Mole Wildlife Traps, Bait & Repellents; How to Get Rid of Digging Moles in Your Mount Laurel, NJ Yard

Moles are small mammals that are adapted to live a subterranean lifestyle. With life spent underground most of the time, they have small ears and eyes that are hidden by fur. Their fur is short, velvety and grayish in color. They have large paws adapted for digging with a pointed snout, large round front feet and a short tail absent of fur. They can reach up to 6 to 8 inches in length.

What Do Moles Eat

The diet of moles consists of earthworms primarily along with other small invertebrates found in the soil. Losing earthworms from your soil is a bad thing because earthworms tunnel soil to allow water and air to get to the roots of plants. Without it, most plants don’t grown very well. The destructive tunnels that moles create are actually “worm traps”. When a worm falls into the tunnel it will be sensed by the mole. The mole will quickly run to it, kill it, and eat it. Moles actually store earthworms for later consumption because their saliva has a toxin in it that can paralyze the earthworms. The mole will squeeze all the earth and dirt out of the worm with its paws before eating it. They also eat grubs, ants, beetles and other underground arthropods.

Mole Tunnels & Damage to Lawns & Yards

Moles will wreak havoc and are active throughout the year. Spring and fall are the best times to take care of a mole problem. This is when the soil is moist but not frozen and they are most active. During the winter months, they will just dig deeper if the lawn freezes. Moles burrow and raise molehills that will kill parts of the lawn that can also lead to plant roots being affected and will cause damage or death. They don’t ever eat the plant roots. Signs you might have a mole problem are if you see mounds of soil left behind when they construct their tunnels. The tunnels are fairly straight and appear to join two mounds or two runway systems. They are often found running along fence lines, paths of concrete or other man-made borders. The mounds are 3 to 5 inch rounded raised ridges that break through the surface of your lawn with tiny dirt volcanoes. If the tunnels in gardens are close to the surface, they are prone to collapsing when heavy rains fall leaving ugly furrows behind.

Products to Control Moles in Lawns

When it comes to controlling moles, patience and persistence are key. Traps and baiting with mole bait are most effective if you are able to locate the main runways or tunnels. Baits that are shaped like earthworms are effective and one worm typically contains enough poison to kill the mole. Smoke bombs or gas bombs can be dropped in the mole hills. Poisons that contain calcium carbide work too and blood meal can be mixed with cat litter to repel the moles. You can also try correcting any irrigation issues that might be making the soil too moist and therefore easier to dig.

Professional Mole Control

While moles typically only live up to three years, you don’t want to wait it out even if the damage being caused is minor. Ross Environmental has the proper training and experience to handle baits and insecticides safely. Contact us if you need help ridding your property of these pests. We are standing by to meet all your pest control needs!