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Natural Mole Control Methods
The Mole PatrolIf your lawn looks like it has a bad acne problem, you might be wondering what natural methods you can use to make the moles move on.
There are several recipes for homemade mole repellent, but it is hard to know how effective they are. Moles have a large territory, so if you apply a repellent it’s hard to know if the mole is simply visiting another part of its home territory, or if the mole has really permanently moved on.
Here are a couple ways that people try to protect their yard from moles.
Castor Oil
Some gardeners swear by mixing castor oil with dishwashing liquid and water and spreading the mixture around the entire area where moles are active. The theory is that the castor oil coats the earthworms that the moles eat, which makes the worms taste bad and gives the moles diarrhea if they eat the worms. People who use this formula say that a case of the runs will make the moles leave the treated area and find food elsewhere.
The mixture has to be reapplied regularly, however, because irrigation or rainfall washes the mixture away.
Some gardeners say this recipe is extremely effective, while others claim it is a waste of time.
Mothballs, garlic, and spearmint
Other homeowners will put mothballs, garlic, spearmint or broken glass into mole tunnels in an attempt to make the moles move on. These repellents are generally ineffective, and in the case of the broken glass, are more dangerous to the homeowners and the environment than to the moles.
When moles come across a foreign object in their tunnels, they just block off the tunnel and dig a new one. If you’re concerned about moles digging more tunnels, this could prove counter-productive.
Hardware Cloth
If there are specific parts of your yard that you’d like to protect from moles, like raised garden beds, you can protect them with 1/2" hardware cloth. If this hardware cloth is buried under the garden beds it will prevent moles from digging a molehill in your flowerbed or vegetable garden.
This solution isn’t practical for your whole lawn, but it is effective at keeping specific areas molehill-free.
Scare Tactics
It’s possible to buy devices that claim to scare moles. Some examples of scare devices are vibrating snakes, pinwheels and ultrasonic devices. But be warned: moles are not skittish creatures. They’re already exposed to a lot of noise, and they don’t seem to scare easily. These devices are able to make a compelling pitch to unsuspecting consumers, but they don’t often work.
Predators
One of the only truly natural mole control methods that actually works is to attract moles’ natural predators.
Barn owls and other birds of prey eat young moles as they leave their mothers’ nest, and having them around is a good way to reduce, although not eliminate, moles in your yard.
Likewise, coyotes, dogs, raccoons, and snakes all kill moles (although coyotes and dogs definitely kill moles, they won’t necessarily eat them, because moles have an unpleasant odor to mammals). However, having coyotes in your yard might be more problematic than having moles.
Have you decided that natural mole control isn’t working for you?
Mole Patrol will eliminate your mole problem by locating and getting rid of your resident moles. Our work has a 3-month warranty, so you can be assured that you’ll be mole-free. Natural mole control can help, but nothing works as well as professional extermination like Mole Patrol.
Contact Mole Patrol for the best team in mole extermination in Bothell, Edmonds, Mill Creek, Bellevue, Woodinville, and Redmond to help you identify the problem in your yard - and solve it. Call us at 425-744-0371 or fill out our Request for Service form to get started with one of our Seattle area mole exterminators.
