Home Remedies for Mole Control

Moles are one of the toughest animals to get rid of. They are widely known for making extensive tunnels in your lawn and in the process ruin its natural beauty. They can cause damage to the trees of your lawn or yard, as their tunnels provide shelter to other harmful pests and insects. Moles mostly feed on insects and worms like earthworms and grubs. They can quickly colonize your lawn and therefore, controlling their population can be a really challenging task. There are several home remedies for solving mole problem, but many of them can provide only a temporary solution, while others can take some time for completely expelling them from your yard.

Modification of Habitat
Sometimes, even simple tactics like habitat modification, can play an important role in controlling the activities of moles. Moles are now common, mainly because of the creation of artificial biomass like lawns and beds. These are maintained by the application of chemical nutrients, organic materials and frequent irrigation, which can create suitable breeding grounds for the growth of insects, or the main food source of moles. So converting them to a natural habitat like a garden and for growing hedges, can be beneficial in the long run for getting rid of yard mole.

Less frequent watering can reduce the visibility of the tunnels as opposed to frequent watering, which brings the worms and insects to ground level and thereby also brings the moles to the surface. It is also advisable to reduce the amount of grass in your yard in order to control the population of moles.

Grub Control
Grub worms are an important source of food for moles and therefore reducing their population can be effective to starve the moles and force them to migrate to other places for food and shelter. Grubs can also cause extensive damage to the trees and plants by eating their roots and so, destroying them can be beneficial for plants as well. Application of pesticides at the proper time can be helpful in reducing the population of grub worms and thereby for eliminating moles.

Mole Repellent
Many people use mole spray, which is mainly made from castor oil, a well-known mole repellent. Many also prefer the use of the products and methods of pest control for moles. However, the application of chemicals and poisons can pose some dangers to pets and small children. Therefore it is advisable to follow the instructions of the manufacturer and to take precautionary measures. Natural repellents, on the other hand, are safer and can be helpful in keeping the moles at a distance. Certain plants are known to have mole repelling properties and planting them can be beneficial. Such plants include daffodils,marigold, allium and mole plant. Another important plant is castor beans, which contains castor oil, the essential ingredient for a number of mole repellent products.

Physical Barrier
Placing physical barriers deep into your yard can also inhibit mole activities. Burying a metal barrier at least 4 to 5 inches deep into the soil may be helpful in containing the number of those ugly mole tunnels.

However, these home remedies may take some time to bring the desired results. Besides this, you may also need to take recourse to mole traps to get rid of this nuisance. There are two types of traps, live and kill traps. But what is important is to place the traps in the active tunnels, which you can check by flattening the soil of the tunnels. If they are repaired the following day, this indicates that the tunnel is active and the trap can be placed over there. Traps can be more effective during the spring and fall. To completely get rid of moles, you may need to combine different strategies rather than depending on only one.