15 ways to get rid of moles in the country

Karina_Vailo | 03.09.2019 | Landscape design | 634 views | no comments

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A neat lawn, luxurious flower beds or well-groomed beds are the pride of any gardener or summer resident. That is why the indignation of the owners, who one day discover that their site has become the habitat of moles, is understandable. By itself, this animal is completely harmless and plant roots are not its desired prey, however, it undermines the soil beneath them and forms numerous mounds on the surface of the earth. About aesthetic appearance landscape can be forgotten. And the roots, deprived of nutrient soil can dry out, which will lead to the death of plantations. That’s why many people are looking for ways how to get rid of moles in the country, both on the Internet and among more experienced summer residents. We will consider all possible methods of struggle and see if all of them are really effective.

Mole - a pest or not?

Moles dig their feed and passage tunnels at a depth of about 50-70 cm. The tunnels in which they live and where they form offspring lie at a depth of about 2 m. In addition, the animals are “family”, and if you noticed moles on the site, then know that this is not about one individual, but about his family. Fortunately, animals very zealously protect their territory, so the second family will not live on the same plot of land.

Seen from one side, this is a small animal brings considerable favor favorite site:

He actively loosens the soil at a depth of 50-70 cm, which leads to its active aeration;
Due to the fact that moles are constantly moving through their underground tunnels, digging new passages, the soil is expanding, which improves its quality;
The main reason moles appear in the country is prey. Their main diet is made up of earthworms, bears and other insects, which are much more in fertile, well-groomed, constantly irrigated soils. Thus, moles save us from other equally annoying pests. The same annoying the mouse and voles are also part of their diet.

On the other hand, the high activity of moles is due to the appearance of numerous earthen mounds that spoil the appearance of the site. Paving new moves, the mole literally rams everything in its path thanks to unusually strong forelimbs with long curved claws. Voids form under the rhizomes of plants and soon the roots, devoid of nutrition, begin to dry and wither. In this case, you can forget about the crop. Therefore, moles on the site still should not be. There are several ways to solve the problem of their exile. We begin our review with humane methods, because in spite of not wrecking, we are talking about living things.

Noise methods

As you know, moles have very poor eyesight, but their sense of smell and hearing are heightened. Using this knowledge, you can try to get rid of pests by raising the noise level. Moles will begin to annoy such a situation and they will rush to find a quieter habitat. Noise repellers can do it yourself from improvised means:

Ordinary glass bottles are taken, preferably a larger volume. Champagne bottles are ideal. The bottle must be dug into the ground at an angle of 45 ° for about 2-3 of its lengths. The essence of the method is that the wind, falling into an empty neck, will begin to make humming sounds and a small vibration, which will be a deterrent;
Some summer residents advise using reed stalks for home-made louisers.It is necessary to choose stems with a length of at least 1.5-2 meters. They are thoroughly cleaned at the core, and then several stems are dug into the ground to a great depth so that only 50-70 cm of the remaining length protrudes above the soil. When the wind blows, the reeds will oscillate, and the vibration is transmitted along the entire length of the stems deep into the ground. Some to enhance the effect in the hollow interior of the reeds insert pancake wire;

To make the next fixture we need plastic bottle and a piece of reinforcement or a metal pipe of small diameter about 2 m long. Fittings it is necessary to drive into the soil to a depth of 50 cm. Next, you need to cut the bottle. Without cutting the bottom, cut four petals in the cylindrical part with a small distance between the elements and bend them. You will get an impromptu windmill. The bottle is put on the pin with the neck down so that the top of the pin abuts against the bottom. During the wind, the blades will spin the bottle, and due to the high height, the vibrations transmitted to fittingswill be well felt by moles;
By analogy with the previous method, you can make a louver from a can of a drink or canned food. The can is simply put on an iron stake and rumbles loudly.

It’s worth mentioning right away that such home-made devices have a very small radius of action. Sound and vibration will spread only a couple of meters, and it is likely that the animal will simply bypass the epicenter and make its move elsewhere. Therefore, you will either have to use a large number of noisers, or use them as preventive measures, installing them around the perimeter of the site. This is especially true if not yours, but your neighbors entered the fight against moles. Poor animals will have to run somewhere. And where, if not to the neighboring site?

One more unpleasant side Such a method will be the fact that the constant noise and clanging of a tin can against iron reinforcement can lead to a rage not only of moles, but also of the owner of the dacha.
Pay attention to shopping Mole repellers. The principle of operation of these small devices is based on the constant reproduction of ultrasonic pulses that form low-frequency vibrations. The human body does not perceive such vibration and sound in any way, but on moles this effect has an irritating effect, which leads to indigestion. Moles will rush to leave such an uncomfortable zone soon. We can say that this is the most effective of the humane methods of struggle.

Smells against moles

Some ways to deal with moles are based on irritating their sense of smell.Bulbs some species plants possess a rather specific, unpleasant for animals, odor.

