Moles can make an unsightly mess on your property. To keep your landscape looking its best, you need to get rid of moles.

First, you need to decide if you want to kill the moles or keep them alive and set them free somewhere that they won’t disturb anyone. Next, some non-lethal mole removal methods are live-trapping, drying their soil and creating a sound disturbance. Then, if you want to kill the moles you can use harpoon traps, chocker-loop traps or scissor-jaw traps. Finally, you can take measures to prevent moles from returning, such as digging trenches, growing a plant barrier, using repellants and eliminating food sources.

In the end, getting rid of moles can be accomplished by anyone with some effort and equipment. Furthermore, read the rest of this article for a detailed explanation of eliminating moles from my years as a pest control professional.

I want to acknowledge briefly that I know moles are not technically rodents, even though I stuck them in my rodent category. It was either that or miscellaneous and I felt like they fit in with the rodent group better.

You may also be interested in reading these two related articles “How To Trap House Mice” and “How To Get Rid Of Gophers“.

What Are Moles?

Moles are mammals that spend almost all their lives underground. Interestingly, they have poor eyesight but a heightened sense of touch that they use to navigate under the soil.

These animals have dense fur that sticks straight up to prevent dirt from getting trapped near their skin. Also, their long, sharp claws help them dig tunnels up to 160 feet long in a single night.

Fortunately, moles live alone except when they breed. This fact makes it easier to control mole populations.

Do Moles Eat Plant Roots?

No, moles don’t eat plant roots, instead, they are insectivores. Moreover, they eat insects and worms that they find underground.

On the one hand, moles digging can disturb plant roots. But on the other hand, this behavior can also help to aerate the roots and might make the plants healthier.

Identifying A Mole Infestation

First, the classic sign of a mole infestation is mounds of dirt. These are the visible portions of the burrow where the critter pushes soil out of the tunnel.

Confusingly, gophers also make mounds of dirt. Fortunately, you can tell their mounds apart from mole mounds by a couple of characteristics, including:

• Mole mounds are further apart than gopher mounds. Moles make an entrance and an exit mound about six feet from each other, while a gopher’s mounds will be closer together.
• Moles push clumps of dirt out of their holes, while gophers push loose, pulverized earth out. Moreover, if the soil around a mound is chunky, that is the work of moles, not gophers.

Also, mole runways look like lines or ridges of pushed up dirt. These runways are where the mole spends its time foraging and moving between different areas of its tunnel system.

How To Get Rid Of Moles In Yard Home Remedy

Fortunately, there are a handful of methods to get rid of moles with tools you might already own. Choose the home remedy that makes the most sense for your situation, and if one doesn’t work, you can try another.

Method 1: Double Shovel Trap

Step 1: Use a shovel or your foot to flatten and tamp down a mole tunnel in your yard.

Step 2: Find a distant spot where you can watch the tunnel. Remember, moles are extremely sensitive to vibrations and smells, so try keeping still and staying downwind.

Step 3: Wait patiently, watching the flattened tunnel to see the mole start repairing. After some time, you will see earth being pushed about.

Step 4: Quickly, with two shovels, go to where you saw movement and plunge the shovels onto either side of the activity. This traps the critter between the two shovels.

Step 5: Carefully dig the mole out and put it in a cardboard box that you can close. 

Step 6: Take the mole to a wooded place far away from your yard and release it. 

Method 2: Stop Watering

Moles and the insects they eat need a moist environment to survive. Weather permitting, you can dry out your yard and the moles will leave for a more hospitable place.

Of course, if there is a rainy forecast, this method won’t be effective. But, stopping your watering schedule could be enough to dry out the landscape and make the moles leave.

Method 3: Sonic Disturbance

Moles rely on their ability to sense vibrations to move around and hunt under the soil. You can confuse them into leaving by creating vibrations or sounds under the earth.

A cheap option could be to set some speakers pointing down into the dirt near the mole mounds. Turn the volume up and let it work for a day or two.

