Eradicating moles

[MossRoad]

That's the stuff I could not remember the name of: a form of BT, organic treatment for caterpillars in the garden. That was what we in the extension office recommended first. Then they had some trap options. Have never heard of anyone using traps and getting them to work.

I'd be inclined to try some ammonia poured into a hole into a tunnel. Won't hurt the soil and might run them off.

I’ve killed well over 300 moles with Victor Out O Sight mole traps. Now you’ve heard.

 

[Raul-02]

. So late years leftovers might very cheap as the garlic starts to get green sprouts inside each clove. No one really wants them for cooking.

Long ago I was told that green sprouts made the garlic bitter. The advice was to remove it.
I never tried using a garlic with a lot of sprout the bulb would be mostly exhausted at some point but the little green sprout just peeking from the garlic caused the "experts" to toss them.

So, being me, I had to try and I had to compare.
I could detect no bitterness and no distinction between a slightly sprouted bulb and one with no green.

I did learn that a chemical called Allyl Mercaptan. If one is making a dish with tons of chopped garlic (ten or so cloves) giving the chopped garlic a good rinse in water washes much of it away. The Allyl Mercaptan is a bitter compound and the rinsing makes it taste better.


As a curious and entirely unhelpful aside
Allyl Mercaptan is also a toxin to the HepG2 cells in high doses of 500 Micrograms per milliliter of HepG2 Cells over a period of many hours, kills the cells. Lesser amounts inhibit the Cell's ability to synthesize cholesterol.
HepG2 Cells are an immortalized line of cells that were originally derived from the liver of a cancer victim.

​

 

[Raul-02]

Moles primary food is earthworms.

Earthworms are an invasive totally non-native species. Not just Asian jumpers but all earthworms. they arrived here in the ballast of sailing ships.

Earthworms

Learn how to identify earthworms in Minnesota.

extension.umn.edu

The diet of any native critter who only eats 'em must be an adaptation.

 

[Raul-02]

moles are very susceptible to alcoholism.

Funny, of all the mole tunnels I've dug up, I have never discovered a bar, and never once a great huge Budweiser display with the horses pulling a cart around a track. Never found any discarded Ripple bottles or Richard's Wild Irish Rose either.
Do you think maybe they are into the Pre columbian booze made with spittle and worm guts?

 

[BrierPatch]

what do you do with the worms?

I look for an active area, (they have a tendency to re-use old tunnels). Then I take a dowel rod and poke a hole in a tunnel, (I try to put them at intersections/Y's for better odds). I cut the worms in half and put half in the hole and pinch the hole back shut. I then wait a few days to a week and then flatten out all the tunnels. Then repeat process. I get 4 worms per package by cutting them in half and I'm guessing I cover approximately 100-200 sqft (10' x 10' to 15' x 15' area) with 4, depends on how much activity there is. I also try to put a worm in the "leader" tunnel where they come out of the woods. I try to get them in early spring before they breed. Sometimes as early as March. Now that I got them under control, I would say I'm pretty much done fighting them by the end of May and might have to fight them come fall, but I haven't had any activity for several months now. It's a little expensive using the worms to start with because I went thru quite a bit of them, but now it's probably only 2 or 3 boxes early spring and maybe 2-3 in the fall. Not real sure since it's a continuous learning process. I haven't been spreading insecticides like I know I should, to make a better perimeter, but my method is working satisfactorily for me for now.

These are the worms I use, approx. $20 at most stores.

You are being redirected...

 

[MossRoad]

Earthworms are an invasive totally non-native species. Not just Asian jumpers but all earthworms. they arrived here in the ballast of sailing ships.

Earthworms

Learn how to identify earthworms in Minnesota.

extension.umn.edu

The diet of any native critter who only eats 'em must be an adaptation.

Not a completely true statement. Only 33% of earthworm species in North America are from other continents. The others are native species.

Invasive earthworms of North America - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Raul-02]

grubs,

The Crane Fly Comes A-Callin' Now

Our mild temperatures lately have made for pleasant afternoons and evenings for backyard barbecues and garden chores...when it's not raining...

farmerfredrant.blogspot.com

There's a Bayer product that literally gets the grubs to come up out of the soil and die. I wrote Bayer and asked if the birds would eat the dead grubs and be injured they said no.

 

[goeduck]

I’ve killed well over 300 moles with Victor Out O Sight mole traps. Now you’ve heard.

Let me check your count..... yep 300.

 

[Tony H]

Moles diet is grubs and other soil critters BUT you may have Voles. They diet on roots.

 

[Macinnis]

Well, the milky spoor stuff worked well.

I did the first application in the spring. By mid summer, no moles in back yard. They did enter the front yard, which I didn’t treat.

so I have no doubt treating problem areas three times a year for two years should get rid of them. At least I hope.