Lawn Maintenance Guide Tips for Avoiding Moles & Voles Next Year
Do you have tunnel-like burrows, small open trench paths, dead plants, or lawn and tree damage in your yard? These are signs of having moles or voles in your yard. The good news is that you can manage the situation with the right approach.
In this edition of our ongoing lawn maintenance series, we’ll discuss the differences between mole and vole damage, how to tell if moles or voles are damaging your yard, and how to get rid of them for good.
Moles Versus Voles
Moles: Four to seven inches long with blackish-brownish fuzzy-looking fur, feet shaped like clawed paddles, an elongated head with a snout, and tiny eyes.
Voles: Four to eight inches long, gray to light brown fur, orange teeth, short tails, small bodies, and nearly invisible ears. Look similar to field mice.
Signs of Moles & Voles in Your Yard
Moles leave volcano-shaped soil mounds and raised tunnel ridges in soft lawn areas, while voles create two-inch-wide above-ground runways leading to 1.5-inch-wide burrow entrances.
The Extent of Mole & Vole Damage
Moles and voles feed on plant and tree roots, which cause extensive damage. Raised mole tunnels dry out grass, while voles’ burrow systems kill plants. Moles can tunnel up to 100 feet daily, quickly transforming your yard into a patchwork of dead grass and damaged landscaping.
How to Repel Moles & Voles
There are a variety of great ways to repel moles and voles from your yard.
1. Treat Your Yard With Castor Oil
Castor oil helps get rid of moles because moles hate the smell of it, and it upsets their digestive system. Additionally, if it touches them, it will make them itch. Castor oil will not kill the moles, it will just help keep them away from your lawn.
2. Apply a Grub Treatment
Applying a grub treatment will help get rid of some of the mole’s food supply because the grub treatment will kill or get rid of these grubs. These are available in ready-to-spray hose treatments and granular treatments.
3. Create Barriers
Creating a barrier around your lawn and/or garden can provide protection against moles and voles. You will need to dig a 30-inch-deep trench and line it with hardware cloth or a similar type of mesh or netting and extend that cloth five-to-six inches above the ground. Hardware cloths can protect your tree trunks as well. Just wrap the trunks 18 to 20 inches high to keep moles and voles from nibbling on their bark.
4. Apply Capsaicin
Moles and voles hate capsaicin. Simply mix chopped hot peppers or cayenne peppers with water and biodegradable dish soap and spray all vole hotspots around your yard and landscaping. This will help keep them from nibbling on your plants. There are also ready-to-spray capsaicin formulas that you can purchase.
5. Don’t Use Mothballs
You may find information online that mentions mothballs as an effective treatment for moles and voles. There is little to no evidence that shows the effectiveness of mothballs. Additionally, mothballs are illegal for outdoor use in Michigan—they are a registered pesticide for indoor use only. Mothballs are considered dangerous to children as they contain naphthalene, which according to the EPA has been linked to specific illnesses like nasal cancer.
Good Lawn Maintenance Practices Can Also Help Prevent Moles & Voles
You can prevent moles and voles by engaging in good lawn maintenance practices. For example, voles like living in grass, leaf, and mulch piles, as well as tall ground cover. Therefore, you can create an uninviting environment by minimizing the amount of mulch around your trees and shrubs and by not leaving piles of leaves and grass on the ground.
You should also remove any dense ground cover you have, keep your yard mowed, and keep up with as much snow removal around your yard as possible. Additionally, adding GrubX or another grub treatment to your yard in the early spring can also help reduce and prevent mole damage.
Learn More from Design One Today
Would you like help fixing the damage caused by moles and voles in your yard? Get in touch with Design One Today. We are a commercial and residential landscaping company in Michigan that specializes in custom hardscaping and landscaping designs. No matter the extent of your damage, we can help you design and create beautiful, healthy landscapes. Contact us today to request a free consultation or to learn more about our services.
As a residential and commercial landscaping company in Michigan, we’re experienced in both property care and landscaping design. With over 40 years of experience in the industry, Design One is great source of information when it comes to your Michigan lawn care needs! From preliminary design mapping, to irrigation and the types of plants you might want on your priority, we cover it all.
