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With the arrival of spring and warmth, dachas and vegetable gardens are besieged not only by pests but also with moles in yard. The landscape and the beds are suffering from the raids of underground rodents / ground moles. The moles are especially famous among them. Various dirty tricks are attributed to this animal: earthen mounds on the site, gnawed roots of plants and root crops. The question is how to get rid of moles?
Not all of the above are his business. What danger a mole really poses in a summer cottage, how to keep moles out of yard? how to get rid of moles in yard fast? I will tell you in this article. Summer residents get rid of underground rodent pests in different ways. Sometimes this can be done quickly and get rid of moles forever. Catching a mole, destroying it or driving this pest away from your garden forever – every summer resident chooses his own way to, how to prevent moles in yard? I will talk about the most effective ones further.
The Danger of Moles In The Garden
Let’s distinguish between what troubles are on your site from the mole, and what is not his fault. The word “mole” is translated as “digger”. It is an insectivorous animal that lives in the soil. It is easy to spot it from the low piles of land on the site.
Due to the fact that all life passes underground in complete darkness, the eyes of moles are underdeveloped. But the sense of smell, touch and hearing are very well developed.
The body of the moles is elongated and covered with thick fur. The size of the animal is from 5 to 20 cm. Feature – wide paws with strong sharp claws, thanks to which they quickly dig underground tunnels.
Moles feed on earthworms, insect larvae and sleeping pupae. Therefore, they will not gnaw the roots and tubers of plants. Moles are constantly on the move and regularly walk around their multimeter territories in search of food. Moles bring a certain benefit in their summer cottage:
- digging tunnels, they loosen the earth, enriching it with oxygen and making it more fertile;
- moles destroy pests.
But when there are a lot of moles on the site, then more harm than good is obtained from them.
- Moles eat beneficial earthworms, which makes the soil less fertile.
- Because of the tunnels in the ground, the plants sag and die.
- Animals can accidentally damage plant roots in the soil.
- The moles-dug area looks unkempt. Beds, paths, flower beds in molehills spoil all the beauty and landscape design.
Humane Ways to Deal With Moles and get rid of moles
There are different methods to keep moles out of garden and fight moles at yard, summer cottage. Traps, hooks, and livestock traps kill the moles. Their use is not humane. It is worth trying other, no less effective, ways to save the life of the mole. First, determine how many moles are in your yard.
These animals are accustomed to living apart and will not tolerate a stranger on their territory. One mole occupies from 600 to 1000 sq.m. But the site can be located at the junction of several territories, which means that more moles will live here.
And if there is also a female mole, then offspring of 5-6 babies cannot be avoided. To determine the number of moles in an area, observe the number and location of molehills. Piles of earth in one direction along a straight line, at the same distance from each other, are made by one mole. Diverging isolated lines of molehills mean.
There are different methods to get rid of moles without harming them.
- Dig up with a shovel. The method is convenient for the surface course of the mole. The difficulty is to wait for the animal, to quickly and forcefully lift and throw an earthen ball with the animal onto the surface.
- Mole catchers. These are mole-safe pipe traps installed in the course of its underground tunnel. On both sides, flaps-doors open only inward. The mole crawls into the pipe, but cannot get out. You can make such mole traps yourself or buy ready-made ones in the store. Check traps every 4-5 hours. Take the caught mole away from the territory of the site and release it into the grass.
- Sound scarers. We have already said that moles respond well to sound. Using such devices will drive the mole away from your site. The repeller is made in the form of a peg that is dug into the ground. There are models that run on batteries, accumulator and solar energy. It is more effective if the scarers generate not only sound, but also vibration. You can make such noise makers yourself from the material at hand. Plastic bottles and cans with cut out blades are used. Put on an iron rod driven into the ground, in the wind they make the sound of danger for the moles.
- Fragrant products. Another simple way to scare off moles with the help of bright odors unpleasant smells to get rid of moles. An odorous agent is buried near the mole holes, or directly into the course.
Some of the most annoying smells to get rid of moles are:
- fish with a smell, rotten eggs, spoiled vegetables;
- used cat litter;
- technical liquids: kerosene, gasoline, solvent;
- snuff tinctures or cigarette butts;
- acetic acid;
- ammonia alcohol.
Automotive exhaust gases will drive the rodent away from the site if they are put into the mole’s hole through a hose. You can also use repellent, insecticidal, signal smoke bombs to keep moles out of garden.
how to keep moles out of your yard using chemistry
Using the simple tools described above helps to quickly get rid of a mole at garden / summer cottage. But if the territory is large and the population of moles on it is massive, then chemical agents are used in the fight against underground animals.
- In stores, they sell poison for moles in yard in the form of baits, which are laid out near holes. Poisonous liquids in ampoules are poured into the course of the mole and covered with earth. The use of such funds at a summer cottage is not desirable, since the toxic components included in the composition negatively affect the condition of the soil and plants. That will further affect the harvest.
- Any chemical methods for the destruction of underground moles must be carried out in strict accordance with the attached instructions. To poison moles with poisonous gas by fumigating holes, invite professionals. During the treatment of the yard to get rid of ground moles, it is imperative to observe safety measures : work in a special suit, gloves, a respirator, and goggles.
- The use of poisonous chemicals in the fight against moles is not so justified. Undoubtedly, mole die quickly and there is no likelihood of their return. But toxic agents poison the environment, negatively affect the soil and plants on the site. Not to mention the inhumanity of this method.
After the procedure for getting rid of the moles from the garden, it is important to understand whether there is a result from the methods you have taken.
The fact that the moles have left the site is determined by the absence of new molehills for some time. I recommend using several safe mole repellents at the same time on the site. This increases the chances of getting rid of the rodent completely. And ultrasonic remedies for moles can be left on the site as a further prevention of the appearance of new residents.