How to Spot Moles in Your Garden

September 12, 2018

We are approaching the time of year when moles might start causing problems in your garden. While some pests hide their tracks better than others, you certainly can’t include moles in this description. They eagerly create tunnels and shove the offending earth up and out as they go. Hence the molehills that appear on your lawn, often overnight.

These are the telltale signs of the mole that may live beneath your lawn. Easy confirmation it may be, but all it does is confirm you have a pest problem. Moles may look cute, but their incessant tunnelling leads to cave-ins all over your garden. Not just the lawn either – you may end up finding half the plants in your flowerbed (or worse, crops in your vegetable garden) are starting to sink below the surface.

So, what can you do? Firstly, you should make the most of the molehills. They’ve just provided you with some excellent compost. You’ll want to get rid of the earth anyway, as it looks unsightly when spread over your lawn. However, you’ve still got the problem of the tunnels that can lead to collapses. A turned ankle or problems mowing your lawn can easily arise from these.

Can you get rid of moles in your garden using DIY methods?

It’s possible. There are two ways to do it:

Drive them away humanely by putting strong-smelling items in the tunnels. Sour milk, bad yogurt, and very-off cheeses are supposed to work well.
Set traps. Many people don’t like this idea, but if you are prepared to set them and you don’t have pets that could disturb them, this might be an option.

Send in the professionals

Once October arrives, we will enter the period where tunnelling activity peaks. This will continue throughout the winter months. If the above DIY methods do not work and you are struggling to maintain a level lawn and safe plants, you may wish to seek professional advice.

A pest controller will know the best methods for catching moles, whether this is humanely so they can be released elsewhere or using a traditional trap. If you are about to lay a new lawn and you are concerned about moles ruining it, you may wish to lay some mole netting prior to turfing the lawn. This should prevent them from creating tunnels underneath, as they will not be able to create the molehills to begin with.