About Mole Animals - How to Get Rid of Them

Today my neighbor came down to talk to me about the mole animals in his yard. He had one that had dug a hole up by his oak tree and did not like the mound of dirt. He also did not like his kids playing around the mole and was concerned for their safety. He asked me how to get rid of the moles in his yard.

You may not know a whole lot about moles, but I know a thing or two.  They are burrowing small mammal that lives underground. This small animal has nice soft-looking fur with powerful-looking front paws with claws that are meant to dig.  Moles are not blind but they do have poor eyesight.  The mole eats grubs, beetles, slugs, and earthworms and they will eat plant tubers and roots that have become water logged or infested with insects. 

I have never ever heard of a mole chasing and biting a child. These animals spend their entire life underground. Occasionally you will get a photo of them, as they rarely leave their den.

I use organic repellent if I have more than one or two in my yard. I will remove their mound of dirt and work it back into my yard and garden, this makes my yard look better. For me, these little animals are an organic way to get rid of insects that are not desirable, such as grubs, slugs, and beetles. 

My neighbor had been told to spray his yard with chemicals to get rid of the moles and every living insect. Not to mention this chemical would be harmful to pets and kids. He was also told to put rubber pellets in the ground that were about the size of a grub and this would be the best way to get rid of the mole permanently.

There is no reason to end the life of the moles in your yard when you can get rid of them without harming them. There are organic repellents that will get rid of the moles and they won’t come back.

One way is to buy a Concentrated Garlic Barrier and spray your entire lawn and spray into the mole tunnel. Why? Moles find the garlic vapors to be repulsive, and they will leave.

Another safe and effective way to get rid of moles is to Buy Plant Por-Tech Gopher and Mole repellents I found this product at Amazon.com and it works well. You put the slow-release garlic stake in the tunnel and it will continue to release the garlic vapor for 12 months. This is an easy repellent that gets rid of moles and other burrowing pests.

Now my husband prefers to treat the lawn with home make mole repellent. He uses a mixture of dawn dish soap, caster oil, and water that is mixed in a lawn sprayer bottle. Before he saturates our lawn with this formula he will backfill the dirt into the mole tunnels then he leaves a puddle of the caster oil, dawn, and water in the area of the hole. When the solution seeps into the tunnel the moles will leave.

This treatment which consists of 4 ounces of caster oil, 1 tablespoon of dawn dish soap, and water that is mixed well prior to applying needs to be repeated monthly to repel any new moles that want to burrow in your yard.

I recommend natural mole repellents because they are organic and safe to use around pets and kids.

Buy Mole Repellents at Amazon.com

12-Month Garlic Slow Release Stakes to Safely Get Rid of Moles

Concentrated Garlic Lawn Spray for Pests Control and Mole Repellent

Learn more about moles, the animal here:

Capstone Garden Path

One man's trash is a treasure to me. My neighbor set them at the curb concrete capstone, 6 slabs, and my husband brought them home. We recycled the capstone by adding the stones to our preexisting garden path. Thanks to the capstone find I was able to extend the garden path and it really makes the yard look nice

It did not take long to extend our path with capstone. My husband and I worked on the path together as it was a DIY weekend yard improvement project. View the photograph to see how we spaced the path and then completed it with the cypress mulch. Note the stones are not perfect, but we do not mind. The total cost for this project was under $10. as we got 3 cupric feet of mulch that were discounted at Walmart garden center.

Learn how to install a capstone garden path by reading my blog post YardSale Finds Create Inexpensive Garden Path

Walkers Low Catmint

A few years ago I bought walkers low catmint online at Greenwood Nursery. They shipped me very healthy potted plants, that had green leaves and pretty flowers. These plants were added to my garden and they bloomed throughout the summer season.

Photographs of the catnip plants I bought from Greenwood Nursery.  This is how they looked on the day I received them.  I definitely recommend this online nursery for your garden needs.

By the second season, these six plants put out runners and filled in a space of 4 x 4, forming a thick mat of green foliage and pretty lavender-blue flowers. The flowers bloomed continually in May and June, then I deadheaded the plants, fed them with miracle grow bloom booster and the catmint bloomed again.

What I like about this plant is that it is maintenance-free and pest resistant and it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds to my yard. 

I would recommend that you plant in full sun, although it will tolerate some shade in the afternoon. My summers get very hot and where I have planted the catmint there is part shade at the peak of the day followed by the late afternoon sun. On average the plants get 6 hours of sun daily. My garden soil is well-drained and I water this catmint in the morning with a slow drip soaking hose for one hour. By afternoon the soil is dry and I have found that the catmint can hold up and is tolerant of dry soil conditions.

Learn more about this beautiful perennial for your garden here

Camouflage Fence with Flowering Vines

Talk about an eyesore, the chain link fence needs to be camouflaged. If you are like me and want to hide your ugly chain-link fence then do so by growing a flowering vine.

A few years ago a garden friend of mine gave me some “Grandpa Ott” morning glory seeds. She told me that the morning glory would cover up my six-foot chain link fence and that the long blooming flowers would attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

I really liked the garden tips for hiding the fence, with pretty flowers that attracted hummingbirds. So I planted the seeds indoors and then transplanted them outdoors after the threat of spring frost had past.

What I like about this vine is the foliage; both heart-shaped leaves and petunia-like flowers are attractive. Plus the “Grandpa ott” flower is so pretty; dark purple with magenta pink and yes the vine fills in quickly and does camouflage the ugly link fence.


This vine looks beautiful when grown over a wooden privacy fence.  

Tips:

Growing from seed is easy provided you soak the seeds overnight before planting. Morning glory is a vigorous vine that fills in quickly forming a dense mat. Flowers will start to bloom in June and will continue to bloom in fall as long as the weather is warm.

Hot Pepper Wax Natural Animal and Insect Repellent

When it comes to repelling plant-eating garden pests I prefer to apply organic products rather than chemicals and have been using diatomaceous earth in the soil but found I needed something else for the leaf nibblers. So when the girls at my garden club were talking about a hot pepper wax spray that they used to repel animals and insects; deer, groundhogs, squirrels, aphids, spider mites, leafhoppers, and other garden insects that ate plants I took notes.

The organic pepper spray sounded great, but I wondered if the formula would be too strong for some of my herb plants since the application was to spray the entire plant including the soil in the garden. Sure enough, I was told that some plants are sensitive to pepper spray and that I should not treat the herbs peppermint, basil, lemon balm, or parsley. I am certain there are a few plants in my garden that will be sensitive to this potent pepper spray so I plan to test the plant by spraying a small amount on a leaf to see what happens, before spraying the entire garden bed.

Know that hot pepper wax should be spayed at dusk, this will allow the wax to harden due to the cooler air. Wax would not coat the leaves if sprayed on a sunny day. Make sure that you spray the entire plant, that includes the front and backside of the leaves, the stem, bud, and flower, The pepper spray will protect all plants that are treated in the garden from pests, however, you must watch for new growth. Anything new will be unprotected.

 On average the pepper spray lasts about two weeks. Know that when you harvest your edible plants you must wash them with warm water to remove the hot pepper wax. I had a deer take a bite of my lily leaves, the pepper wax did not stop the deer, BUT the deer had a coughing fit, then drank from my pond before leaving my yard. So you bet the hot pepper wax spray works.

You can buy hot pepper wax spray for animal and insect repellent at ebay.com (one-gallon concentrate)