section of the roof and set the trap directly over the "speed bump". The concept is that the speed bump will force the mole into the trigger to release the spikes. Please place a large bucket or box over the trap so pets and kids don't mess with the trap. Here's the best advice I can give - if a trap has been tripped, STOMP on the top of the trap to send the spikes into the ground. I've had two "get off the hook" on me...never again. It's a shame as they are really neat looking animals and they appear to be pretty clean. But, they have thrashed my yard in the past.

Do not mess with the noisy windmills or electronic devices...snake oils. The spike trap is the way to go. I did not have any success with the bear trap type but you may want to give it a whirl.

Also, once you've nailed 2, 10 will come to take their place. Moles abhore a vacuum, apparently. Don't stop setting traps until you're certain they're gone.

Castor Bean plants are sometimes effective for mole control. In Massachusetts they are annuals that i plant as seeds in spring (some in planters, some direct sown in ground) and they are now 12ft tall and I have not had mole damage since I've been planting them.

I always have issues with moles. I use three methods, the bear type trap, garden hose, and a pitch fork. Sometimes the bear trap works, sometimes it doesn't. I find that if I put a piece of pine bark on top of the tunnel and place the plunger on it when I set the trap it works better. Make sure you mash the tunnel down first before doing this. The other two methods are just opportune methods. I always mash down the tunnels and then I check them as often as possible. If the garden hose is handy I will run water in a new tunnel and the mole will either pop out or stick its nose out of the tunnel. If it pops out then I step on it. If it sticks its nose up I have a stick that I use to dig under it and pop him out. The pitch fork is handy when I actually see a tunnel popping up and then I stab in the ground with it. It's a never ending battle. Most people think they only are active at night. I find this not to be true. They are active all the time. Good hunting.

If you wanted to invest in a new dog to keep your basset company, there are several verim-hunting dogs that would probably love to take up mole duty on your property. Terriers come to mind, but I'm sure there are others. Maybe a wiener dog.

John

My wife would not be happy, as she thinks one dog is enough. However, those are good recommendations!

Mike