Well, the moles may be after the grubs, which is what the experts have told us for years, but more recent research shows they also eat earthworms. Lots of earthworms. So, if you know for sure you have a high infestation of grubs, you can treat for them, but if you have moles that are primarily eating earthworms, then treating for grubs might not make much of a difference. The normal time to treat
for grubs is in the summer. I'm not sure if treating in the middle of winter would be effective. You'd have to read the label of the grub treatment you choose in order to see if it would be effective if used at the current time. I've only used Milky Spore Powder for grubs, and that was about a decade ago, so I think it was pretty effective.

I think an infestation at the level you're seeing may require professional help, and I think you sort of believe that yourself.

Are you sure you have both moles and gophers, and also, do you think that voles might be in the mix too? For all of these, my cats are the primary mechanism of control. As soon as mole or gopher mounds pop up, the cats go to work and the infestation doesn't get too large or last too long, so I've never had more than a handful of mounds at one time. I cannot imagine having 10 acres heavily infestation. The idea of that is sort of mind-boggling.

I'm going to link some really good info from the Tulsa Master Gardeners website. Maybe something in it will give you some ideas.

With the industrious little hardworking cats, I've never had to even try to use repellent devices, repellent products like the granular ones you sprinkle around, gopher traps or poisons so cannot really comment on them.

I know that on our property, I do everything I can to avoid the use of poisons because we do have a lot of wildlife here and enjoy having them (well, most of them) around. With a heavy infestation as you described, I cannot imagine a good, fast solution that does not involve poisons and I hate saying that.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: TMG: Moles or Gophers?

I put castor beans in the hills. In a few days, there's the distinctive smell of methane.....

Just plain ol' castor beans? And where would one buy them? No danger, assuming the kids/pets don't dig them up and have a snack?

Intrigued and googling...

Diane (who just spotted three fresh mole hills in the front yard today)

Diane,
I'll email you.

Aren't castor beans poison?

I am not sure I understand what you are saying. The flower beds are ok, but you are worried about the rest of the yard. Do you have other crops planted, or does it just bug you to have the little hills?

We use hardware cloth, but many people say it doesn't work. It has worked for us for years. We also plant in containers.

Do you have fields of corn or beans or another crop that the critters are damaging?

Sammy

Thanks for the input Dawn. Yes, we considering getting some more cats as we are down to one fat cat that isn't interested in hunting. We love to feed the birds so hopefully we could get non bird killing cats! LOL We have both the mounds of dirt and the raised tunnels so I believe we have both gophers and moles.

You're welcome.

I trained my cats to not kill birds by spraying the cats with the water hose (or, a Super Soaker type water gun) whenever I saw them stalking birds. Cats get the message pretty fast.

I grow castor bean plants and save the beans but usually don't have to use them for gophers or moles since the cats think taking out the rodents is 'child's play'.

Good luck getting rid of those critters. Once the population is large and highly mobile, you're in for a battle.

Dawn

I have detailed my battle with gophers in a couple of past threads, but I'll summarize again. I have a 10 acre yard and pasture area around my house. After our house was built, I trapped just over 100 the first fall, and then 30 the next year. I still trap about 6 to 8 each year around the edges of the property.

The "gopher getter" box trap made in Henryetta is great and you can find them at feedstores and coops. It takes a while, but it works well.

Make sure you are dealing with gophers. Sometimes I still mistake mole mounds for gopher monds in places where the moles are building there deep runs. Dig around the mound until you find the tunnel and a gopher will plug the hole within 24 hours. The gopher tunnels are about big enough to stick a mousetrap in it, but mole tunnels are smaller.

Good luck.

I've tried different pellets and caster sprays.But only traps seem to work for me and I have learned a lot.First put a string on that trap and tie the other end to some rebar!If you get one slightly they will carry the trap some distance, well I only ever dug one out a good 3 feet away and no gofer conected!This was my "Caddie Shack" movie gofer.I learned with this one to dig deep and widen the hole so the trap does not get inpaired by any soil.You need to dig down to the main path.These mounds are just where the get some dirt out of their way.Also I learned after checking my trap the hole would be covered up(they sence the air draft and go to seal it up,this is how the trap method works them coming back and steping into the trap,they will try to move it out of their wayand "BAM")and no gofer. I learned to put two traps in the hole one going both directions and sometimes on the smart ones who think they have got me I set them back to back and one usally gets them,it seems if one learns a trap is dangous and how to go around one ,they are not good at counting or figuring it is not one large trap,but two.
GOOD LUCK

Take a look at the helpful suggestions for dealing with gophers and moles in these messages on the following Garden Web sites:

1)"How to Get Rid of Gophers"- see message of Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 23:29
2) "Moles and Gophers"- see message of Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011 at 19:56.

I don't use castor beans, but I DO use a liquid castor oil mix that I can pour on and the moles will move on to a more friendly location..
I don't think the spray is nearly enough to deal with the problem, but I've had good success with pouring it instead.

I usually take a gallon water jug or a 2-gallon bucket and dump in a couple of ounces of castor oil (that you can buy at the drugstore) and add a little squirt of dish soap to give it a sticking action. Fill the container with water and pour it around the troubled areas. It won't be of much help in your 10-acre place, but you can drive them out of the garden areas with it. As far as I know, it won't bother gophers, but the moles will leave. They hate the stuff, and there's no danger of any other critters trying to play with or eat a castor bean.
If you have a small flower bed, you can pour a fairly thin stream of the solution all the way around the perimeter. Moles will leave it alone.

I'm also going to try planting gopher bane (euphoria lathyris) for next year. The results can be mixed, but any reduction in their numbers is appreciated.

Pat

Guy that bales out hay says he has a machine that takes care of them. Says you can't use it when it is this dry (sorry). Think it digs a tunnel & fills with poison. Ours are awful here. So bad that until they are all gone we won't even consider to start building a house. Afraid they will mess up the first stages of construction.

Some say there dogs take the tunnel varmints out, but my dogs only dig bigger holes trying to find them.

I'm SO THRILLED!! After spending a sm. fortune on repellent granules that need to be watered often to keep them activated, then spending $19.97 each on 'Solar Powered, Sonic, Mole and Gopher spikes', to no avail, followed advice left by a fellow gardener on here.

'JUICY FRUIT' GUM!! Slightly chewed up wads, leaving plenty in their 2 holes,in the garage,along with the holes in the sides of the garage where they had gained entrance and they seem to have all died of bowel obstructions or disappeared!!! The gum was gobbled up no sooner as I could leave them. GIVE THIS A TRY!!

A cheap, easy to use solution.

THANKS!!!