Moles, voles and gopher grumbles
Posted on July 14th, 2009 – 7:51 AMBy Robyn Dochterman
Okay kids. Time for today’s quiz.
Who knows which subterranean critter makes tunnels like this in the photo in my backyard? And which pesky mini-mammal makes those big piles of dirt all along my ditch? And which whosit dashes into the weeds and scares the (insert your favorite expletive here) out of me if I let things get overgrown (and we all know by now that I do, right)?
I’m pretty sure the tunnel is the work of moles, who eat grubs and worms. Unfortunately, their tunnels seem really near the surface this summer, maybe because it’s so dry. That’s bad news for my lawn, as though it needed any more obstacles.
Ever seen those giant piles of fresh dirt that show up overnight? I suspect those are the calling card of gophers, which are snacking on plant roots. I don’t care too much if they eat roots in my ditch. But have you ever tried to mow around those piles?
Finally, consider the voles. Favorite food of owls in winter. I’m sure I scare them more than they scare me, but the startle is pretty darn good, none-the-less.
Do you face down any of this gang in your lawn or garden? I try to ignore them, but sometimes I have secret fantasies about a smooth, healthy lawn (you thought I was going to say something else, didn’t you?)
28 Responses to "Moles, voles and gopher grumbles"
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So, it doesn’t kill them, but sends them over to the neighbor’s house? That could be very useful.
Go to your local hardware store and buy some mole traps, at least two. Place them in sequence. The mole may get past the first one, but the second trap will do the job. Your neighbors will thank you.
Definitely moles and only one way to be rid of them - they have to be destroyed. Get the mole traps with the loops. Then, go out one day and walk the trails until they are all squashed to ground level. The next day, the ground will be pushed up again where they moles are active. Put the traps in that area per the directions and it almost always gets them. I end up getting around 2 dozen a year with this method.
I think I have moles too! I just saw a little path like this coming out from where we keep our hose (again, overgrown bunch of weeds/perennials along the house there) out to under our privacy fence. So, thankfully, nowhere near my garden. I assume the occasional drips from the hose connection to the house are what it likes over there?
Any advice on getting rid of gophers? My MIL just had a gopher tunnel up right INTO her garden. It’s eating EVERYTHING!! They’re thinking of trapping it and taking it several miles away so it can’t find it’s way back. I’m sure they’d welcome some other advice if anyone is practiced in getting rid of those critters!
Two dozen moles a year, Jamie? Sounds like a whole convention! As for my neighbors thanking me, I suspect they’ve got bigger worries — like skunks!
You could also let your cat loose in the backyard. Our cat catches quite a few of them every year.. however the moles seem to multiply faster than the cat can catch them.
I did something different after all the other methods didn’t work. I put a hose on top of one of the dead grass areas to try and get the grass to grow again. While the ground was very wet I saw the ground moving up and down. I took one big leap from the deck and landed on top of the moving area. I then took a pitch fork and stabbed the ground. I ended up skewering a vole/mole. I left the body in the hole since I had heard that animals will stay away from areas an animal had died.
This was last July and I have not had a critter in my yard since.
Wayne, can I find video of you doing that on YouTube? I’d really, really like to see it!
I only have to worry about the teeny brown mice that live in the flowerbeds and eat the cherry tomatoes and scare me by dashing out when I water. Glad I don’t have larger-size furry things to worry about. I kind of miss the feral cats that used to hang out in the ‘hood. Rabbits were non-existent then.
The tunnels are made by moles. We get them every year. A few years ago, we had a wildlife control company (Suburban Wildlife) send someone out who set traps and got a couple. He said moles are territorial. It may look like you have dozens, but in fact you only have one in an area. This one will have one or two primary tunnels (the ones in which to place your traps). All the other tunnels are “feeding offshoots” that the gopher does not frequent after the first one or two runs. The only problem with getting rid of the mole from a “territory” is that once the old mole is gone, a new one moves in. We gave up on trying to get rid of ‘em and now just have the tunnels and accept an imperfect lawn. About placing traps, moles are EXTREMELY sensitive to vibrations or alterations in their environment. If you’re not very careful and sneaky in setting your trap, they’ll know you’ve been there and just go around. Also, smaller animals like voles, mice and shrews use the mole tunnels. Moles are actually pretty big, maybe a little smaller than a prairie dog. I’m surprised at a cat that can catch moles. Moles are strictly subterranean, so unless your cat is a good digger, it seems more likely that it’s catching the smaller voles.
