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Horticulture Hotline 01/17/26
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
Moles are always a hot topic in the Lowcountry. I try to
limit my writing about them to only once a year (or less – it has been 4
years); however, after walking through some neighborhoods and listening to the
complaints in the Possum stores, it looks like the time has come. Moles are
mating now, so expect babies in late March or April.
As with deer, raccoons, and possums, all the development has
squeezed the mole to move into your yard. The mole that was happy eating
insects and worms in a vacant lot is now moving to your yard as a house,
apartment complex or shopping center is being constructed on its old home. I
have even noticed some buffer areas between different neighborhoods that were
once forest like being cleaned up and landscaped. Again, less habitat for the
mole. Moles really don’t have any natural predators to keep their numbers in
check, other than some dogs and cats, so their numbers keep increasing.
The weekly mowing (noise, vibration, wheels of the mower –
run a mower over your yard all winter? – will help with fire ants also) of your
yard during the summer and the tight, actively growing grass seems to lower the
mole activity some during the summer; however, the moles are out tunneling for
food now. Once the grass starts actively growing and weaves itself together,
along with regular moving, hopefully, the moles will move.
I still recommend a
3-prong approach when controlling moles for the less adventurous people that do
not want to trap and look at a dead mole.
These 3 steps are:
- Kill
the mole
- Manage
its food source
- Repel
other moles from your yard
Moles tunnel through your yard looking for food. They usually have several main runs through
your yard as well as secondary tunnels.
The secondary tunnels are where they collect their food, and once they
have gone down a secondary tunnel, they mark it with a scent, and they will not
return to that tunnel. To kill a mole
with bait or a trap, you must be able to locate the main tunnel.
A good way to locate the main runs is to take a stick and
poke holes in the tunnels in your yard.
Next, mark where you made these holes.
The next morning come and check to see if the holes are plugged. If they
are plugged, then you know you have a main tunnel. The mole will only plug holes in the main
tunnel. That evening, open one of the
holes that the mole plugged the night before and place bait (or trap) 5 feet on
either side of the hole that you reopened.
When the mole comes back to re-plug the hole it will have to walk right
over the bait (or trap). These baits are
very tasty to the mole, so the mole will usually eat the bait and die.
The baits that we regularly hear good results about are Mole
Patrol and Talpirid. I prefer Mole
Patrol because it is one third the price and has 6 times the amount of bait
placement as Talpirid. Stay away from
poison peanuts. Moles do not eat
peanuts. They eat insects and worms.
Controlling the food source is the next most important
factor in managing moles on your property.
Depending on which doctor (PHD) you believe, the mole eats 85-125% of
its body weight every day. In human
terms a 100 lb. person would eat 85-125 lbs of food per day. That is a lot of
food! Think of Michael Phelps and all he was reported to eat from swimming in
water. A mole is swimming in soil!
Using a product like Bug Blaster Above and Below on a
regular basis will do a good job in managing the mole’s food source. Monitor your insect populations with a soap
solution to determine how often you need to apply insecticides. Use two ounces of lemon dish detergent in a five-gallon
bucket of water and pour it slowly over your soil in the areas where you think
you might have insects and see what comes to the surface. You might be
surprised! Some products get tied up in
the thatch to kill surface insects (like ants), so be sure to get a product for
sub-surface insects.
Castrol products (Repellex’s Mole, Vole and Gopher Repellent) and other
repellents (Mole Stopper) work good as perimeter treatments to keep moles from
re-infesting on your property. Be sure there are not any moles on your property
before you put out this barrier, or you will trap them inside your
landscape. Make a 10–20-foot band
treatment around the perimeter of your property. Reapply these repellents as the label
recommends.
If your yard is free of moles right now, you can skip #1 and
just manage their food source and repel them at the perimeter of your
property. Be sure your yard is free of
moles before you skip #1 in this process.
If you take away the mole’s food source and he is in your yard already,
he will really tear up your yard looking for food!
If all this sounds like too much work, try the mole and
rodent smoke bombs or hire a professional!
Kill winter weeds before they develop seeds. Take soil test –
Possum’s Custom Program? Measure your grass and bed areas, so you know how much
product to purchase. Get out your preemergent control product for weeds. Poa
annua (annual blue grass), and Crepe murder (it’s just a shout away -The
Rolling Stones) are becoming hot topics. On a different note, take a glimpse of
the beauty of runners filling areas treated with Cotton Burr Compost!
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is Federal Law.
Bill Lamson-Scribner
can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply
(follow us on Facebook). Possum’s has three locations
