Homemaking Homesteader

Dealing with Moles in the Garden

Moles are such a huge nuisance in my garden. They dig tunnels all through and wreak havoc with my veggies, uprooting them and such.  The watering we do sometimes ends up down the mole hole instead of the plant roots.  I was getting very tired of fighting them for another year.  So I started doing a little research on how to get them out of my garden.  Poison was my first thought..  but I didn’t want that stuff in my garden.  Traps are effective but expensive. So I looked for more affordable remedies.  I came up with one that is easy to do.   You make a mixture of castor oil and Joy dish soap (2:1 ratio).  You add a few tablespoons of this mixture to a gallon of water and pour it down their holes. 

I have been doing this with some success.  The reason it can work is that moles have a heightened sense of smell and can’t stand the smell of castor oil.  They also don’t like the feel of it on them.  After a couple of applications some of the holes were not bothered any more but I still had some.  So the next time I put in more of the castor oil mix into my gallon of water and made the applications a little stronger.  I had been using 2 to 3T tablespoons per gallon..  so I doubled that.  Well I am happy to say that yesterday while in the garden I saw that all my mole holes had not been disturbed again..  so success maybe?  We will see.     

If my pesky mole just makes holes in other areas of the garden I will try another solution I read the other day and that is bubble gum.  You drop pieces of bubble gum (or Juicy Fruit I also read they like) into their holes.  The reviews I read said this was effective and will end the problem permanently!  I guess their digestive systems can’t handle gum..  they are eaters not chewers.. haa.. haa.  So if castor oil does not solve the problem..  I will try bubble gum.   

Just thought I would share this bit of mole info for anyone else battling them in their gardens this summer..  

Moles

11:52, 2009-Jul-5 .. Posted by Kristine

We had a problem with moles at our old house. We started allowing our cat to go outside & that quickly took care of the problem. She is an amazing huntress!

Molechasers...

08:37, 2009-Jul-6 .. Posted by vgauthier

There are a few different kinds of molechasers, from the "spikes" you drive into the ground that are battery operated and emit a "zapping" sound to the windmill types we now have (ordered from Lehman's). I have moles all over my yard, but I have molechasersa in my garden, and no moles, voles, or groundhogs/woodchucks either ~ the sound really seems to bother tham and works real well. Also, there has NEVER been a mole in my herb garden...hmmm...not sure what of the herbs they don't like, but they never seem to get in there, ever.

The windmill molechasers are also pretty to look at :-)

val

Hello

03:02, 2009-Jul-7 .. Posted by Julieann

Hi there, I always enjoy your blog when I visit. I can't always comment, but I so enjoy your posts. Have a wonderful day. Glad you solved your mole problem:)

Julieann
http://juliean-mylife.blogspot.com/

Much safer than my grandmother's solution!

08:42, 2009-Jul-7 .. Posted by Amy

Reading this, I was reminded of the ongoing battle my grandmother had with the moles who liked to invade her yard. In her last decade or so, she took to stuffing newspaper down the mole holes, then pouring gasoline in to soak them, and then lighting them on fire! We were always afraid she'd get injured, but she never did.

I think your potential solutions sound much safer!

Untitled Comment

07:54, 2009-Jul-8 .. Posted by Anonymous

We had moles all over where the raised garden had to go so we put down chicken wire and MoleMax (ground castor bean) before filling the boxes and so far it's no moles even though round 2 has started in the rest of the yard. We just let the cats have at them and it keeps the vermin in check.