HELP....Moles and Chipmunks detroying our yard!!!!

[lukenick1]

How can we rid of these pests????? Besides getting a cat...

 

[a1tinkfans]

According to people that want to do it humanely they suggest Castor Oil being sprayed after you have thoroughly wet the grass/mole holes down.

They also say that moles do not like the feel of human hair or the odor and they will leave, so some say that you can get hair clippings from a local barber or hairdresser. (interestingly enough, our local shop is collecting all the clipped hair to send to La as they are using it to mop up the oil spill, who knew!!

The reason the moles are there (allegedly) is because you likely have lots of grubs in your lawn, they favor those and so if you can get rid of the food source, they will leave.
Now, as far as a cat goes, they say that if you get used cat litter (kinda gross I guess) and pour it down the mole holes, you may convince the moles that a cat is near and they will high tail it out of there. Unless of course, they know its a fake out,

years ago we had a mole that was driving us nuts, he eventually burrowed under our pool liner and we have a permanent track to follow, even with all the pressure of the water, he still left a trail, now I laugh about it, years ago, not so funny! Not sure why he left, maybe he croaked under there
Good Luck! Theres lots online if you google, with little ones and pets, I'd be extra careful!

 

[Mary•Poppins]

The reason the moles are there (allegedly) is because you likely have lots of grubs in your lawn, they favor those and so if you can get rid of the food source, they will leave.

I have this same problem!!! Yesterday I had 2 squirrels and 4 chipmunks running around my yard all at the same time! I swear they were partying and taunting me just because they are quicker and knew I couldn't catch them!

So, any suggestions to get rid of the grubs? I suspect they are in my yard.

Also, I noticed something eating my freshly planted basil ... any recommendations for something to put down in a veggie garden??

Thanks to any gardeners out there ....

 

[daughtersrus]

I have this same problem!!! Yesterday I had 2 squirrels and 4 chipmunks running around my yard all at the same time! I swear they were partying and taunting me just because they are quicker and knew I couldn't catch them!

So, any suggestions to get rid of the grubs? I suspect they are in my yard.

Also, I noticed something eating my freshly planted basil ... any recommendations for something to put down in a veggie garden??

Thanks to any gardeners out there ....

We had moles a few years ago and DH bought a "bomb" at Home Depot that went down into the hole. That seemed to do the trick.

Now we have chipmunks. I have to remind the kids to make sure that the door are shut all of the way because we don't want Chip or Dale running around in the house.

This isn't the most humane method but a friend suggested getting a 5 gallon bucket and fill it 3/4 of the way with water. Take a board lean it up against the top of the bucket. Make a trail of sunflower seeds leading to the board and throw a few in the bucket. The chipmunk will follow the trail and then fall in the bucket a drown. Needless to say, we haven't done this.

As for the grubs, DH puts GrubX down on the grass and we don't seem to have that problem.

Edited to add... I've found that shaved Irish Spring bar soap works great at keeping bunnies away from my plants. The only problem is that you have to reapply it after it rains. Hot peppers mixed with water also keeps them from eating the plants but again, it has to be reapplied often.

 

[disney1990]

Are you sure they are moles and not voles? Moles tunnel and eat insects. Voles tunnel and eat plants -- this is what my DD is fighting in her yard. The Maryland Department of Agriculture suggested mouse traps with peanut butter spread on pieces of apple. She also got the sonic stakes that you put in the ground, but I don't know if those are working yet.

 

[bfeller]

The chipmunk bucket thing mentioned above does work. Of course you have to be willing to permanently eliminate them. We had a huge chipmunk problem a few years ago. My daughter wasn't really happy with the solution that my husband chose, so she would accidently move the board when hubby wasn't looking.

Anyway, it does work.

 

[dawson5]

We had problems when we lived in Michigan, none here thankfully. A friend who owns a landscaping business suggested cat urine. Said to sprinkle some (the used litter) at the holes. They think they have a predator stalking them and they leave. We were only there two and half years, this happened the fall before we left, I don't know if it lasted, we sold that December. It worked for the short time we did it. I would think there it would be an ongoing problem though, we had a creek and were pretty much surrounded by woods.