Gardens can be the prized possession of a lot of people’s homes. For example, some people take pride in having friends and family visit for a barbecue, a party, or some other form of gathering.
Allowing their loved ones to enjoy the garden in all of its glory.
However, there are often different factors that can ruin these gardens and make life harder for the homeowner.
Moles can be one of these factors and they can ruin the quality of any lawn or grass area because of how adventurous they seem to get around your fresh grass.
There are ways to get rid of moles and ensure that they never come back, which we’ll look at in this guide.
However, it’s important to understand these creatures and how they work before you attempt to prevent them from enjoying your garden or yard.
What Are Moles?
Before we begin looking into methods to help you get rid of moles, let’s first learn more about what exactly they are. Moles are small mammals that live underground, for the most part.
That’s right; they spend most of their time living underground where they’re protected from predators and do not have to worry about being cold.
They also don’t have to worry about getting hungry as food is usually abundant underground.
However, if you’ve ever seen pictures of a mole, then you know that they are very interesting animals. Their bodies are covered with fur except for their face and hands, which are soft and almost hairless.
Moles have two large eyes on top of their head, however, their eyesight is very limited because they don’t usually see a lot of sunlight.
Are Moles Sociable Creatures?
Is it rare to see more than one mole in the same area? Well, it seems like it would be since they tend to avoid each other because they’re both scared of humans.
In addition, when it comes to mating season, it is common to find many active males and females fighting over territory.
This means that there will typically be only one male and female together. When the breeding season ends, the couples move away from each other so that they can start their own families.
Although moles aren’t sociable creatures, they are still friendly towards other animals that share their home turf. It’s common to see them digging tunnels through soil that contains rocks and soft dirt alike.
These tunnels provide shelter and allow the mole to hide during times when danger is present, like dogs and other potential threats to their health and their territory.
What Do Moles Eat?
When you think of a mole, you probably envision them only eating earthworms and grubs as their food source. However, this isn’t true; they also eat insects such as beetles, caterpillars, and spiders.
Since they need to consume lots of food to stay healthy, they don’t mind going out into the wild to get it. They use their long snouts to dig up worms, grubs, and even termites.
To keep themselves safe while doing so, they create a series of burrows that run throughout their area. The burrow system helps protect them from predators and provides them with a place to rest and hibernate during colder months, whilst looking for food.
Will Moles Eat My Grass?
Unfortunately, moles are known to destroy gardens, yards, and grass areas by eating all the plants within their territory. They love to eat weeds and anything else that’s green, but they also enjoy eating flowers and vegetables.
If you want to maintain a beautiful lawn, then it may be necessary to install some type of repellent to stop the moles from coming near your grass.
Moles Can Cause Damage To Your Lawn
The damage that moles cause to your yard can be extensive. You’ll notice that once they’re done consuming all the greenery, they leave behind piles of dirt filled with holes and tunnels.
This creates a mess that looks terrible and makes your grass patch seem unkempt. It also then takes time for the grass to grow again.
Of course, moles can also carry diseases and infections. They can cause your grass to become infested with fungus, or they can spread disease to your pets and livestock.
Even worse, your garden might suffer from a loss of nutrients and vitamins, meaning that your crops won’t grow as well as they should, taking a lot longer than usual to flourish.
When Are Moles Most Active?
Mole activity usually comes in the form of digging tunnels. During early spring and late fall, these mole tunnels help to keep the ground warm and cozy.
After that, however, they begin to hibernate until winter sets in. Then, they wake up and continue making nests and building new tunnels in the spring months.
Are Moles Nocturnal?
No, moles are not nocturnal. Instead, they can be seen at any time of day, including night. Unfortunately, their eyesight isn’t very good, so they might not always know what time of day it is.
On top of this, they tend to become active in smaller spells, usually lasting around 4 hours. This is time that they spend in active tunnels and making molehills when they come to the surface.
An active mole will do anything from burrowing to looking for food.
Humane Ways To Stop Moles
Let’s take a quick look at how you can humanely stop moles from entering your yard. These options all have different benefits, so be sure to consider them carefully and select the right one for you.
Installing An Electric Fence
Of course, there are ways to prevent moles from entering your garden that cause minimal harm to the animals, whilst keeping your garden intact.
One way to do this is using an electric fence. Using an electric fence with small shocks of electricity will stop moles from walking into your garden, but remember – they usually burrow!
This method can be quite expensive because of the time and effort it takes to apply this feature, as well as the cost of the electric flow needed to keep animals out.
However, this won’t be a good option if you have pets such as dogs, rabbits, and cats.
Plant Marigolds
Another option would be to plant marigolds in your garden. These flowers have been proven effective in deterring moles from entering your yard since they taste bad. In addition, they emit a smell similar to skunk spray.
This can be a more cost-effective option to choose and they will fit right in with the aesthetics of your yard. However, you will have to look after and care for these plants for this method to work.
Plant Garlic
If neither of those options appeals to your situation, you could try planting garlic in your garden.
