Invasion of the mole!

ked1985

9 years ago

I recently purchased a tree online (3 gallon) and it's due to come in this week. I picked out a spot in the yard, except over the weekend my yard was invaded by a mole! I bought some castor oil repellant stuff, and it seems to be making it go elsewhere (unfortunately elsewhere still in my yard). It's also repelling my dog from wanting to go outside lol :(

Should I wait to plant my 3 gallon tree until the mole is gone (picking up a trap today)? Or should I get some sort of basket to put around the roots so the mole doesn't tear it up?

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Comments (8)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
9 years ago
A mole is not likely to "tear up" the roots. What do you think that it's going to do?
ked1985
Original Author
9 years ago
I guess I'm worried about it pushing up the soil around or under the tree (I have some winterberry seedlings planted in that area that the mole keeps pushing over in its quest for grubs/worms). The tree is quite larger than the seedlings though.

I've never dealt with a mole before, so I'm not sure how disruptive they can be to newly planted things.
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I have been doing battle with moles for the last fifteen years. Their tunneling has undermined almost everything I've ever planted. They especially like new plantings in soft moist earth. I have tried everything you guys mentioned plus a more inexpensive solution that is just as temporary but at least it doesn't cost much to get a few weeks off from trying to collapse the tunnels or my favorite; to catch them in the act of digging with the water hose and flood one of the little buggers to the surface then catch him by the tail and drop him in the neighbors yard (just kidding) I drop them in the pasture adjoining our property. For every one I catch this way, it seems like there is ten more to take it's place and it's only getting worse over the years. Anyway, if you mix a couple tablespoons of Castor oil with a couple tablespoons of concentrated dish soap (Dawn works well) and mix it in a couple gallons of water and use it as a soil soak, it acts as a deterrent for a while. All and all it is a never ending fight against a small tenacious creature who's just trying to make his own way in the world. It doesn't have any idea of the destruction it leaves behind with it's hunt for worms.
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I had a give and take with moles for a couple of years until they absolutely destroyed quite a bit of my landscaping one summer. 1) Get rid of grubs. I've used Milky Spore twice over the past 14 years, then after the mole invasion I tried Grub-X (I think it was called Grub-X). 2) I tried castor oil as well as a few other "tricks". They didn't seem to have any noticeable effect. 3) As much as I hated doing it, I had to resort to a spring-loaded impaling trap. Find an active tunnel, set the trap, and have at it. I caught 4 moles over a week the first year, one the next, and have had no problems since. Mongo
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I worry less about moles dying by poison than I do about my dogs and my neighbors' dogs and cats (and hawks and other wildlife, for that matter) dying by eating poisoned moles. Especially since dying moles can wander into an innocent neighbor's yard. Mine were pretty much under control with a combination of Grub X (eliminating their food source) and hunting pressure from my very focused dog. But their total elimination was the result of another uninvited (but welcome!) guest: Earlier this summer, a Least Weasel carried her babies, one by one, across my front patio while I was enjoying beverages with a neighbor. I stopped seeing all evidence of mole activity when this little beauty moved in. They are pure predator, and will often kill far more than they can eat. You can get a pest control guy to set traps over active mounds, but then you have to remove the impaled moles yourself... One of my neighbors swears he had success with castor oil... (but I still credit the weasel family). The teenage boy next door had a funny, albeit gruesome, victory this spring when he was learning to mow the lawn for the first time and a mole decided to pop his head up right when the boy was mowing over...
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We had a couple of pocket gophers earlier in the year. We are in a new development on the outskirts of Edmonton. I had never seen these before and I'm a native Edmontonian. DH killed the first one that was trapped in our window well and one of our cats decided the second one would make a good meal and just left "evidence" (nasty teeth and a nasty front paw) to prove that she got it. Haven't seen anymore but I think my good, garden cats are still keeping an eye out for them. According to the article in the link above, they do not hibernate and are active through the winter under the snow. I plan on keeping an eye out for them this winter and hopefully, we get no more. BTW, the rat program in Alberta is rather interesting. I investigated it a bit when we discovered the pocket gophers and we have poison stations set up along both borders, in cooperation with the border farmers. Most that we do get are either brought in on a shipment from somewhere else or are occasionally escaped commercial, live food for pet snakes, etc. It is unlawful to own rats for this purpose in Alberta. The program cannot be entirely foolproof for obvious reasons, but I sure like knowing that they are few and far between in Alberta. Shauna Here is a link that might be useful: Alberta Rat control program
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
9 years ago
Not really disruptive at all. In fact, I work hard to convince my clients that they should be happy to have a mole visit them!! Other than the extremely insignificant aesthetic disturbance of some mounds in the lawn, moles are really garden helpers - they aerate the soil and improve drainage, they mix up and distribute soil nutrients and they rid the soil and the garden of a great many harmful insects, including slugs, snails and Japanese beetle and crane fly larvae.
DMForcier
9 years ago
And they are cute in their little squinty-eyed way.
cactus6103
9 years ago
Usually a mole means you have grubs. Get rid of the grubs and the mole will move on. There are a thousand ways to get rid of a mole. Pick the way you like and do it.

Red
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
9 years ago
You would need to get rid of a whole lot more than just grubs to discourage a mole. They will hunt and consume just about any soil dwelling insect or larvae, including worms, slugs and snails, centipedes, ants and even soil dwelling bees and wasps. And if you got rid of all that biology, you would have a very sterile and lifeless soil and an unhealthy garden.

btw, the "thousands" of ways to get rid of moles tend to be mostly old wives tales and gardening myths that have minimal presence in reality. The only sure way of getting rid of a mole is by trapping.
Kimmsr
9 years ago
The people that make a lot of money selling things to control moles keep repeating the mantra that moles eat grubs because most people know, intuitively, that earthworms are good even though they are the moles most favoritist food. Selling a product that would poison earthworms would probably not do well. There is a whole industry built upon the idea that you are a really bad person if you do not do something about the mole you have in your yard.
Do not be concerned since moles eat insects not plants, although they may sometimes uproot a plant.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
the concern.. is a non sequitur ...

just plant the darn tree ...

and deal with the mole separately ...

there ought to be a couple thousand mole topics if you use the GW search ...

i am not of the camp.. that they are touchy feely creatures that benefit my life.. and my twisted ankle proves such ... they can all rot in mole hell ... lol ... but i digress ... lol ...

ken

ps: i would NEVER plant a tree in late july/august.. in my MI z5 ... just because you buy it.. or obtain it.. does not mean that is the best planting time.. it depends where you are.. and the ambient weather.. or whether you are gal .. lol ... its not that it cant be done.. i am talking about your experience level.. and making it easy ... you could discuss that in the tree forum if you wish ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Invasion of the mole!

Comments (8)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

ked1985
Original Author

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Invasion of the mole!

Comments (8)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

ked1985Original Author

Related Discussions

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

DMForcier

cactus6103

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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ked1985
Original Author