Bugged by Moles?

Bryan Iverson sees no problem with coexisting with moles.

“Moles are more helpful than they are damaging,” Iverson said. “They dig tunnels for the water to drain through your yard. They're helpful. I have a nice orchard and as long as they stay in the orchard I'm fine.”

But, he admitted, there is a time and place for everything. He's killed a number of moles over the years because the immensely territorial animals can be such pests.

“I like my landscaping,” Iverson said. “I think everybody likes their landscaping. And moles do damage. They really do.”

Iverson, a master gardener from Cowlitz County who has worked at the Three Rivers Golf Course in Kelso for 30 years, was one of several speakers recently featured at the Small Farm School at Centralia College. The event, which was presented by the WSU Extension offices of Lewis and Cowlitz County, featured speakers on topics ranging from alpacas to noxious weeds. But certainly one of the more popular sessions of the day was a talk about how to effectively deal with moles.

Two kinds of moles, the Townsend and Pacific moles, inhabit Washington. Iverson said the first thing to know about them is that they burrow through yards looking for grubs and worms to eat. If you have a digging animal in your yard that is eating roots of plants or root vegetables, you have a vole, not a mole. Iverson said he recommends rat poison for voles. But with moles, he said there are actually benefits to allowing some mole activity. If you have an area in your yard where you can allow the grass to grow to 16-20 inches high, the moles will prefer that area.

“If you create a good place for them, they'll stay there,” Iverson said.

But even if moles have found a comfortable place, they are not guaranteed to stay there. They move from place to place depending on the food available to them.

“Think of their tunnel as a smorgasbord,” said Gary Fredricks, Small Farms, Livestock and Dairy Area agent and Cowlitz County administrative director. “Eventually when it runs out they move to another area to find more.”

Moles also have their babies in about March, which is why you see an influx of mole activity in the early spring. And since they are extremely territorial, even the mothers send their children out to find their own areas to live. Contrary to popular belief, moles actually do actually travel above ground. At night, they may burrow out one of their holes and can travel as much as a couple of city blocks in a couple hours. Wandering moles or those searching for new food sources have the ability to cause incredible damage to property.

In those instances, Iverson said, it may be necessary to use stronger methods of mole control. He gave the following suggestions for dealing with problem moles:

• Dig them up — moles' tunnels are located between hills and are typically 16 inches or less under the surface. Watch for movement of the sod or at mole hills, then dig vigorously and you may be able to find them. Iverson said this is one of the methods he most often uses to catch moles.

• Canine assistance — Some dog breeds such as Jack Russell terriers and Dachshunds have natural digging and hunting instincts and will hunt out moles. Iverson said he has had a Jack Russell terrier for eight years that has effectively kept moles away from his own yard. Many dogs and cats will hunt moles, but not all, he warned.

“Each breed has their own instincts,” Iverson said.

• Flood them out — Iverson said he has heard of putting a hose down the mole hill and turning on the water to force the moles to the surface. He recommends filling a 5-gallon bucket with water and watching for movement at a hill, when you see it dump the entire bucket straight into that hill, which will force the mole to surface.

• Shake, rattle and roll — knock down all the hills and then run your lawnmower over the problem area. The noise and vibration will drive the moles crazy and they will almost immediately begin popping up to the surface as soon as you stop, allowing you to find them.

• Let your landscaping help you — if you can replace some of your landscaping with sand or rocks, materials that are difficult to dig through and house no insects, moles will be deterred.

But the method that Iverson, and most other property owners have found most effective, is perhaps the most hotly debated method: trapping. Since Initiative 713 passed in 2000, trapping moles has technically been illegal in Washington. But the original intent of the law was not to cover moles, but larger game animals. Iverson said upon consulting with someone at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, he basically got the impression that while they would not sanction mole trapping, they were not out actively looking to punish property owners who were using them safely. He said the most important issue when using traps was to properly maintain them, cover them when in use and insure they are not located where children could be injured by them.

“So it's really a safety issue and they're going to overlook it if you're being safe,” Iverson said.

There are a number of commercial mole repellents and non-trap killers available, but Iverson said he has not yet heard that any of them working exceptionally well. A product known as the Molecat trap that uses concussion to kill the mole, but is very expensive at about $80 a kit, Iverson said. Last year, a range of chemical worms also came out on the market but are still about $30 a box. Iverson said he prefers traps because they are about $10 each and can be reused.

“With a trap you know,” Iverson said. “You pull it out and you've got a body there. You have proof it worked.”

If you choose to use mole traps, Iverson said the most important thing is to first make sure you actually have a mole to trap. Iverson said often people will have mole hills in their yard but the mole has already moved on. Track your hills, look for new hills and watch for movement to make sure you actually need a trap.

“Every now and then one will come in and they don't find what they want do they move on,” Iverson said. “So you have to make sure you have an active mole before you set traps.”

Traps should be set along a mole's tunnel between hills. To locate an appropriate place, figure out which direction the mole is traveling then go back about two hills and probe between the hills for the tunnel. Iverson said you can use a sharp stick or rod to do the probing but often you can simply feel where the tunnels are.

“Walk on your heels, you'll kind of sink in,” Iverson explained.

Once you have found a spot right in the middle of a tunnel, dig a hole wide enough for the trap to fit and for the closing mechanism to work. Then make a pile of dirt right in the middle of the trap's jaws.

“They'll have to push through that,” Iverson explained.

Iverson cautioned that you must wear gloves when you use any anti-mole products, including traps, because otherwise the moles will smell your scent on them and avoid them.