Garlic has been shown to repel moles, because of the odor it emits. Not only does this mean that you won’t have to worry about moles destroying your yard.
But it means that you don’t have to worry about having to remove unwanted vegetation either. However, this can cause your garden to smell the garlic, which will deter a lot of people.
On the plus side, if you like garlic in your food, you now have a way to implement your crops into your food. How exciting!
Installing Astroturf
What Is Astroturf?
Astroturf is a type of artificial grass made mostly from polyethylene fibers and plastic binders. It’s used as a decorative piece of turf for sports fields, golf courses, and gardens. The material is also perfect for creating fake lawns on hard surfaces.
It was invented by Dr. William Barberich in 1956, and it quickly gained popularity among homeowners who wanted to create the appearance of a lush green lawn on concrete or other hard surfaces without spending much money on real grass seed.
It also means that the surface doesn’t require too much maintenance because of its artificial nature.
How Does Astroturf Stop Moles?
Moles hate Astroturf because it feels rough underfoot. When laid out, the Astroturf can also prevent moles from rising to the surface of your garden, almost creating a protective layer between the moles underground and above the ground.
This will prevent the appearance of molehills and mounds of dirt from cropping up around your yard.
The downside to Astroturf is that it might need a professional appliance by an expert and might cost quite a bit for the material and for the labor costs to apply the surface in your garden.
Humane Mole Traps
There are many humane mole traps available online that you can use to trap moles in your garden. They come in various shapes and sizes, so make sure you find one that suits your needs before purchasing them.
Some of the traps include cages with food inside that will entice the mole inside. Once captured, you can call a professional to come and collect the animal, ensuring its safe redistribution elsewhere.
Types Of Bait You Can Use
These are some examples of what kind of bait you can put in different kinds of traps:
Food
There are several types of food that moles love to eat. Canned fruits and vegetables are the most popular ones amongst moles. You can buy these at any supermarket.
Other foods such as cheese, eggs, bread, and even peanut butter can also be put in the traps.
Glucose Water
If you want to attract both male and female moles and their young, then using glucose water may be a good idea. Simply mix 2 parts of sugar and 1 part of water and place it in the trap.
After setting the trap, leave it overnight and check the next day whether there were any signs of activity.
Holes
If you’re looking for a more permanent solution, then you can dig holes in your garden that will allow moles to fall into them.
These can be easily covered by soil after solidifying the outside lining of the hole with a material that will see moles unable to dig through. However, this is a more far-fetched method that might collect water and capture other animals.
Mole Repellents
As we previously mentioned, different types of mole repellents can be used to deter moles from going about their day in your garden or yard.
Although they don’t kill moles outright, they stop them from burrowing into the area where they like to go.
The best way to do this is by using products that contain copper, zinc, or aluminum salts. These chemicals irritate the skin of moles which makes them scratch themselves and move away from the area.
Natural Mole Deterrents
If you’re not interested in buying chemical-based mole deterrents, you can try something else instead. One simple option would be to plant flowers that look attractive to moles.
Also, growing herbs and vegetables in your garden could help deter moles from coming near your home.
These can include plants like garlic and marigolds as previously mentioned earlier in our guide.
Moles And Their Habitats
The reason why moles need to be controlled is that they destroy valuable crops and grasslands. This includes lawn areas, parks, playgrounds, golf courses, etc.
So if you live in a region where moles are common, you should take steps to prevent them from destroying your property.
One of the things that you can do to control moles is to get rid of their habitats. In the past, people used to remove molehills to keep them from causing problems.
This method can get tiresome and repetitive, however, as moles will tend to burrow again and again, despite the removal of their hills.
A better alternative would be to build an underground wall around your property. This way, when moles come close, they’ll hit the walls and bounce back. This method can take a lot of time and money though!
Pest Control
To deter moles from entering your garden, you can use pest control methods. Using rat poison is one effective method. The downside of this method is that it’s very dangerous for humans to handle because rats can carry diseases.
It’s much safer to call pest control professionals who specialize in controlling rodents, which can cost a fair amount of money per visit.
Other than rodenticides, there are also many natural ways to deter moles from invading your property. For example, you can simply cover up mole tunnels with dirt.
Another method is to create a barrier made out of wood chips or stone. This way, moles won’t have easy access to your yard.
These are just some ideas, however, and can take a lot of thought and planning to conduct properly. Sometimes, it’s best to think of some ideas yourself and try to think outside of the box.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, there are lots of different ways for you to deter moles from entering your yard. Moles are invasive animals that will burrow through most areas of soil and dirt to try and get to where they want to be.
Molehills will be annoying to deal with, making your hard look awful in the process. By planting certain plants like garlic and marigolds, you can keep your yard looking relatively similar and keep moles away using natural resources.
Implementing man-made features like electric fences, Astroturf, and humane traps can be a great way of using your initiative to beat these animals and make sure that they don’t come back to your yard.
They all work in their way with pros and cons to using each. You just have to make sure that you choose the method that suits you and your home best.