The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Life!

May 6, 2008

Finally! Solutions for moles in your lawn this spring

Ed Mason

Mole damage to lawns has to be one of the most unsightly and difficult to control problems in many lawns. Moles leave very large mounds of dirt and numerous tunnels all over the lawn. The problem can occur all year but is often most evident in the spring, and we often receive many calls about how to get rid of moles in a lawn.

Over the years, we have tried various controls for moles — most with very limited success. We have tried everything from trapping, poison baits, and battery operated devices that send vibrations through the ground, we also tried grub control to eliminate their food source. None of these methods worked reliably.

Finally, we used a new system last year and had very good results with it. We were surprised because of all the things we have tried that were of little help — but this system really works! It is based upon years of scientific research on mole behavior. Scientists have done a lot of research identifying what moles like or don’t like to eat (for example, we found out moles’ diets consist of 5 percent grubs and 95 percent earthworms), what types of tunnels they build and why, and how to outsmart the critters and get them under control.

Our method of control consists of a number of visits to a property to identify active feeding tunnels, bait these tunnels, return to make sure the bait was taken and following up with a repellent spray. The tunnels of moles are actually a complex series of deep and shallow tunnels which can be quite challenging to accurately track and identify. The control process is recommended to be repeated annually because moles like to frequent old tunnels and will return to an area repeatedly.

Moles often cause considerable harm to both a lawn’s appearance and root system. If your lawn is a mess this spring from mole damage, we have the solution. Finally!

— Edward S. Mason is a certified landscape professional and landscape division vice president at Aspen Corp. in Daniels.

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