The big piles of dirt are from pocket gophers. We have them around the edges of our propery and don’t do anything except flatten them down if they get in the way.
We had a rat terrier visit once and she dug up a mole in no time flat. Maybe someone could rent theirs out.
Speaking of rat terriers for varmint prevention, my father lives near Milwaukee and has a cyclical plague of something (junebugs? locusts?) that lay eggs/grubs under the sod, and his dog horde (Brittany spaniels) pulls back the sod to eat them. Pretty disgusting.
Robyn,
Sorry, unfortunately I’m not one of those that has a camera watching when I do something funny. Wife and kids did get a good chuckle out of it.
Best way to get rid of moles is to poison the grubs they depend on for food. Ortho has a good product for this. As always with chemicals, just be sure to follow the instructions and keep pets and children away for awhile.
Those mounds you are talking about are definitely caused by pocket gophers. I’ve been trapping them for the past 2 years and that seems to be the only way to get rid of them. You need to find their “run” underneath the mound (poke a metal rod until you feel the ground give way) and dig into it so you can put the trap in it (you can get the traps at a local hardware store). The gophers will come back to close the hole since they don’t like sunlight, and they should trip the trigger on the trap which will take care of them..
I had a problem with moles in my backyard for a number of years. I tried many different methods (poisons, smoke bombs, live traps). Nothing seemed to work. Then, a friend recommended putting “Grub-Ex” on our lawn in the Spring. After doing that, I haven’t had a single critter in our yard. This is the third year using this method. Works perfectly!
Tunnels = moles. Dirt volcanoes = gophers. Both = my yard.
Gardener’s Supply catalog (and possibly others) sell garlicy-smelling capsules you can put down the tunnels/volcanoes to repel the critters, if you’re too squeamish to kill them.
no moles, the occasional feral cat, I only see the voles in the fall and spring although I suspect they’re around, furry tail tree rats have shown up in the past week, bunnies & chippies are a constant problem. Puppy is doing his part, but the critters seem to know when he’s inside & it’s safe to come have breakfast/lunch/dinner/midnight snack. The smelly repellant sprays work only if I’m diligent enough to get out after every rain & once a week regardless of weather on the luscious new plant growth. I can’t use poisons without risking puppy and my organic credentials. I have been tempted to ramp up to such devices as the gopher vac (yup just what it sounds like), rodenator (a device that injects gas and ignites it) or chippy diving board (a 2×4 over a 5 gal bucket of water and some peanuts to lead the critter to it’s watery death). The neighbor has a BB gun. There are raptors in the vacinity, but they don’t seem to feed in the neighborhood as much as the golf courses & highway medians/ditches. I’ve offered the Raptor Center fresh food (live or dead) but they can’t.
We have had a modicum of success on several occasions by opening a hole into the tunnels and pouring in kitty litter. Used kitty litter. Very used kitty litter.
I have an ample supply of that used cat litter. If sombody put that in my main hallway I would leave too!
The rodenator sounds like something out of a Chevy Chase movie. I’m laughing at the used kitty litter method. Never had heard of that one!
Any suggestions on convincing a vole to leave the yard? The scare factor has me intimidated but I want to reclaim that part of the yard. Thank you.
Milky Spore. Supposedly that is what works. Not immediately, but long term.
BTW, I have the same battle going on.
My problem is feral cats who dig into the crawl space under my house and spray. That’s pretty overwhelming to come home to…
I put up an electric fence (pet strength, I have no desire to kill anyone!) The fence was installed in my crawl space and it’s done a pretty good job of keeping them away.
My husband is driving himself crazy putting poison peanuts in every vole hole he finds and then replacing dirt over the hole. We find them dead but their are always more holes…it feels like a loosing battle. We don’t want them in our landscaping, flowers and vegetable garden. What is Milky spore and where do you get it. Do you put in the hole or spread on the ground like “Grub-X”? We’ll try anything!
No one has mentioned Mole-MAx or similar products. It’s caster oil pellets, completely safe for pets, plants and dirt. The critters hate the smell so they go elsewhere. I use it, and so do my neighbors so we have an ongoing migration back and forth from yard to yard. We all joke about chasing the darn things into each others yards just to have them chased right back.
We’re all hopeful they’ll get tired of it and move across the street!
afraidofvoles - why on earth would you risk hurting other wildlife, as well as domestic pets or the environment by putting out poisoned peanuts?? Try thinking about the broader scheme of things before doing something like that. Try an organic website or something first before running to get your poison.
Greengirls Connie Nelson, Robyn Dochterman and Jaime Chismar are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
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