These include garlic, beans, imperial hazel grouse, hemp, daffodils, marigolds, woodland. That is, if your site was occupied by small diggers, then you need to plant the entire territory with one of the selected plants. Why do we say the whole territory - because in many forums summer residents say that animals simply bypassed flower beds with daffodils or beds with legumes, but did not leave the site. If you just bought your cottage, maybe planting land with daffodils is not a bad idea, in other cases this The method works inefficiently. Other flavors are also used:

Kerosene, fuel oil, antifreeze. The cloth soaked in kerosene solution is placed in the molehill and dripped. The solution is prepared at the rate of 100 ml of kerosene in a bucket of water. Fuel oil or antifreeze is simply applied to a rag;
Naphthalene. Powder is poured directly into the molehill and covered with earth;
The plot is irrigated with a solution based on castor oil. 200 ml of oil is poured into a bucket of water and add 2 tbsp. tablespoons of any detergent, mix thoroughly and distribute throughout the territory. This is best done after rain or watering;
Strong smelling herbs can be used - sagebrush or peppermint. Tufts of grass are distributed in molehills and change as they wilt;
Raw fish heads rotten eggs or rotten fruits / vegetables are laid out in molehills and buried. During rotting foods will give off an unpleasant odor that should scare off moles.

Minus of this method obvious - the foul-smelling rotting fish, the pungent smell of kerosene or antifreeze will scare away not only moles, but also people. Moreover, the method will be effective only if the active substance is regularly changed as the pungent odor evaporates. Otherwise, animals quickly return. Yes, and smoking unhappy moles in this way will have a rather long and painful time.

There are already on sale ready-made biological products the so-called "flavorings". These are small balls that need to be distributed throughout the area according to the instructions.

Traps

It's about homemade traps and how to catch moles with the aim of their further release as far as possible from your site. It is very important not to release the animal near the territory, otherwise it will come back very quickly.

The essence of the first method - catch the mole during his movement. You will need a shovel and a lot of patience. It is best to go hunting in the morning or in the evening when the mole is scouring the tunnels in search of food. Watch the molehill carefully. If you see a movement that is noticeable by the swelling of the soil, you need to very quickly stick a shovel behind the mole and quickly throw it along with the ground to the surface. It is necessary to stick a shovel exactly behind the animal, and not in front of it, otherwise this method will no longer apply to the humane one. Pay attention to who the mole has very strong limbs and sharp claws, so you should not catch it later with your hands without gloves;

The next method is to catch mole in pan or empty jar. The molehill must be unearthed, perpendicular to the tunnel to make a recess in the ground and install a can in it so that its neck in height is at the same level with the tunnel. After installing the cans, you need to restore the tunnel - you can use a sheet of cardboard. It is installed in such a way that it covers itself with a tunnel, after which it is sprinkled with earth. The mole, passing through the tunnel, will certainly fall into the bank and will not be able to get out along its smooth walls. Three liter cans are best. Just to understand whether fishing ended in success, you will need to constantly dig a trap and check its contents;
Homemade trap out plastic bottles. For its manufacture, an ordinary bottle of 1 or 1.5 liters is taken, the bottom and throat are cut off so that only an even cylindrical part remains. Do not discard the part with the neck. It must be cut into strips of a width of not more than 1 cm, so that they open, like the petals of a flower. There will be two such parts. They must be inserted from both ends of the plastic pipe with the throat inward so that the curved stripes are folded inward. The mole will be able to crawl into the neck of the bottle, but will not be able to crawl out back because it will stumble into bent plastic beams;
Mole catchers. You can make it yourself from thick wire according to the sketch shown in the image, or buy ready-made ones. They do not kill the animal. But they can be ineffective if the mole approaches her from the wrong side. When releasing an animal from a trap, you need to take it by the withers, in this position it will not be able to bite you;

There is another way to catch moles - fill their moves water. This will not incur large costs if the water comes to the site from the nearest body of water. Otherwise, floods of tunnels may require a large number of tunnels, since the total duration of underground passages can reach about 200 meters. During flooding, animals either begin to crawl to the surface, then you need to react quickly, because you must catch a mole.Or they will not be able to get out and drown;

Some summer residents say that they managed not only to drive moles from the site, but also to prevent their repeated invasion with the help of pets, namely cats. In rare cases, dogs. Some cats do not show any activity at the sight of small nimble animals, but if yours is a real hunter, it is worth a try. Once having noticed a mole on the surface, the cat will know that there is prey under the ground and will conduct continuous hunting.

Poisons

Unfortunately, many summer residents who, in the fight against moles, resorted to both conceivable and unthinkable methods, note that the most effective way to get rid of them is to use poisons. It is necessary to use poisons very carefully and is not recommended if domestic animals live on the site.

there is special poisons designed to fight moles. They process earthworms, which are then placed in molehills and buried;

The cruelest is the use of special smoke bombs, which form a large amount of caustic smoke even underground, where the minimum amount of oxygen enters. Moles begin to run away from the smoke into the depths of the tunnel, where they eventually suffocate from suffocating gas.

Prevention

After the fight against moles is crowned with victory, it is worth considering how to protect your possessions from repeated invasion.

Alternatively, you can plant around the perimeter of the plot one of the above plants, the smell of which repels moles;

Summer residents, whose struggle was hard and exhausting, do not want to rely on chance and take radical measures - they establish along the perimeter of their site protective barrier. To do this, dig a trench in which a fine-meshed one is installed in an upright position metal grid and backfilled with earth. The mole will run into an obstacle and automatically change direction. True, you have to dig pretty deep. At least below the level of soil freezing - 1.2-1.5 m, depending on the region. The general opinion that moles sleep in winter is a fallacy. It’s just that their activity is somewhat reduced, and the depth of the laying of moves becomes greater. Just imagine how laborious this method is. And metal under the influence of moisture and minerals in the soil will begin to corrode and collapse over time.