How to get rid of moles in the garden

Little heaps of soil on your lawn are a tell-tale sign that a mole has moved into your garden. Moles can be a nuisance, leaving molehills everywhere and disrupting seedlings, although they do also do some good, eating garden pests and helping to aerate the soil. Moles are very territorial, so unless you have a big garden, the good news is that you’re only likely to be dealing with one mole, and having moles in your garden is proof that the garden is full of worms and insects, a good sign of a healthy ecosystem. However, it can’t be denied that they do make a mess of a beautiful lawn, so if you’re trying to get rid of moles in your garden, here are our top tips.

Tips to get rid of moles in the garden

• Mole traps are the most effective way to get rid of moles, but by law, the traps must be installed correctly and checked daily to ensure that the moles are killed instantly and don’t suffer. If you decide to use mole traps, it’s best to install them with a pest control professional.

• Use sonic mole-repellent devices. These emit a high-pitched buzzing noise, too high for humans to hear. This will deter moles, but if you have a pet dog or cat, the noise may also affect them. If you have pets, you could instead try setting up a few child’s pinwheels over the affected areas of your lawn– moles don’t like the noise and vibrations set up as the pinwheels rotate in the wind.

• To make your garden less attractive to moles, water your lawn as little as possible, even during dry periods. Dry soil is harder to dig through and contains fewer earthworms, so moles are less likely to move in. 

• If you know, there’s likely to be a problem with moles in your garden, put down mole netting before laying new turf. This stops moles from coming to the surface and making hills.

• Moles don’t like strong scents, so try crushing fresh garlic bulbs and placing them inside the entrance to the holes. Repeat this daily until the moles are gone, and then every couple of weeks to stop them from coming back.

• Some plants are said to repel moles, although this isn’t a guaranteed solution by any means. The most well-known of these plants is the caper spurge, Euphorbia lathyris, also known as the mole plant. It self-seeds prolifically and often pops up in gardens as a weed. Its reputation as a mole deterrent is due to its toxic, skin-irritant sap, so take care when working with it and wear gloves. Other plants said to deter moles are alliums, marigolds and daffodils.

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