Moles
As Spring warms up the soil, we frequently get calls about moles. Moles make unsightly tunnels through lawns and gardens as they search for their favorite foods, earthworms, beetle grubs and ants. They usually do not eat bulbs or roots of plants, but mice often use their tunnels and may be responsible for plant damage. Moles are most active during the Spring and Fall, on damp days or after rain showers.
They make use of both deep runs and surface runways. The surface runways, are the ones we see in the yard and may be used daily by the mole, or at irregular intervals. Moles tend to make their main runways along the edges of fencerows, concrete paths and other manmade borders or along the woody edge of a field or yard.
Trapping is the most reliable method of control. It takes patience and practice to be successful. Moles have an uncanny ability to detect and spring improperly set traps. It is important to set traps carefully and keep trying. You will need three to fives traps per acre. Trapping is most successful during the Spring and Fall when moles are most active. For successful trapping, it is essential to locate the main runways.
To identify main runways in a yard look for the ones which:
- Follow more or less a straight course for some distance;
- Appear to connect two mounds or two runway systems;
- Follow fence rows, concrete paths or other man-made borders;
- Follow a woody perimeter of a field or yard.
Active surface runways can also be found by poking small holes in the runway with your finger. Moles will repair these in a few days, if they are using the runways.
Once moles have been eliminated by trapping the only way to prevent their return is with the use of a physical mole barrier of galvanized hardware cloth or aluminum sheathing buried 24 inches and extending six inches above the surface of the ground. This is expensive to install but may be worthwhile if moles are a long term serious problem.
Debunking the Moles and Grubs Myth
Many people think that if you have moles, you have grubs. That is partially right, moles will eat grubs as they come across them while foraging. Moles are insectivores and therefore eat just about any insect they find in the soil. The most plentiful food for moles is earthworms. Not so often the big old "fishing worm" sized ones, but those that are the size of pins. Grubs are like pepperoni on a pizza to a mole.
So.....getting rid of grubs, if in fact you have them, will not necessarily get rid of the moles. Let us check your grub situation. If you have grubs that are sufficient to cause damage to you lawn, we can control them for you. In the same light, if you have had Grub Protection applied to your lawn that does not mean you won't have moles.... Remember they're mainly eating pin-sized earthworms. We guarantee you will not have a damaging population of grubs in your lawn with our Grub Protection. No one can guarantee you won't have moles!