MOLES?!?!GOPHERS?!?!

[SWMuskeye]

I bought a new house last spring, and when we had the warmup a couple of weeks back to almost 40 degrees I found several baseball-softball sized holes that dug out in my yard through the snow and left little dirt marks.

The only thing I can figure is that I have some underground "friends" who have made my yard their home. Is there anything that I can do to start a premtive strike on these critters prior to this spring? I know some tricks from the movie caddyshack, but I don't want to flood/blow up my yard in the process. Thanks for the replies.

[glenn57]

borrow the neighbors kitty-cat.

[hoggs222]

From what I have heard is that if you have moles, gophers, etc. You more than likely also have a grub problem which they feed on.

[Powerstroke]

Hoggs hit it on the head. The moles are usually a secondary pest that only moves in if you have a grub problem. They do eat the grubs, but there are way more grubs in the soil than moles. Insecticides aimed at the grubs should help. If your mole problem is really bad than you have to look at measures aimed at them. Many people here have recommended traps and different poisons in the past. I'll try to look for the post, but its been a while.

Its nice to see the lawn/garden forum start to get some movement. They're coming out of hibernation.

[hoggs222]

It's getting to be too long of a winter so far. I was talking to my sister yesterday for about an hour on her helping me start up a garden! The thing I didn't do last year was plan. I guess I'm getting a jump start on my lawn by thinking about it now. I love icefishing and all, but......

[marine_man]

 Originally Posted By: Powerstroke

that only moves in if you have a grub problem.

So, how would I know if I had grubs in my lawn? Are they what make all these small, hard ant hill looking things in my yard?

marine_man

[hoggs222]

I just found this online, hope it helps:

How do I know if I have grubs in my lawn?

White grubs feed on the roots of grasses, so lawns will show wilting and browning of irregular shaped areas. Certainly there could be many reasons for lawns browning, especially in late summer when most grub damage occurs. Always check the root zone of affected areas for the white, c-shaped grubs. Carefully pull back the sod in suspect areas, in particular the marginal areas where brown grass meets green grass, and look for the grubs. Usually a population of about 10 or more grubs per square foot will lead to browning of the lawn.

[Powerstroke]

If you're checking for grub damage, find a section of lawn that seems likes it looks unhealthy. Try pulling up on it. If it peels back like a roll of sod, then its most likely grubs. They eat the roots clean off.

THe mounds are typically from burrowing animals that create tunnels and feed on insects and they love grubs. Ant mounds can get very large in lawns because they hide in the grass rather than the cracks of the sidewalk. I've got an ant mound in my yard thats almost 3ft across. I'm starting to worry about it being a sinkhole.

[marine_man]

These mounds aren't big though - they're maybe 3" wide at the most, and are all over the yard - they make the yard really hard and bumpy...

marine_man

[Wildlineman]

I have a big gopher problem in my 3 acre yard. We have trapped 20-30 gophers a year for the last 3 years. You'd think we would have gotten them all by now. I really don't know of any deterrant for them since they eat roots of trees (from what I understand). We find their mound, dig down to find the tunnel, follow the tunnel by carefully digging until you come to the "T". Place two traps (with very hair trigger) on each side of the main run and put down a small amount of poison. Next I get a piece of plywood and a larger piece of carpet,place them over the whole and cover the edge of the carpet with dirt to make the trap station light proof.

[PerchPounder]

I am no rodent expert, but to me it doesn't sound like you've got moles. I would venture to guess you've got a vole problem they are very similar if there is a way to get rid of the grubs (if present) I would think that you're rodent problem would be solved.

[SWMuskeye]

Its interesting how everyone mentions a grub problem, but I've yet to see any problem areas of my lawn that meets the criteria of the descriptions mentioned.

I will be doing some serious investigating this spring and hopefully I can get this problem into check.

[setterguy]

They also sell Fox urine pellets that do seem to work...I've noticed in all my years of lawn business that people with dogs tend to have less problems with voles, moles ect. I'm sure they smell the urine and relocate to a place with out so many predators. Last winter my neighbor had a big vole problem and I am not kidding the burrows stopped almost on the property line, which my dogs do not cross.