Skip to main content

Moles and my life

I live an area where moles enjoy just tearing thru my yard and enjoying life. Things have changed in the last two years for the little miners.   Where ever they have tunneled in the yard in the past has died out the following weeks and has made the yard a little unsightly.   I am not the biggest yard nut, but I do like to have a relatively smooth surface that has an even cover of grass.  The moles had become a problem and I needed to act in early 2015. 

I mow over 1.5 acres total and about an acre is subject to mole damage.   I do not want to eliminate the grubs with pesticide so I have to address mole control a little differently. There several old tree root systems in the yard and from trees removed and trees that are still alive.  There are a lot of places for the grubs to survive and the moles know this.   The moles have a lot areas in which to find food and there is a lot of food available.  

Last year I tried the usual baits that you put in the tunnels and some of the high tech worms that go in the tunnels and they are supposed to kill the moles after they are eaten.  I am not sure anything worked.  I also tried a couple of mole traps that would crush their body when the trigger was knocked off.   These traps were worthless.   What is left to control moles??   Death. 

My system has evolved and is getting pretty effective now.   If I see mole activity, I will water that area to make it softer and then roll the ground with my large yard roller and get rid of any bumps or tunnels.  After I get the ground rolled I will check it closely through out the next couple of days.  Normally the tunnels will show up again and at that point I can a good idea where the moles are working. 

Yesterday I watered and rolled and today-- nice new tunnels about 10 feet in total.   I knew with these new tunnels I could get pretty close to this mole.   I filled one end of the tunnels with water--which took at least five minutes.   I then started to work my way outward from the center of the tunnel maze to the outer sections  with the hose.  The dirt got to shaking when the mole was getting more water than it needed and that gives away the location.  At this point, I take a shovel or metal pick and dig the mole out and flip it onto the ground.  Then I will dispatch it quickly, because they can get back underground very quickly.     The entire water process takes from 2 to 10 minutes and is not always effective, but I am getting over a 50% kill ratio now.

Last season I developed this mole control method and killed 6.  I also nailed one with the tiller.  This season I have upped the game and managed to smoke 8 of the little grass killers.  I think I am just as proud as any big game hunter with their trophies.  Sometimes you need to work on them a few days to finally get the kill and getting that mini pelt is a very satisfying.  Plus your yard sure looks better and riding the mower gets a lot easier as well.   

I have a few weeks of warmer weather left, I wonder is I can get to 10 pelts this season???

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jump Ahead

 Hello to all the faithful readers out there is the ethernet.  As you know, I have been dealing with an issue with a pinched nerve in my back that has been affecting my right leg strength.  My leg strength is back to 85% according to the squat machine at the gym.  I use the type of machine that has belt around your waist and you hook up to an arm that connections to the weight rack. This machine does no put any weight on my lower back and allows for leg strength development.  Progress has been made and I am also running a couple days a week at the Pettit Ice Center in West Allis as well.   Things are coming along.    About 6 weeks ago I began doing weekly pilates classes.   The pilates has been very helpful in generating flexibility and strength in  my lower body.   The sessions are around one hour and they are very intense and I am enjoying the improvement in my body strength and movement. I plan on continuing these ...

Race Day Again

Finally, we get to race again! As many of you know, I was injured last April 4, 2024. I had a disk at L4 vertebra collapse and pinch a nerve in my back that caused over half of my lower leg strenth to disappear. I had a lot of atrophy in my right leg quad and I have been recovering ever since. I am close to 100% on strength and the right leg looks like it is very close to normal size again, but it has been a battle. I have been working in the gym, doing pilates again and also running. All of these things must be done in balance so you can get the proper rest and recover. I still do full body massages every two weeks and I also have been working with a Cox Technique Chiro since the injury on a weekly or biweekly basis. The chiro has gotten me stretched back out and the pressure off the nerve, that treatment has been the real source of healing in my opinion. MY normal doctor was not any help, but this is not what normal doctors do--naturally healing. The first meet of 202...

Really Important Information

I participated in the USATF Masters Indoor National meet last weekend in Winston-Salem, NC.   It was good meet for me and I will add the details of the results in another post later this week.  What I want to reflect on here is the quality of people in that building.   I am just so impressed with the high level of competition and caring for each other that goes on for 3 days.  Hug and Cry Area for Awards  There were around 1000 competitors for the event, and with families and officials, generally 500 to 2000 people were in the building during the times the track was open. It was not completely full at JDL Fast Track, but a really good crowd. North Carolina passed some very hateful and just plain repressive legislation a few years back concerning rest room usage and anything that did not meet the "hateful Jesus" religion that they were  promoting.   The NBA pushed back and moved their All Star Game location and I think this may hav...