Additionally, sonic spikes are available that should be more effective at putting irritating vibrations into the mole’s habitat. You won’t be able to hear the spike, but the moles won’t like it and will leave for a more peaceful place.

How To Get Rid Of Moles In The Yard Fast

Sadly, if you need moles gone fast, the only way might be killing them. Moles are harmless creatures that might even benefit your yard’s ecosystem, so you need to consider if killing one is worth it to protect your landscaping.

There is not only the moral question of killing moles. Also, you need to check that your local laws allow you to kill these small animals.

Always use extreme caution when setting mole traps because they could easily injure your hands or feet. Keep children and pets away from set traps by placing a five-gallon bucket over them.

Mole Traps

Three types of mole traps are readily available and work well. The names of these traps are:

• Harpoon trap – it has sharp spikes that spear the mole as it passes.
• Scissor-jaw trap – this grabs the animal with a spring-loaded metal jaw.
• Choker-loop trap – this has a loop that tightens around the critter’s body.

These traps must be placed inside an active mole tunnel to be effective. Furthermore, to check if a tunnel is active, tamp down a section with your foot, collapsing it. If a mole repairs the tunnel in a day, that is an active one that would be a good site for a trap.

Overall, traps are most effective if set in the early evening from four to six p.m. Also, moles are most active during spring and fall or after a wet rain, making those the best times for trapping. Additionally, if a trap doesn’t catch a mole after three days, it was set wrong and you need to change your methods.

How To Set A Harpoon Trap

1. Lightly pack down and level the tunnel ridge with your foot.
2. Place the trap (with the safety catch activated) straddling the active runway and deep enough to prevent recoil when it springs. The trigger pan needs to touch the flattened ridge.
3. Set the trap by releasing the safety catch allowing the spikes to penetrate the runway.
4. Leave the trap alone. Don’t disturb any other part of the tunnel system.

How To Set A Scissor-Jaw Trap

1. Dig out a section of a straight tunnel as wide as the trap and a bit deeper than the burrow. Find the direction of the tunnel indicated by the open ends.
2. Replace the soil and repack it.
3. Place the trap with the ends of the jaws about one inch below the tunnel opening. It must be in line with the runway, forcing the mole to pass between the jaws.
4. Set the trigger mechanism with a light action and release the safety catch.

How To Set A Chocker-Loop Trap

1. Dig out a section of the tunnel as big as the trap.
2. Place the trap in the dug-out section oriented in the direction of the tunnel.
3. Fill around and inside the trap with loose soil, then water that section to make the dirt damp.
4. Check the trap after two or three days.

Ways To Prevent Mole Infestations

After getting rid of moles on your property, you can take measures to stop them from returning. Preventing moles can be done safely and simply with a bit of effort.

Dig Trenches To Stop Moles

A two-foot wide and six-inch deep trench will protect your property from moles. While this is a labor-intense method, it’s also one of the most effective.

Line the trench with wire mesh with holes no larger than three-quarters of an inch. Additionally, or alternatively, fill the gap with rocks.

The moles won’t want to tunnel through a trench like this. Because this method takes a lot of effort, it might be better suited for protecting smaller areas like a veggie patch.

Create A Plant Barrier

Luckily, certain plants repel moles naturally. The plant types that are best for keeping moles away include:

• Daffodils
• Marigolds
• Onions
• Garlic

Simply plant rows of these species around your property. Also, grow them around specific areas where you especially want to repel moles, like flower beds and lawns.

Eliminate Mole Food

Moles feed on grubs and other types of insects under the soil. Moreover, the moles won’t make their home in your yard if there’s no food source.

You can control grubs naturally with milky spore or nematodes. For a faster fix, insecticides are effective but could come with side effects.

Mole Repellants

You could find a mole repellant in the store, or, you could make one yourself. An easy recipe for mole repellant includes one part dish soap and three parts castor oil.

To use this mole repellant, make four tablespoons and dilute it with one gallon of water. Next, soak the mole tunnels and entrances with the liquid.

This natural remedy won’t kill moles or harm the ecosystem. Actually, it irritates the mole’s stomach, so it won’t want to make a home on your property.