Mole-pocalypse!

[DavidNC]

Moles are doing a number on my lawn and garden. Last year I introduced about 50 lbs of nightcrawlers to my garden beds, and I'm wondering if that contributed to a population explosion of moles. The worms were present the following spring, now I can hardly find any.
I put down Molemax granules on affected areas near my garden beds, allowing an escape vector so I didn't box them in.
What transpired seems to indicate that Molemax actually attracts moles. Within a week they devastated the areas I applied the Molemax, tearing up the grass, tunneling so much they were making ruts in the lawn (not vole trails, they were cutting through the sod and leaving massive grooves in the soil). Maybe they were desperate to escape? TGTBT. Then the rain came, and the whole area turned to something like quicksand. I had to step carefully so I wouldn't sink in ankle deep. After it dried out a bit, any hopes that the mild flooding chased them away or drowned them were dashed. They quickly made it known it wasn't even a setback. I was back to stomping down mole tunnels in no time.
Anybody have any success with Molemax? What gives with the mole free-for-all it seems to have caused? I was hoping to avoid the more extreme options (poison/traps), but the moles must go. Anybody have any tried-and-true suggestions?

 

[Bofig]

There is only one solution to moles. These traps are it! I caught 12 in a 6 day period. I even caught four in the same hole. Several years I tried poisons and other traps with zero luck but these are the ticket.

https://a.co/d/aczrAK1

 

[Jigfig]

I have moles, but there are so many wild cats around that it’s rare I see them.

 

[DavidNC]

I have moles, but there are so many wild cats around that it’s rare I see them.

LOL, we have the wild cats too. Summer mornings I'll go out and wonder if what I'm smelling is a fig tree or cat p. They seem to keep the voles away pretty well, I haven't seen any of them, They have a tougher time getting to the moles, but I did find a few dead ones in the driveway a couple weeks ago. I wonder if it's a predator that's doing all the digging. The ground here is fairly hard, seems extreme for a cat to be doing. Coyote/skunk/vulture maybe?
I ordered the scissor-type trap @Jigfig . Hopefully I can get a few before they go deep for the winter.

 

[Jigfig]

Coyote might be a good guess.

 

[DavidNC]

This is a snip I found online, looks identical to this:


Some folks in that thread said moles, some said voles, some said frost heave (not here, yet), some even said hornets.

Until the scissor traps arrive, I'm putting down mousetraps under a 5 gallon buckets for voles.

 

[superdave336]

We have the voles bad. I think the cats get them when they are bored....lol. I'm not sure how the scissor trap would work with our ground here.

 

[Bofig]

I have moles, but there are so many wild cats around that it’s rare I see them.

I had the same thoughts as we have tons of hungry farm cats, however they wouldn’t touch a mole. Even the ones I trapped were left untouched even though the cats went after everything in sight I’ve offered them. Cats will eat the voles however. As for the ground the scissor trap works anywhere. When you push it in the tunnel softens the soil some and the scissors make their own path as you push it down, then it just has to return to closed in that same path. Voles will collect in and use the mole tunnels so removing moles helps to lower vole populations

 

[ktrain]

I have only ever seen one on my property,
It was just under some wood...not even burrowing.
I guess it didn't like the had clay. Lol
Hope you get those under control.

 

[grasshopper]

Off topic: Naked mole rat has a longevity gene that help them resist age-related diseases and they can live up to 41 years, which is a super long life for a rat. Researchers have transplanted the gene to rats, which also increased their lifespan.

Their distant cousin, mole only lives about 3-6 years though.

 

[Jigfig]

Off topic: Naked mole rat has a longevity gene that help them resist age-related diseases and they can live up to 41 years, which is a super long life for a rat. Researchers have transplanted the gene to rats, which also increased their lifespan.

Their distant cousin, mole only lives about 3-6 years though.

I knew they had some genetic thing to avoid certain illnesses etc, but had no idea that they could live that long.

 

[DavidNC]

Off topic: Naked mole rat has a longevity gene that help them resist age-related diseases and they can live up to 41 years, which is a super long life for a rat. Researchers have transplanted the gene to rats, which also increased their lifespan.

Their distant cousin, mole only lives about 3-6 years though.

And they are protected in North Carolina. Thankfully, they are more prevalent nearer to the coast, and virtually unseen here.
That would be the star-nosed mole, protected. I also hope I don't run into one of those naked ones.

 

[grasshopper]

And they are protected in North Carolina. Thankfully, they are more prevalent nearer to the coast, and virtually unseen here.
That would be the star-nosed mole, protected. I also hope I don't run into one of those naked ones.

Oh, the naked mole rat lives in Africa and feeds on tubers.

 

[DavidNC]

So I put out mousetraps last night, baited with peanut butter and oats. This morning, nada, not even a field mouse. Not surprising given the cat population. It does, however, tend to rule out mice and voles. Having previously found dead moles, I know they are present, and of the common variety.
The scissor traps should arrive today.

 

[bushdoctor82]

You could always try road flares and a leaf blower.

 

[GoodFriendMike]

You could always try road flares and a leaf blower.

This reminds me of being a kid dropping smoke bombs in holes and covering them. Just to find the other end of the tunnel.

 

[RosyPosy]

Posting more just to give support and to commiserate. I’ve been having problems with what I think are voles the last year or so. I just lost my DSJG recently to one. I have no good suggestions but am watching in case anyone says anything. I am at the point of poison as well.

 

[GoodFriendMike]

If anyone goes the poison route. Get the good stuff and check your yard daily so other animals don't eat the dead. When it comes to poisons. Some it takes weeks to kill the rodent. By that time you invited all there friends as they believe it is food. You will be buying poison for the rest of your life. Get the stuff that kills in a day. I do hope y'all don't need to go that route. But if you do. You know to buy the good stuff.

 

[DavidNC]

If anyone goes the poison route. Get the good stuff and check your yard daily so other animals don't eat the dead. When it comes to poisons. Some it takes weeks to kill the rodent. By that time you invited all there friends as they believe it is food. You will be buying poison for the rest of your life. Get the stuff that kills in a day. I do hope y'all don't need to go that route. But if you do. You know to buy the good stuff.

Too many kindly critters around. Thanks for the advice, but I'm not risking poison.

 

[bushdoctor82]

This reminds me of being a kid dropping smoke bombs in holes and covering them. Just to find the other end of the tunnel.

I did the flare and leaf blower last year and can’t say if it worked - like you, I was able to find all the other points of entry to the tunnels extending into neighbors yard. This year it seems the voles and chipmunks are utilizing same tunnel system. I don’t mind getting rid of the voles, just don’t want to kill the chipmunks - I’m more partial to them for some reason.