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This fall I’ve been noticing mole hummocks in lots of places. Moles are a constant and often annoying feature of Northwest gardens and yards. These mammals are well adapted to our lawns and landscapes, and if possible, should be tolerated. The least-troublesome solution to their presence may be choosing to live with these interesting native insectivores. They often help soil conditions by improving drainage and mixing the soil. They also eat large numbers of cranefly larvae, small slugs and other soil invertebrates. Dave Pehling, Snohomish County WSU Extension vertebrate expert, has helped with this information.)
However, many people dislike the appearance of mole activity in their yards and gardens. The mole-mounds are usually considered unsightly and the tunneling activities can make the yard surface uneven. Furthermore, tunneling around plant roots can stress the plants and allow avenues for invasion by meadow voles. Although moles are insectivores and eat little vegetable matter, voles are strict herbivores and readily feed on roots and bulbs of many kinds, often causing severe damage.
With the passage of I-713 we must re-think our mole management strategies. This initiative was passed to regulate the types of traps legal in Washington state. As of December 7, 2000, ALL traps that hold a mole's body in any way are outlawed. This includes all commercially available mole and gopher traps, which are mentioned in WSU publications on mole management. Efforts to have this law amended to exclude moles have not been successful in the legislature. "Common" rat and mouse traps may still be used because they were exempted in the 1-713 law.
What won't be effective against moles? Unfortunately, to date, no chemical or physical repellents, mole baits or "live traps" have proven effective on our western moles. There are many materials on the market and you can certainly try them, but they haven't been shown to be consistently effective.
There are also MANY "home remedies" that have been suggested in the past for dealing with moles but none of these that we have tested have caused any reduction of mole activity when applied in a controlled manner to a monitored western mole population. Some of these materials/treatments include human hair, pet droppings, chewing gum, cigarette butts, mole plants, mothballs, rose canes, wind-mills, pit-fall traps, etc.
Trying to remove the moles' food source is sometimes used as a control method. Unfortunately, our western moles feed mostly on earthworms and there are NO pesticides registered for earthworm control. Most lawn pesticides, including Diazinon, are sometimes mistakenly used in an effort to kill earthworms. Applying them at more than recommended rates isn't permissible, and they do have negative environmental effects. (Diazinon will be taken off the market over the next few years as the result of an EPA-sponsored action—it is not to be sold after 2003.) Don't kill earthworms in an attempt to reduce mole activity. Earthworms are definitely beneficial garden inhabitants
So, what are we left with? The ONLY readily available treatments that approach the effectiveness of lethal trapping are:
The frustration of the 713 law isn’t going to retreat; you’re
stuck with tolerance or troublesome barrier construction!
Hortsense: Managing plant problems with Integrated Pest Management
