Mole/Gopher Problem

[j.w]

Ok NEWSFLASH...........I just heard on the radio last week from the garden guy I listen to that if you take Tide laundry detergent and sprinkle it over your lawn when it rains or you can water it in the moles will head for the hills (meaning somewhere other than your yard). People have called the show and said it really works and I'm trying it when I buy some......get the kind w/o bleach, just plain old regular Tide (powder). They say it doesn't hurt the worms or the birds as they have watched the birds pulling up the worms out of the ground for several weeks after applying the Tide. Give it a shot.......if nothing else you will have a nice clean smelling lawn for awhile, :lol:

 

[koikeepr]

ok, i need to try this. I'm dying to try anything that does not require killing the mole. So regular tide....I'm on it!

Do you just pour it on the mound. Give us instructions! I've got three acres and can't just sprinkle that expensive stuff every where!

 

[DrDave]

I put the ashes from my fireplace int the gopher holes. The moles do not return to those holes. I also put my cat litter in the gopher holes. It also seems to work. My cat, Smoky, takes care of the rest.

 

[DoDad]

I don't have moles in my yard now. When I moved here built the house sodded the yard and guess what moved in/ I bought every kind of trap, poison, recipes and electronic gadgets. I caught a few in the traps mole poisons had no effect.
The Coleman mole chaser was a joke. I had a mole tunnel up to one and it made a right turn then a left turn and it was on its way again,
One day I was in the farmers co-op looking to see if there was anything new I could add to my collection. While I was looking a old gentleman ask if I had problems with moles. He ask me if I ever saw a dirty mole which I haven't. He told me to find a fresh mound and dig down till I reached the tunnel and put a tsp of lye in the hole. He said moles always groom themselves ad would lick their feet an die.
I don't know if they died but I don't have them in the yard.
If you have digger dogs I wouldn't use it. I have 2 dogs with no problems.

 

[DrDave]

Sodium Hydroxide, very good! It eats the flesh right off them. Never thought of that one, I just happend to have about 20 lbs of it in crystal form.
I used to use it for cleaning auto parts when I built race engines. Now I only use it to clean my BBQ grill.
Be advised that if you use this, wear face and hand protection.
Great tip!

 

[j.w]

The garden guy said that people are using the tide in those hand crank spreaders and setting the spread # at 2 and are just walking around the yard sprinkling it at that level. If I were to try it I would start by sprinkling it over the area where the moles were causing problems and then see if they move away from that area. If they do then you could keep after them that way but the people using it are doing their whole yards. They prolly don't have really big yards tho. They did not say how often you need to do this. I think they are all still experimenting but when they did it they say the moles left. I imagine they would come back after awhile when the tide dissipated so you would have to do it again. I suppose you could try putting it down the holes or just on top and watering it in so it soaks the ground around each of their area's. The idea is to make the whole area taste yucky for them so they move on to your neighbors, lol! :regular_waving_emot

 

[koikeepr]

I'm going to have to try this. Perhaps a Tide/Lye mix! I'm making my own product! LOL!

 

[malatu]

I'm going to have to try this. Perhaps a Tide/Lye mix! I'm making my own product! LOL!

I had a relatively server mole problem about 10 years ago. I used a product called "milky spores" (I think that's what it was called). I purchased it from my garden center. I believe it was a natural product that continues to live in the soil. It is supposed to kill the grubs the moles are feeding on. Once the grubs are gone the moles leave the area. I had to put it down twice, spring and fall. I've haven't had a problem since. Forgive me if my information isn't exactly correct. It's been 10 years and my memory is a bit clouded.

I just googled milky spores .... there is a lot of info on the subject.

 

[koikeepr]

yesss.........i think I've heard about this. When I use grub preventer each season, I believe that's what it contains. But I still have a mole or two after it's applied...

 

[j.w]

But if you poison your whole yard w/ it and it kills all the beneficial insects and worms you are really left w/ a big dead zone. Worms and other things are good for your soil and lawn so I would not ever do that I'm thinking. I forgot to mention the guy said the 5lb box of Tide covered an area of about 100' x 40' w/ some left over and the Tide doesn't kill anything they say.

 

[koikeepr]

oh, we have big grub issues here and you have no choice than to put something down. One year I didn't and I had a dead circle about 12 feet in diameter. I lifted the dead grass and there were those dang grubs. They turn into Japanese beetles after and they are a total pest here in the south. They can strip the leaves of a favorite tree in a day flat.

But when I plant anything, there are an abundance of worms, so they don't seem to get affected. Not sure how that works and if they are immune or not...

 

[j.w]

Yikes I guess we are fortunate here to not have all the bugs. If it doesn't kill the worms than it can't be too bad I'd think.

 

[malatu]

yesss.........i think I've heard about this. When I use grub preventer each season, I believe that's what it contains. But I still have a mole or two after it's applied...

Milky Spores are not contained in the pesticide that you can put down yearly to kill grubs. Milky spores is not a chemical pesticide. Here is a link to info regarding Milky Spore. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_spore

 

[koikeepr]

right. milky spores is not a chemical, it's natural....