The Best Method To Repel Moles Away From Your Garden

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Last Updated on January 26, 2022 by Fabiola L.

Moles are enemies of your garden. Their presence and activities are not in the best interest of your garden and so they need to be repelled off, never to appear in your space anymore. Although moles assume the form of rodents, they aren’t. They are tiny mammals who prey on invertebrates like worms and insects for food and that’s where their usefulness ends in your garden – pest control. However, the damage caused by moles in your garden is not purely intentional. They have no interest in your plants whatsoever, their major concern is on the invertebrates down the soil and so in the bid to make a snack out of them, they wreck your garden by burrowing holes and tunnels in it. They could also grab some leaves off your garden to decorate their hideout and that’s where they’ve overstepped their bounds. 

There are quite a handful of methods to keep these moles away from your garden and prevent the nuisance they constitute. We’ll look at these methods and tell you the one we think is the most effective of them all and thus the best. 

Here Are The Methods And How They Work

1. Trapping
2. Baiting
3. Gassing
4. Repelling
5. Use of Insecticides 

Let’s begin with the first 

#1 Trapping

This method involves the usage of traps to tame moles in your gardens. Mole traps come in three different forms. The harpoon, choker and scissor-jawed traps. The trio will do a perfect job in trapping moles and restricting them from causing further wreckage on your lawn and garden. As with trapping of animals, you need to be patient, consistent and learn how to use the traps to achieve your aim. There are easy guides on how to use them when you purchase any. The Victor Out O’Sight Mole Trap; a scissor-jawed trap is the best when it comes to using traps. 

How to Use the Traps 

• Locate the tunnels created by the moles. You can easily identify them by the presence of mounds created by the moles in the course of digging. 

• Locate the tunnels most used by them and fix the trap there. You can find out about this frequently visited tunnel by stepping on the mound and leaving it for about 24-48 hours. If it is reopened, then you know activity is peak at that spot, the moles must have reopened it and then you can place your trap in there. 

• After this discovery, you can dig out a little portion of the tunnel to locate the mole’s exit route and place the trap in there.

• Mask the trap with some earth to make it appear natural and less suspicious to the mole.

• Release the safety hook. 

#2 Baiting 

With this method, the moles are being fed with a look alike invertebrate called a bait. They assume the form, shape and size of the worms or insects consumed by the moles but they are laced with deadly ingredients that can kill the moles in 24 hours if they fall for this method which of course they certainly will. They hardly say no to foods. All you need do is to place the poisonous baits at the entrance of their tunnels or to make them less suspicious, open up their tunnels a little and place the bait inside to make it look like they crawled in. This is not the best method of taming moles and is recommended as the last resort. The price isn’t economical like that of the traps. The Tomcat Mole Killer is an example of a bait used in terminating them. 

#3 Gassing

This method involves the usage of gas bombs. The chemicals in the gas bombs cause them to fume. This fume then seizes all of the oxygen available to the moles causing them to flee as they battle for their lives. A typical example of a gas bomb for moles is the Giant Destroyer which contains lethal chemicals. This method can be limited in terms of effectiveness because some soils can provide an unfavorable atmosphere for the bombs to be effective. 

#4 Repellents 

While the other two methods are to bring to the untimely death of the moles terrorizing your lawn and garden, this method is meant to scare them away. Some repellents work by sounds (ultrasonic electronic devices) while some work by smell or taste. The ultrasonic repellent method works by the usage of ultrasonic electronic devices that emit ultrasound frequency waves which scare off the moles from a distance. This sound is within the hearing range of humans and some pets but its major drawback comes in the damage it can cause to hearing of your dogs. The Vekibee Solar Mole Repeller is a fine choice if you want to use repellents. Some of its highlights include; solar power, waterproof and the ease of set up it affords. All you need do is plug the device into the soil and allow it to do its job. 

#5 Insecticides 

The use of insecticides is only effective if the moles can perceive and taste it. They are made with natural ingredients like mint, garlic, citronella oil and castor oil which is the chief ingredient in the mix. They can come in granulated form or as liquid repellents. The granulated form of these insecticides like the Bonide Mole Max should be spread around the garden while their liquid variants like the Repellex should be mixed with a little water and sprayed around the garden using a water hose. The major downside of this method is its ineffectiveness when it rains and that is if the surging flood couldn’t wash all of it away. 

The Best Method of them all 

The trapping methods is by far the most viable and effective means of curbing the excesses of moles in your garden. First, they are economical. Secondly, their only drawback comes in the technicalities involved in setting them up, which can be learned and mastered in a couple of days. The rest of the other methods have disadvantages that can’t just be overlooked. Especially that of the insecticides and ultrasound technique. Both are laden with downsides that are worth considering before using them. 

Learn more about When Do Moles Come Out?

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